Savasanas

Gabriele Morgan

"Savasanas I - IV" is the first entry in a new series of works called "Inner Time Music". Inner Time Music allows the listener to drift into deep inner realms and disconnect from the temporal commandments of our usual physical focus which insists that we keep up with the pace dictated by the clocks, cell phones, computers, radios and other devices which structure our days; instead, it invites us to recharge our beings in the spacious timeless dimensions within in which we each have our source, by creating an environment of magnetic, potent but gentle musical beauty that focuses attention while calming the nervous system.


The concept was born when master yoga teacher Annie Carpenter commissioned Gabriele to create music to accompany the final, deep relaxation section (the yoga posture or "asana" known as "Corpse Pose" or, in Sanskrit, "Savasana") of class on a DVD for participants in a UCLA School of Medicine pilot study designed and taught by Annie (“Yoga For Women With Hyperkyphosis”.)The only guidelines given for the music were that there must be no pulse in the compositions, that they had to be two minutes long, and that several were needed for different sequences.


These original short pieces found their way into the hands of another well known and respected Los Angeles yoga teacher, Vinnie Marino (both Vinnie and Annie teach at Yoga Works in Santa Monica). Vinnie found the pieces totally captivating but too short to allow for a prolonged period of exploration of this most potentially rejuvenating asana, and he suggested they be expanded to 10 minutes each and that 4 of them comprise a CD he could use in his class and in his personal practice. This CD is the result of that suggestion.


Although they do not contain anything marking time, these works are not formless. They each have central themes which are stated and evolve and reprise as each track develops, so they are not purely ambient in that respect. Three of the four tracks employ voice as a component but there are no words. They feature familiar western instruments: acoustic and electric guitar, piano, synthesizer, and Gabriele's emotional, mood-setting vocal textures.
They are recommended for any activities where relaxation and letting go are primary goals and are extremely effective in inducing a restorative, reflective space in which to inhabit the moment.