There are many views on music during Yoga. Some are against it, some are only looking for instrumental background ambiance, while others take it to the next level—using music to create a unique and personal feeling to their classes building their own playlists or even composing their own music. We do think there are some guidelines to follow to make the perfect yoga music playlist for your session classes or your home practice.
Nomade Records specialises in Yoga music. Please look around the site for Yoga Music playlists, yoga artist and more yoga music content.
If it’s for your yourself it’s easy. You pick what works for your program. On the other hand, if you are also a teacher, there may be a bit more to it. It is important to know the energy of the class. Here are 5 tips that you might find useful to make your yoga music selection for a yoga class:
Start slow and easy
Think of your music like a fish. You need to give time and space at both the beginning and end for breath. Music with too fast of a beat early on may inspire you to move too quick and skip the connection you need with your breath. Music with too active instrumentation or even lyrics may make Savasana difficult.
Avoid sad songs or songs with a sad undertone. You want an uplifting feel when you began. Typical for staring songs is that they are in Major key and a relatively slow tempo. Some might have chants but mostly humming if any vocals.
Adam G is a great example of a Major Key song well suited to start a Yoga cass
Mix from one song to another
Make sure you listen to your playlist in context. The flow from one song to another should be smooth and ideally not noticeable. A trick here is to chose music from the same artist, a well curated Yoga Music playlist or use music analysis tools to check for Key and BPM. In most cases you will hear if the transition goes smoothly. The yoga music artists on Nomade Records are all specialist in this and are for that reason booked for sessions around the world to perform with Yoga instructors.
Check this Yoga Flow playlist and how well it flows from one song to another..
Don’t use hits for Yoga Music classes
Lyrics creates images in people’s mind. That will distract for focusing during class. Pop songs also might carry different meaning to people – especially if they had a bad experience with that particular song or simply don’t like it. Try to use instrumental covers instead if you really want to use a particular song.
Franz Schrõder is a great pianist doing lots of modern covers. A great place to start.
Have a few extra just in case
Keep in mind that there is a time before and after the session that can be used to get the class into the mood even before you start or easing them out after the session. So having another 4-5 songs would never hurt. This will also be good to adding variation for the next session.
Our artist Bo Degas curates a great Yoga Music playlist that might serve some inspiration for more songs.
We researched over 100 000 Spotify playlists to find the most popular Yoga track out there. There are some amazing tracks by incredible bands and yoga musicians. Yoga music is a very wide genre, but commonly the music is soothing, smooth and intended for peace of mind.
A good Yoga playlist is hard to come by. We have collected some of the best yoga music playlists for you. These are among the best and most followed Yoga playlist on Spotify.
Yoga Flow
Young Jing is one of the world’s leading yoga music DJ and producers with hundreds of thousands monthly listeners on Spotify. He frequently plays at Yoga festivals.
Yoga Music
Bo Degas, another leading Yoga DJ. Bo curates Yoga Music on his artist profile in Spotify.
What is the best yoga playlist? What is the most popular yoga music playlist? And what is good yoga music? It is tricky to say. You might have found the perfect yoga playlist for relaxation, and then your concentration is shattered by an impromptu electronic number. Or you are in the middle of an upbeat yoga flow class, only to be interrupted by Grieg or Bach.
Popular yoga music playlist
Thankfully, Spotify is one of the easiest places to find popular yoga music playlists to suit all taste preferences. Whether you are looking for yoga music suitable for your class, or for an upbeat workout 1 hour booster, Nomade Records and our world class yoga music artists has you covered with our list of the following playlist variations.
#1 – Yoga Flow by Young Jing
Young Jing is a South Korean musician and music producer who has created one of the most popular yoga music playlists, on the Spotify platform to date. With 150K monthly listeners and over 100k likes, Young Jing’s Yoga Flow comes highly endorsed, from Yogis across the globe.
The first song you will find on this playlist is a low-fi ethereal dream, recorded by Young Jing himself dubbed ‘Sunset’. This song incorporates relaxing beats, with a dream-like voice that echoes in the distance, making it the perfect introduction to a brand new day.
#2 – Yoga Music by Bo Degas
Bo Degas boosts over 50.000 monthly listeners on Spotify and knows his Yoga Music game. The playlist is a versatile yoga playlist for most forms of Yoga. The playlist starts with the track Waves. A perfect start for a yoga class with its hypnotic marimba like riff. Young Jing has collaborated with Bo Degas on Waves, and you can hear both artist well on the track. Waves is followed by Swimming In Tigris by Adam G. Adam G is also a Nomade Records artist churning out beautiful yoga tracks. An artist to look out for on the yoga scene.
