Beethoven, Gong Baths and the Muppets!

52@50 no. 12 - Sunday Morning Concert at Wigmore Hall

30 years ago my husband used to go to the Sunday morning recitals at Wigmore Hall just behind Oxford Street in London.  Although I've been to other classical concerts in different venues over the years, I'd never been to the Wigmore Hall so whilst thinking about things I'd like to do in my 50th year I thought we sould rectify this.  

The Wigmore Hall was originally built in 1901 by a German piano firm called Bechstein next to its showrooms on Wigmore Street. The Hall was intended to be "grandly impressive while remaining intimate enough for recitals".

With the outbreak of war in 1914 the German company was forced to sell it's business - including studios, offices, warehouses, 137 pianos and the Hall itself - and it was sold to Debenhams for £56,500. A bargain considering the Hall alone had cost £100,000 to build. It reopened in 1917 under it's new name Wigmore Hall and became an internationally recognised venue with near-perfect acoustics. Today it hosts over 400 concerts a year and a weekly concert which is broadcast on Radio 3. It is also a centre of education, offering many family concerts and workshops, study events and masterclasses.

Inside the Wigmore Hall

and outside

Playing for us were the Danish String Quartet and the pieces we enjoyed were String Quartet in D major by Haydn, String Quartet in C minor by Beethoven followed by a traditional Scandinavian piece. I'm really not a classical music expert I just know when I like what I'm hearing and I did indeed. The pieces were melodious and the players energised and expressive. These Sunday morning concerts are short - just an hour - and coffee is served afterwards, although most of the audience (who were mainly of a much older generation) went straight for the sherry! We then enjoyed a picnic lunch in the sunshine (this event was the weekend before last) before 'Boris Bike' cycling back to Waterloo (see last week's blog). A very cultured Sunday.  

52@50 no. 13 - Sunday Evening Sound Therapy and Gong Bath Meditation

This Sunday I participated in another musical 'first' - a gong bath.  I've been in a sound healing class before where Tibetan singing bowls were used to create the sound, but I hadn't experienced the powerful tones of a gong before. Sometimes also known as a gong meditation, it's called a 'bath' because you are bathed in sound - it reverberates all around you and right through you.  

The class was held in Cobham Village Hall by a couple who offer sound healing around the Elmbridge district (The Alchemy of Sound: South West London and Surrey). The hall was set up with 10 yoga mats arranged in a circle, each with a blanket and cushion. In the centre was a big gong, various mallets, a crystal singing bowl, a drum and some bells. Intriguing! We sat to do some chanting - a few simple rounds of  'om', then we laid down and got comfortable, ready to receive the sound healing.  First some high frequency sounds from the crystal bowl - clear, single, ringing notes, then the duller thud of a drum took over. The small drum was being walked around the outside of the circle so each of us could feel the vibrations close to the head.  Then for the next 45 minutes or so the gong was played and waves of sound filled the room and resonated around and through me. It was very relaxing - I almost dropped off to sleep! I understand that's not unusual! 

Apparently, the brain can't predict or follow the notes of the gong so it doesn't try. It relaxes so much that the brain wave patterns change from Beta (waking state) to Alpha (relaxation state) to Theta and Delta (meditative states). This therapy is said to clear energy blockages within the body and release all the muscles, leaving you feeling completely rested with a sense of liberation. I certainly felt great afterwards and I slept really deeply that night. I'd definitely go to a gong meditation again and am curious to experience how other practitioners (if that's the right word for a gong player) offer the therapy and to feel and hear the various sounds that different gongs make.

Your Questions Answered... why do some yoga teachers play music in class while others don't? 

It really depends on the teacher and the style of yoga being practiced. Traditionally music is not played in yoga classes. If you attend a class from a particular lineage, such as an Iyengar, Sivananda or Ashtanga, then they will usually stick to the traditional way of doing things and they won't play music. Any form of distraction from the focussed attention is not encouraged. However, in recent years new styles of yoga have been created which offer a blend of the traditional methods. In a vinyasa flow class it is common to hear music and in a Jivamukti class there will always be a playlist, often containing contemporary chanting tracks, to accompany the class. The music helps to lift the energy at some points, and soothe and quieten busy minds at others. 

