Music is a powerful language. After all, it is the language of love! It can ignite spirit, evoke emotions, and is primal, historical, even colourful. It is a language that has proven to significantly improve our motor and reasoning skills. This fact should encourage all of us to make music an integral part of our daily lives.
Music is a gift to receive and to give. Often, we offer our song to Gods in churches and synagogues alike. We sing hymns and chant Sanskrit texts. And from young ages, we are taught traditions, anthems, and cultural rhythms through voice and melodies that unite us in harmony. In fact, one of the great yoga gurus compared musical attributes to the likes of yoga. “The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind and the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life.” (BKS Iyengar). And ironically, you will almost never find music played in an Iyengar studio unless you hear chants or unified vibrations of “ohms”.
As a singer, (member of SOCAN), and dedicated yoga practitioner, I would never have known my yoga the way I do without the deep connection to my music. And I credit my instrument, the voice, and breathing techniques for that “peanut-butter and jam” relationship. The mind-body connection, the ability to reach new depths in a pose, and the strength to build a meditative practice all start with the power of breath.
So perhaps, on some level, if you are still reading this, we agree music is integral to the human race. Fast forward to the rapidly evolving digital age of online music sharing. And, with that, we have SOCAN, an organization that represents the Canadian performing rights of millions of Canadian and international music creators and publishers. Through licences, SOCAN gives businesses that use music the freedom to use any music they want, legally and ethically.
I thank SOCAN for protecting my creative rights and fair compensation for me as an artist but at the same time I feel violated and controlled as a yogi. I am not pirating the music I may choose to enhance a spiritual connection in my class. I am not personally benefiting, promoting, or gaining from exposing my students to the use of song to awaken a sensation. And. I do not believe SOCAN can justify that people are coming to my class for the playlist.
As our business world continually evolves and becomes more electronic, we cannot overlook that the best business practices are a result of relationships and personal connection. In fact, SOCAN, I am insulted that you think my yoga is all about the bottom line and that my choice of symphony is revenue generating. I am a yogi. My yoga is my music, my song is my gift, and my repertoire is just truffle oil.
Samantha Merkur
www.yogabodii.com
As a singer, (member of SOCAN), and dedicated yoga practitioner, I would never have known my yoga the way I do without the deep connection to my music. And I credit my instrument, the voice, and breathing techniques for that “peanut-butter and jam” relationship. The mind-body connection, the ability to reach new depths in a pose, and the strength to build a meditative practice all start with the power of breath.
So perhaps, on some level, if you are still reading this, we agree music is integral to the human race. Fast forward to the rapidly evolving digital age of online music sharing. And, with that, we have SOCAN, an organization that represents the Canadian performing rights of millions of Canadian and international music creators and publishers. Through licences, SOCAN gives businesses that use music the freedom to use any music they want, legally and ethically.
I thank SOCAN for protecting my creative rights and fair compensation for me as an artist but at the same time I feel violated and controlled as a yogi. I am not pirating the music I may choose to enhance a spiritual connection in my class. I am not personally benefiting, promoting, or gaining from exposing my students to the use of song to awaken a sensation. And. I do not believe SOCAN can justify that people are coming to my class for the playlist.
As our business world continually evolves and becomes more electronic, we cannot overlook that the best business practices are a result of relationships and personal connection. In fact, SOCAN, I am insulted that you think my yoga is all about the bottom line and that my choice of symphony is revenue generating. I am a yogi. My yoga is my music, my song is my gift, and my repertoire is just truffle oil.
Samantha Merkur
www.yogabodii.com