Sound & Silence (P2): Being Quiet

June 10, 10:56 PMTampa Yoga ExaminerDanielle Hope Hier

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In Part 1 of Sound & Silence, singer, songwriter and authentic voice coach – Stephanie Heidemann - talked about the importance of vocalization in mantra, and also the power of silence.  “Sound is the frame for silence, which is the healer.”  She says. “Music is the dance between the two.” 

In any mantra, following the sound, there is a moment of silence.  In harmonics, notes – and how they are produced – trigger varying parts of the body.  Production in certain sequences can lower blood pressure, balance the right and left hemispheres of the brain, tone internal organs, and calm the mind. 

The silence after the “internal toning” produced by sound, helps the body adjust to the vibrations produced.  On a practical level, it’s like the body recovering after exercise.  On a metaphysical level, think of the sound as the admonition, and the silence the meditation that quiets the mind in order to receive insight from the universe. 

Vibrations produced through sound, and the rhythm in which they are formed, affect the body in different ways.  And just as harmonious sounds balance the body, discordant ones can cause disharmony.  On a physical level, that disharmony leads to illness.  On an intellectual level, noise pollution blocks mental clarity, as well as any chance for those spiritual messages to get through. 

For many, quiet is a scary place, because it means dealing with all those internal demons that we’d rather distract ourselves from.  So, we keep ourselves constantly distracted with television, internet, music, talking, traffic, and noisy machinery.  In fact, it is so ingrained in our culture, that being silent can feel unnatural. 

From a yoga perspective, in order to come back into balance through mantra and meditation (sound and silence), one approach would be to incorporate more healing music, and more mantra into a yoga practice, while making an effort to limit the amount of noise pollution from unnecessary sources on a regular basis.  Finally, practice daily moments of silence.