Nada Yoga & Singing

For me and for many people on a spiritual path, singing (and I include here all singing - ranging from mantra chanting to jazz and rock and taking in a few operatic arias and cabaret songs on the way ) is part of a process of finding out who I am. A ‘coming in’ to myself that facilitates my ability to ‘come out’ in the world. The human voice is not only a medium with which we communicate with others - it is also a medium with which we communicate with ourselves.

Our voices are within us and outside of us at the same time. It is not possible to make any sound which does not vibrate within our own bodies, within our own psyche - within our own souls. The smallest, softest, quietest sounds that we can make - sometimes, especially the smallest, softest, quietest sounds, vibrate within us at the deepest level.

Many religions, from Hinduism to Christianity attest to the power of silent repetition as a powerful means of prayer. Singing and chanting is a powerful method of getting in touch with our deepest being and also of communicating with others, as both Indian gurus and western rock stars will confirm:

There is something in the human voice that is unlocked
when we sing which doesn’t happen when we speak.”
George Martin -producer of the Beatles albums.

The Bible also refers to the power of sound as the ultimate creative force:

In the beginning was the Word

Sound then, is a connection to our deepest being, our innermost level of existence. And this is true not only on a spiritual level, in terms of a ‘higher’ consciousness, but also on a more basic, evolutionary level. It makes a connection with our ‘lower’ level, our ‘lower’ consciousness - our ‘animal’ instincts. Just as when working with the chakras, this inner journey has the capacity to take us - if we are willing - not only ‘upwards’ but ‘downwards’ also.

Human beings have evolved over many millions of years - we are animals of instinct. We operate on many basic levels. Our ability to touch many of our basic ‘animal’ instincts is mirrored by our ability to move upwards into the lighter, finer and more subtle energies of our ‘higher’ selves. When singing, many people find that exploring the deeper bass notes of our vocal range facilitates our opening to sounds at the other end of the register - going deeper to get higher.

This is one reason why many classical vocal teachers in India encourage students to go deeper with their voices only after many years of practice. And that works the other way round too - if I have been exploring high sounds for a while this seems to help my voice to go deeper when I begin to sound out my voice in its lower depths. Both these extremes are important if I want to develop as a whole person - if I want to have more of myself, - if I want the world to have more of me - if I want to have more of the world.

Sing
Sing it now

Sing it softly
in the close comfort
of your hermit crab shell
on your ocean floor

or sing it loud
in the vast open spaces
of your mountain ranges

but sing
Sing it now