Derek Beres – a music journalist, yoga practitioner, DJ and music producer – has created a yoga class called Flow Play for fitness company Equinox. The class showcases choreographed playlists that have been designed to incorporate scientific research and understanding about how music and movement influence brain chemistry. The result is a class that exercises mind and body, featuring music that evokes emotions to ensure people get the most out of their workouts.
Launching on 1 October at Equinox locations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas, the class was developed following Beres’ experience of yoga teachers unknowingly mismatching songs to poses.
“I’d been in classes before where you’re in a flow and they’re playing classical Indian music,” says Beres. “That kind of music has been shown to lower levels of cortisol in the blood, relaxing you – so if you’re in the middle of a physically challenging flow, it’s sending confusing messages to the brain.
“You may not be thinking about the music, but your brain is picking up on it. It’s affecting you chemically even if you don’t realise it.”
Appliance of science
While music has for a long time been used as a motivator and focal point in classes such as studio cycling and dance, yoga has been slow to pick up on it, adds Beres. He has therefore collaborated with three-time Grammy-nominated musician/producer Philip Steir to create a 30-page manual that outlines the relevant science and how to apply it – providing access to an accompanying resource archive of research, videos and books.
There will be a theme for each month around which to structure new playlists, but within that teachers will be given autonomy over which specific songs to incorporate. “The goal is to empower teachers with some of that knowledge so they can make the best possible use of the music in class,” adds Beres.
Beres himself steers towards mid-tempo electronic music for his yoga playlists, especially with Middle Eastern and African rhythms, and opts for bass and percussion rather than high-pitched sounds and too much treble.
Mainstream music should be avoided: if people recognise a song, they will be taken to places in their lives rather than be there in the moment, he adds.
Beres has devoted his life to exposing people to international music, movement and mythology and has written a number of books including Global Beat Fusion: The history of the future of music. In this book, Beres reveals how the trance-like effect on the dance floor has much in common with ancient music forms such as Sufi Dervish and the rhythms of Africa – proving music’s power on the mind.
