om spirit
I
n 1978, Brian Eno (you know the guy,
Roxy Music founder, U2 producer,
etc.) was strolling through Washington
Square Park in New York, when he
came across a busker. The man,
seated on the ground, was playing a zither- a 40-string harp-like instrument – in open
tunings allowing him to send out dense,
blissful waves of sound over the city park,
washing over commuters and bouncing off
the skyscrapers.
Eno dropped a hastily scribbled note into
the busker’s instrument case, requesting
that he get in touch; two years later
Edward L Gordon, aka Laraaji, released
the seminal Ambient 3: Day of Radiance
produced by Eno, a work which has gone
on to form one of the pillars of ambient
music. He began studying yoga and Eastern
mysticism, learning with such legendary
names as Swami Satchidananda and Shri
Brahmananda Sarasvati, founder of the
world famous Ananda Ashram (NYC).
If you use music or recorded sound
in your meditation and yoga, there’s a
good chance you’ve come across Laraaji’s
work, whether you know it or not – he has
released more than 60 collections of what
he calls ‘celestial music’ over the last 35
years, and his style has been appropriated
to form entire genres – what we think of
as ‘new age’ music today was pretty much
conceived by Laraaji in the late 70s.
The science around sound and meditation
has moved from the alternative to the
mainstream since those days – it’s no longer
a wacky idea that sonic vibrations can affectus physically as well as emotionally, and
can penetrate our bodies and benefit us in
a variety of ways. Sound is now used in a
wide variety of specialist health fields, from
sports science and physical rehab to cancer
treatment. Studies have shown, for example,
that the sound of Himalayan singing bowls
is chemically metabolised by the body,
activating the endogenous opioid system- the system responsible for innate pain
management.
Other studies have shown even more
benefits – carefully controlled sound sources
can help recovery after trauma or illness,
Is sound part of your yoga practice? James Birchall charts the pioneering influence of
Laraaji and the rise of sound therapy and healing
“Studies have shown carefully controlled sound
sources can help recovery after trauma or illness,
encourage deep muscle relaxation, improve sleep
patterns, break down toxins, stimulate circulation,
regulate hormonal functions and strengthen thePhotos: Liam Ricketts immune system.”