The Yoga of Sound: Healing and Enlightenment through the Sacred Practice of Mantra

The eye dominates the world, calculating and evaluating through the visual. Yet sound and music are the essential carrier waves of consciousness. For thousands of years, Hindu spirituality has understood the profound effect that sound has on human well-being. Largely unknown in the West, yet developing alongside the popular form of hatha yoga that has swept the world, the yoga of sound is a 3,500-year-old spiritual system for reducing stress and maintaining health. In this inspiring book and accompanying CD, renowned musician and teacher Russill Paul explores the four powerful streams of this system: mantras (sound), mudras (sacred gestures), pranayama (breath control), and dhyana (meditation). Like his award-winning music, Paul's presentation of this ancient tradition is accessible for modern Western tastes and lifestyles. In lucid exercises presented both in the book and the CD, Paul shows how everyone can learn the art of mantra simply by training the voice, and how these practices can help reduce stress, enhance emotional well-being, and optimize the flow of energy within the body.