Yoga Music, Meditation Music and more…
Music is a hugely important part of life for many of us; it is part of many favourite memories, creates the mood at many occasions and is an art form that transcends cultures. Music has played a huge role throughout history and has brought humans together for generations from singing and dancing around campfires to finding shared interests with others through the bands and songs you listen to.
But do yoga and music go together? Our answer is yes, of course, they do! Music can be very emotive and help create positive or negative feelings, it’s also something that brings people together and both of these are core reasons why yoga and music go hand in hand.
That’s not to say that every yoga class should have music, but there is certainly a space for music within the yoga practice. In some practices, silence is good and very much part of the experience, but sometimes music can be uplifting and motivational. If the music follows your sequence it can help with the flow of the session too.
Music can also be a way to differentiate you from other yoga instructors and help generate more business, however with that comes the added responsibility of creating playlists for your classes and keeping these updated and ready to go for any new sequence you create. However, it doesn’t have to be hard to create a playlist it can be an easy and enjoyable experience.
In this article, we look at some of the things you should consider when creating a yoga playlist and also share with you some of the songs that Amanda and Rachael, the Ana Heart founders use as a core building block of their yoga practices.
What to consider when creating a yoga playlist
- Class type and pace – The type of yoga you teach and the speed and flow of your sequence will have a huge impact on your music choice as the music will help dictate the pace of the class.
- Time of day – the music that you will be using for your morning class should be different from the music you would use for an evening class. Think awakening and uplifting music for the morning and relaxing music to help you de-stress in the evening.
- Environment – where are you teaching your class? The setting might impact on the type of music you want to use.
- Who attends your class? – The demographic of your class will also have an impact on the music you choose as you don’t want music that would put off your attendees.
- What mood are you trying to create? – The mood of your class will change depending on the type of yoga, the season of the year or potentially the weather! Choose music that will create the mood that you want.
- Words or no words? – This is a tough one – words can be distracting in yoga practice, but they can also be hugely uplifting there will be a bit of trial and error involved in working out which works best for your class and sequence.
- Song Length – This can be dependent on both the song itself and the type of yoga. If you are doing a Yin or restorative class, for example, you might want longer songs as you hold the postures longer.
Yoga Music | Ana Heart
Our Founders pick of yoga music
Ana Heart founders Amanda and Rachael both use music as part of their yoga teaching and choosing the appropriate music is a fundamental part of this.
Rachael approaches her music selection very carefully and can be picky about her choices. She finds that it can sometimes take quite a bit of time and patience to get the perfect soundtrack for her yoga classes.
However Rachael doesn’t just use standard meditation yoga music; her genuine interest and passion in getting the music right mean that some of her choices are often described as extravagant, unique or somewhat eccentric. Choosing the music for the class she considers mood to be an important factor and plays with music that is mellow, energetic, romantic and upbeat until she has the perfect list to match the flow of her class.
Some of the current songs in her playlist include:
- Rag’n’Bone Man – Human – This is a song that most people will be familiar with after its recent chart success. The beat makes it great for counting how long to hold a pose and also for transitioning. Although this song has words, the deep melodic voice is quite soothing and the repetitiveness ensures that it isn’t too distracting.
- Bedouin – White Ocean – This song is primarily instrumental with some voices which come in and out as though they are calling or meditating. The consistent beat in the background can really help you focus in on your practice and the melody and voices are soothing and calming. The song changes in the middle with the beat dropping out and the melody taking over. This part is great for a pose that requires a longer hold before the beat kicks back in again and you continue with your sequence.
- Juah – Leaving Berlin- This instrumental song is both relaxing and upbeat at the same time. The pace of the song makes it suitable for many varieties of yoga as you can easily see how it would work for both counting beats for the length of time you need to hold your pose and also how you can use this for effective transitioning. The song is repetitive without being boring thanks to the melody over the top.
- Khan feat Julee Cruise – Say goodbye – This song is pretty much all beat and that’s what makes it so good! Over the beat, there’s music and a beautiful voice, but thanks to the ever present beat it works. This song is energetic and would definitely encourage people to push on with their practice and challenge themselves.
You can listen to a selection of our music here
Music can be a great addition to your yoga class if used wisely. As you can see from the song choices above there are lots of different choices available. If you’re interested in trying to add music into your class then try it! Be sure to practice on your own a few times before introducing it to your class and when you do be confident about it, if you find it doesn’t work you can always change it up. There are loads of options available on platforms like Sound Cloud and Spotify and as you can see from Amanda and Rachael’s choices you can be as adventurous as you want with your song choices!