I did my training with Ruth White who had been a student of BKS Iyengar and as such followed his traditional methods and music was never played in her classes.  I have subsequently done trainings and taken many classes with teachers who are well-know for their creative playlists - Shiva Rea being the most influential to me. She plays tracks with a really good beat which always fit the rhythm of the sequence of postures. From her I learned how to match the rise and fall of the energy of the sequence to the music and therefore guide the flow of the class - upbeat but steady rhythm for Sun Salutations, melodic and ambient sounds for the more static postures and quiet relaxation music for Savasana. I rarely play tracks with vocals as I find them distracting but carefully chosen tracks with gentle rhythm work well.

Therefore, in my opinion, it's all down to personal preference. Don't like music in class and find it a distraction? Go to an Iyengar class. Like an eclectic mix of devotional chants and contemporary music, try Jivamukti. Enjoy music in the background to create a soothing ambience? Come to one of my classes where the music is chosen to match postures with minimal vocals for minimum distraction. When practicing at home, it's completely up to you and your mood whether you do your yoga to the tones of DJ Drez or Beethoven or just the sound of your own breath. And it's good to have the choice. 

This Week's Recipe... Beetroot and Apple Soup

It's soup season! The beginning of autumn finds me reaching for the root vegetables and cooking up batches of simple healthy soups to enjoy for a quick and easy lunch.  

I've never made a recipe with beetroot before. I've always been a bit unsure of it - how do I cook it, how do I peel it and how do I avoid getting pink juice everywhere?! A friend made me a delicious salad with beetroot last week and it inspired me to be a bit braver and use beetroot more.  So, here it is ... my first attempt at beetroot and apple soup... and very successful and yummy it was too. And easy - no peeling or pre-cooking required, and only a bit of juice mopping! And gorgeously deep pink against the white bowl too.

You will need:

• 350g uncooked beetroot
• 1 medium onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 eating apple
• 25g unsalted butter 
• 500ml vegetable stock (Marigold Vegetable Bouillon is the best)
• sea salt and black pepper
• a swirl of Greek yoghurt to serve if required

And here's how to make it:

• Peel and chop the onions and the garlic.
• Melt the butter in a large pan and fry the onion and garlic for 5 minutes until soft, stirring occasionally.
• Wash and trim the ends off the beetroot. Don't bother to peel it, just chop and then add to the onions and garlic. 
• Core and slice the apple and add to the onions and continue to fry for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
• Add the stock and seasoning, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes. Allow to cool enough before whizzing in the blender until smooth, then return to the saucepan to reheat. 
• Add more seasoning to taste if required and serve (with a swirl of Greek yoghurt for added beautifulness!)   

So pretty and pink!

This Week's Musical Offering... For What It's Worth by DJ Drez .  A great steady beat for doing slow sun salutations to.  I play this in class quite often, but does it ring any other bells (pardon the musical pun) for you?.....

And finally, connected to the track above is this week's video....

When I first heard the above track by DJ Drez it sounded familiar. I knew I knew it but I just couldn't place how, what or where I knew it from. Then one day I was doing my practice (fortunately it wasn't in front of the class - that would have been funny!) and this track was on in the background and I just sung out "Stop children. What's that sound? Everybody look what's going round" and it all came back to me.... The Muppets!!!  I remember this sketch from the Muppet Show even though I was very young and I only heard it the once (no video to record it and no YouTube to look it up on back then). It had a profound effect - I remember I intensely disliked the noisy men with guns who were disturbing the lovely peaceful woodland animals.  Well things haven't changed! There are still, unfortunately, noisy men with guns in this world and I still dislike them! And in case you think you've heard it before even the Muppets used it, the original track was by Buffalo Springfield and it's called For What It's Worth.  

The power of music...  Enjoy.... it's fab...