It is second nature for me to go digging into ideas from across the world. This particular idea is closer to home. On one of my trawls through the wasteland or vastland (whichever you prefer) of Youtube, I came across a talk by Sri Sri Ravishankar regarding music and its effect on chakras. And because I love going down rabbit holes and getting lost in them, I decided to do a one week experiment on music and chakras based on Sri Sri Ravishankar’s short talk.
Read about my other personal experiment
“Can we manifest anything? A personal experiment with the law of attraction”
I’ve been meditating for a while now. Can’t say I’m proficient meditator. More of a consistent novice because of my aversion to the idea of sitting in one place and suspending all thought and movement. But, combining music and meditation into a 2-in-one approach made it sound very appealing.
I clubbed the lower chakras together and alternated between the different chosen music pieces to achieve the energetic effect for Muladhara (Root), Swadhishthana (Sacral) Chakra and Manipura (Solar Plexus) chakra.
For Anahata(heart), I decided to go with Violin. Vishuddhi (Throat) chakra, I selected shankha Naad. Ajna(3rd eye) I chose Flute. And Sahasrara (crown), I went with “Om” chants.
Overall, I managed to adhere to the general idea of lower chakras = heavy beats +loud music. Middle chakra= string instruments. Upper chakras = wind instruments
Instruments for Muladhara (Root), Swadhisthana (Sacral), and Manipura (Solar Plexus) chakras
The requirement: Percussive
I chose these two:
Instruments for Anahata (Heart) chakra
Requirement: String (Piano or Violin).
I chose Violin and this particular piece by the inimitable Hilary Hahn because I’m a super melancholic person at heart. You can of course choose a different string instrument and any composition that stirs your heart strings. The right sort of music will produce a feeling of expansion and hope in and around your heart space.
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor Op 64 – Hilary Hahn
Instruments for Vishuddhi (Throat) chakra.
Requirement: Wind instrument.
I chose Shankh Naad (blowing a conch). This particular instrument has a strong Hinduism focus. Feel free to replace it with any wind instrument of your choice. Maybe a bagpipe (not judging!), or a clarinet or trumpet (for eg- Louis Armstrong la vie en rose).
Instruments for Ajna (3rd eye) chakra.
Requirement: Wind. I chose the Bansuri. (Bamboo Flute)
Instruments for Sahasrara (Crown) chakra.
Requirement: Wind/Sound. I chose “Om” chants.
Did The Music Help?
The first day, I made the spectacular mistake of listening to all the pieces in sequence on headphones (root-crown). Which ended up with me having a throbbing headache. Mistake corrected the next day as I began the process of trial and error in sequencing the music.
Beginning the 2nd day with the flute (3rd eye) seemed like a good idea in theory but bad in practice as it made me very very sleepy. And then I had to switch to activating my lower chakras by listening to heavy percussive music, which woke me up like someone dunking my head in cold water.
The third day, I listening to the chants first. No bueno. Same sleep inducing effect as on the 2nd day.
Finally, on the 4th day, I hit my sweet goldilocks sequence- Vishuddhi chakra (shankh naad). On headphones so I don’t scare my neighbors. Then, all other pieces starting from root chakra going upto heart chakra on speakers. Ended with the chants at bedtime.
The music did help. Although I’m a music lover in a family of music lovers with a violin playing kid; this particular experiment involving particular kinds of music directed at specific chakras silenced the chattering monkey in my head. For a while only, let me add quickly.
At the end of the week, remembering the sequence of playing the pieces was quite stressful, which is ironic. So, I dropped all the pieces except the percussive (for root) and the chants (for crown) and listen to them whenever I feel like it. I realised I really really need the percussive sounds simply because I’m prone to physical laziness and the beats really pump me up and get me out the door for workouts. The chants helped to calm us all down at the end of the day. It took us from 100 mph to 0 in 20 minutes flat.
I suppose if the extremities function optimally, I won’t have to worry about the rest of the in-between! Right?
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