Naada Yoga; A new dimension for the Raaga based music therapy

Music therapy with Sitar

Looking in a different angle, taking the advantage of being Ayurveda doctor and Indian classical musician, I designed music therapy to free one’s mind from the daily stress of the modern world.

The musical instrument used is Sitar, and its strings will unbind one's mind to relieve stress and related issues. A the history of music therapy and Indian raga therapies proved its benefits in many psychosomatic disorders, meditations with sitar help in such conditions where medicine needs to depend on the shoulder of an alternative practice.

Music therapy promotes general inner wellbeing and helps in increasing spiritual awareness for most of the people.

How unique is music therapy

With the everyday stress and worries of the modern day life, we are all victims of its side effects. I am trying to present this innovative form of Yoga. It involves Deep Meditation with the focus on Live rendition of different "Raagas - moods" on Sitar, a well known Indian Classical Instrument. 

It is proved with all the researches done by modern scientific societies that different Raagas have their effect on treating different psychological and psychosomatic conditions. It is also proved scientifically that every Raaga has its own subtle effect on the conscious of the living beings in the universe around. Thus music therapy is getting its academic importance day by day from the past century. 

But apart from its academic plot, Indian classical music has a structure-less divine form, where countless musicians worked like saints, worshiped and liberated from this material world. Soofism, various bhakti panths, are all philosophies of a beautiful musical journey of life.

But in instrumental classical music, there are no verbal communication between the performer and the listener. There is only purest form of music which are the combination of 7 swaras-notes. They have their direct effect on sapta chakras of the body.

There is no single piece knowledge in this world which is not gifted by the ancient sages of Indian civilization.  Seven basic notes of Indian classic musichave their origin in Veda mantras and Yoga is the the conjunction of human spirit with the supreme soul. So the supreme Nadayoga!

Raagas and chakras

Ragas of Indian classical music are though designed basically to express different emotions, ultimately the action that takes place inside is by helping to activate specific chakras, which allows the Kundalini energy to rise easily and energize and nourish the chakra. The raga also influences the chakra to maintain its optimum spin and balance, ensuring a balanced energy supply to different organs that are connected to the specific chakra.

If we consider some of the examples that we find from the works of research scholars around;

The raga Gurjari Todi, has a capacity to cool down the Liver. This raga and the raga Yaman help activate the Swadishthan chakra that governs our attention. Both ragas help focus wandering or wavering attention, which is crucial for effective meditation. These ragas also develop the quality of the Fire Element and make our personality creative, balanced, closely attentive and spiritual.

The ragas Bhairav and Durga have a power of Divine bliss and protection. Both help activate the Anahat chakra. When the Kundalini touches the heart chakra,  Raga Bhairav activates spirituality in the person. Raga Durga boosts self-confidence and helps develop the quality of the air element. These ragas also enhance the Divinity and Immunity in children. 

The Raga Jaijaiwanti helps activate the Vishuddhi chakra, the controller of the sensory organs. This raga also develops the quality of the ether element and the expression of voice, and helps make one's personality loving and sweet.

The Raga Bhup (Mohanam in Carnatic) helps purify and open the Agnya chakra. It helps relieve tensions, anger and mental fatigue. The mood created by this Raga helps the Kundalini pass through the Agnya chakra and enter the Sahasrara in the limbic area of the brain. This causes the person to reach a state of thoughtless awareness and has a tremendous impact on our ability to forgive.

Ragas Darbari (Darbari Kaanada in Carnatic) and Bhairavi (Sindhu Bhairavi in Carnatic) are helpful in prolonging the state of meditation and thoughtless awareness. The notes of these ragas help relax and calm the emotionally-related limbic area. The Kundalini energy then soothes and nourishes the Sahasrara chakra and the brain. The result is that one feels, joyous, energetic, peaceful and relieved of tension and depression. Aspirants of yoga also enjoy the sensation of a cool breeze on the finger tips and achieves the state of Self-Realization or enlightenment."

Indian system of music makes such a great connection between the microcosm and macrocosm where the great secrecy of ultimate nature unbinds on its own on a regular deep saadhana or riyaz or practice. If one listens properly, the whole world has a lay and swar. Different swaras signifies different nature of activities around. Midnight’s mood has a different laya, mid-day has another and a morning may differ in its laya.

Being one with the universe and enjoying the Devine association of inner being is the ultimate goal of any form of Yoga, and thus Naada Yoga.