What Is Naad Yoga? The Yoga of Sound

Naad Yoga — also written Nada Yoga — is the yoga of sound. Nada means sound or vibration. The tradition holds that sound is not only something we hear but a way into deeper states of awareness: by listening ever more subtly, attention is drawn inward until the mind becomes still.

Two kinds of sound

• Ahata nada — struck sound. Sound produced by contact: the voice, instruments, chanting, a bell. This is where practice begins.
• Anahata nada — unstruck sound. The subtle inner sound described in yogic texts, heard in deep stillness without any external source. It is not something to strain after; it is said to reveal itself as the mind quietens.

Where Naad Yoga comes from

Listening to the inner sound as a meditation — nadanusandhana — is described in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and in the Nada Bindu Upanishad, among other texts. Sound also runs through the wider tradition: mantra, the chanting of Om, and many of the techniques of the Vigyan Bhairav Tantra.

Practices of Naad Yoga

• Chanting — Om and other mantras, with attention on the vibration rather than the words.
• Humming — bhramari, the humming bee breath (see Pranayama for Beginners).
• Listening — to external sounds without labelling them, then to the silence around and after them.
• Inner listening — resting attention on subtle inner sound in deep stillness.

A simple practice: Om into silence

• Sit comfortably with the spine upright and close your eyes.
• Breathe in, and chant a long, relaxed Om on the out-breath. Feel the vibration in the chest, throat and head.
• Repeat five times, letting each chant become a little softer.
• Then stop, and listen. Follow the fading of the sound into silence, and rest in that silence for five minutes.

Naad Yoga and sound practice with Yogishri

• 500-Hour Naad Yog Teacher Training — foundations, techniques, personal sadhana and teaching.
• Sound Practice Teacher Training — frequencies, vibration and teaching sound practice.
• SHABDA: Sound, Mantra & Inner Stillness — an experiential program on sound and mantra.