Notes of Dissonance

Few weeks ago I was taking class at the Yoga school.  At the end of class for final relaxation, the teacher put on a beautiful piano piece by Bach.  A few minutes into feeling transported by Bach, a drilling noise set in from the building next door overtaking the effect of the piano notes.  Shortly after the drilling suddenly stopped, restoring the effect of the music.  Just as the drilling stopped, a hammering took its place.  For a while the hammering seemed to complement the notes from the piano, until the drilling returned.  Then the three ran parallel with one another – the piano notes, then hammering, piano notes, drilling, piano notes… At times the hammering & drilling seemed intolerable.  Yet keeping an equal awareness of the piano notes alongside the drilling and hammering made it all bearable.  Several minutes later both the hammering and the drilling ended, with only the sound of Bach prevailing.

This reminded me of how frequently we will only be aware of the hammering and the clamoring of our physical, mental, and emotional bodies.  That which is ailing us physically & mentally will dominate our attention.  But all the while there is this music in the background of the subtle energetic body.  The teachings and practices of Yoga suggest that if we can draw our attention to the music of the subtle energetic body, it can help us overcome the hammering and the clamoring of the physical and mental bodies.

After Thought:

In ancient times when someone complained of tension or anxiety in certain parts of the physical body (clamoring & hammering), Bandhas were often prescribed to them.  Bandhas are a contraction of certain muscles by which our attention is drawn into our energetic body, as well as into a more subtle aspect of ourselves.

The muscles associated with the Bandhas, when contracted have an immediate affect on our physical, mental, energetic, psychic & cosmic bodies.  "[Bandhas] have far reaching effects because they are associated with energy centers in the spine and brain.  Therefore bandhas are more dynamic, explosive and immediate in effect than the simple contraction of muscles in the arms and legs."*  In this way the Bandhas prove particularly powerful in effecting our state of consciousness.  

* Reference: 

Moola Bandha: The Master Key 

Swami Buddhananada 

Bihar School of Yoga