#3 – Yoga Girl Playlist of the month by Yoga Girl
This popular yoga music playlist has been handpicked to help listeners ease the body and mind into a relaxing session of vinyasa yoga. With a mixture of instrumental and indie sounds, including music from the likes of HIAM and Ben Howard, the Yoga Girl: Playlist of the Month is an excellent example of a yoga playlist designed to benefit your practice and integrate popular music.
Yoga Girl Playlist of the month is hosted by https://www.yogagirl.com/ as Swedish yoga community run by Rachel Brathen. Rachel is a Swedish yoga teacher, a pioneer of paddleboard yoga, and the founder of Island Yoga Aruba in the Caribbean. She is the author of the best-selling 2015 book Yoga Girl.
#4 – Yoga Playlist of the Month by Sol Rising
Sol Rising’s Yoga Playlist of the month is the perfect modern playlist, for those of you who are looking to be gently soothed into your session. With gentle instrumental sounds, these frequency-inspired tracks will take you to emotional highs and lows, as you alter your positions.
Sol Rising is an international touring DJ playing yoga festivals in the US, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia at festivals such as Wanderlust, Burning Man and Lightning in a Bottle.
#5 – R&B Yoga with Dianne Bondy
Dianne Bondy is a social justice activist, author, and yoga teacher with an emphasis on accessibility – her inclusive approach means anyone can practice, regardless of their shape, size, ethnicity, or level of ability.
Her yoga song playlist includes well-known artists such as Mary J Blige, Chaka Khan and Diana Ross and is sure to make your class one to remember. Get into the groove and embrace the upbeat sound, whilst you work up a sweat.
Dianne Bondy is a celebrated yoga teacher, social justice activist and leading voice of the Yoga For All movement. Her inclusive view of yoga asana and philosophy inspires and empowers thousands of followers around the world – regardless of their shape, size, ethnicity, or level of ability.
Top 10 yoga music artists?
If you are looking for top Yoga Music songs or artists, see our countdown here…
#6 – Jivamukti Yoga by Christoph Blomquist
Any yoga song playlist that features the legendary Fleetwood Mac must be popular! Christoph Blomquist: Jivamukti Yoga has proven to be a hit with yoga lovers across the world.
Jivamukti yoga combines the intense structure and physicality of vinyasa yoga, with meditation and Hindu spiritual teachings. These seemingly polar opposite experiences are perfectly encapsulated in the playlist, which vacillates between electric ethereal beats, to a softer melancholic sound. The transition from your intense class to a meditation session with this yoga workout music playlist. As the playlist progresses, you will notice that the tone of the music changes, beginning with upbeat tempos and ending with soft indie vibes.
#7 – Breathe and Flow: yoga playlist of the month | breathe and flow
This modern yoga music playlist primarily provides beat-heavy songs, with powerful peaks for an upbeat vinyasa yoga session. But the Breath and Flow: yoga playlist isn’t a one trick pony, as the tracks progress you’ll find the tempo of each song is increasing before gradually slowing towards the end of the list, this is to ensure you have a relaxing end to your class.
Breathe and Flow, aka Bre and Flo are yoga instructors currently based in Mexico. They have been embarking on a trip around the world, learning new yoga techniques to incorporate into their own teachings: https://www.breatheandflow.org/
#8 – Alejandra Avila: Kundalini Yoga Mantras Sat Nam
When looking for yoga music playlist ideas, many yogi’s want songs that will help to center their focus, allowing them to engage with their present-day reality. The Alejandra Avila: Kundalini Yoga playlist achieves just that, thanks to the music included.
Much like many other entries on our list, this Spotify yoga playlist pays homage to the Indian roots of yoga, with music that is heavily influenced by Indian culture. The music featured within this playlist will help you tune out the wider world, focusing only on your current practice.
#9 – Musica para Yoga by MOINI
Moini´s Yoga playlist is more New Age leaning than the others, capturing the spirit of artists like Enya. Moini is one of the up and coming New Age artist on the globale scene.
We are finishing up the top 10 Yoga playlist chart with Sweet D. Sweet D is also touching on New Age Music in her her production style and is a well traveled Yoga DJ. You will find her on festivals like Burning Man and Lightning in a Bottle.
