Air—Music for Yoga “Air” is a seamless sixty-minute music composition created to accompany a yoga practice of equal length. The music begins with a deep drone. Like a super-inhalation, the drone builds by degrees. A musical exhale follows and introduces the main section of the piece. For the next twenty-two minutes an uplifting feeling of energy increases. The exhilarating sounds of soaring lines in the chorus, guitars and bells at 37:05 marks the high point. Soon after, the music breaks down to a texture consisting of drums that recalls earlier rhythms. A final build up in the chorus leads to a musical exhale of sound and release of energy. A resonant full-throated drone signals the arrival for an extended "savasana." The sounding of four strikes on a Tibetan singing bowl closes the practice. For yoga instructors, “Air” solves the problem of having to make playlists or change tracks mid-class. From the student's perspective, "Air" removes the distraction of the changing of tracks or mismatched playlists. Plus, the form of “Air” outlines the overarching energy levels found in a well-planned one-hour yoga practice: gradual warming up of the body, building to a sustained peak and followed by a calming down to "savasana." Footfalls—Music for Meditation “Footfalls” is music for meditation. For the duration of the piece (10:10), one hears the sounds of mindfully placed footfalls on a gravel path. This sound fades in at the opening and fades out at the close to necessitate a longer meditation by looping the track. Along the path one hears a cycle of various types of music and sounds. At first, a drone on a glass harp is heard followed by the chanting of “Aum.” Later, an ancient melody and a simple flute solo are added to the cycle. It is noteworthy to mention that the practice of “walking meditation” inspired the use of the soothing sounds of walking on a gravel path. As the syllable "aum" is slowly chanted, notice the descending overtones produced. At first by the open mouthed vowel "a" through the rest of the vowels to the closed mouth "m" (A + U + M), followed by "silence." In the Mandukya Upanishad, this striking sequence of sounds and silence represents “the universe.” The simple melodies are derived from the audible overtones of the sung "aum."