Wheels of Sound – yoga music compilation (Maya Records)

I've not experienced first-hand the goings-on of the modern yoga movement, so am intrigued about the purpose of the current 'yoga music' phenomena, and hence took a look at this compilation CD from Maya Records that gathers together 'yoga friends' from around the globe.

Here, Kundalini Yoga mantras are accompanied by a variety of relatively pleasing contemporary western-style backings. The sleeve-notes suggest that they provide 'a spiritual technology to uplift and transform our consciousness' – which seems one helluva claim for music that is, by and large, pretty innocuous. I guess when choosing music to practising yoga to, things that may cause inner tension or excitement are to be avoided, along with most sorts of lyrics. Not everyone appreciates traditional Indian music (at least not all of the time), so to devise a genre based on combining mantras with soft ambient-trance and downtempo world folk-influenced acoustic does make sense.

That's if one wants to flavour or steer one’s spiritual practice with music. This would suggest to me that this music is for (quote) 'uplifting and transforming' states of mind and emotion, rather than revealing the ever-present-knowing-of-the-utterly-still-but-vibrant-nothingness-of-unchanging-nondual-consciousness (so to speak). Surely it is states that can be transformed, whilst consciousness is unchanging and just 'is'?

Putting that teensy-weensy point aside, this music will no doubt bring both pleasure and benefit to many, whether practising yoga or not.

Artists include: Saravtar, Mirabai, Ceiba, Hezy Levy, Shivli Sybaga, Jap Hari, BenJahmin and Aurora.