Something has been bothering me about almost every yoga class I go to. The teachers are great. The studios are gorgeous. The practice is exquisite — but it’s far too quiet.
And when I say it’s too quiet, I am not talking about turning up the yoga music. It’s that the students are too silent. Why is it important to make noise in yoga class?
Socially Silenced
In as much as we may judge and criticize our downward dog, stacking it up against our ideals of what the pose should look like and where we are at, we also censor the sounds and noises that we make during our yoga practice.
You probably don’t even know that you are subtly stifling your natural sounds, because we are all very well trained and socialized to make only ‘appropriate’ sounds in appropriate places. We whisper in libraries for obvious reasons, but we also shun people who laugh too loudly at a restaurant.
In every case, noise is acceptable in a very controlled form. So it’s not surprising that we are all quite intimidated when it comes to open vocalizations. These are free and uncontrived, and they conflict with how we’ve all been trained to plan what comes out of our mouths.
It’s scary to let yourself be vulnerable to the unknown, even when you are practicing yoga alone. That fear becomes especially strong in the context of a group yoga class.
Make Some Noise!
What’s so important about vocalization? Why sigh? Releasing sounds is the easiest way to relieve mental stress. Doesn’t it feel good to howl when you cry sometimes, or scream into the sky when you are mad?
Of course it does. So why not let the worries of your day out? A simple ‘mmmm’ or ‘ahhh’ is the easiest way to release stress and tension.
Indeed, this unleashing has an enormous physical effect. Such sounds open and soften the chest, neck and throat muscles and tissues, while stimulating the throat (or fifth) chakra. The fifth chakra governs our centre of self-expression and communication: let yourself be heard.
Holding Safe Space
A great yoga class will allow you to feel so at ease that you can let a sigh or groan emerge on a delicious exhale. Instead of swallowing and quieting it, you are comfortable to let it manifest in the world, in whatever sound it needs to be.
Of course not every yoga class can offer this experience. It may be a 40 person drop-in class where you know no one; or, it may be a class with a teacher who doesn’t endorse the importance of sonic release.
In this case, the challenge is your own. Take this opportunity to push your edge and let it all out, whether the teacher invites you to. The best thing about vocal releases, such as sighing, is that they are contagious. Once you start, you won’t want to stop, and once you make noise, others around you will feel more at ease and are likely to join in.