8 Spotify Playlists for Vinyasa Yoga
Creating yoga music playlists for classes is one of my favorite parts of being a teacher. I love to create a flow through the music to match the style of the class. I teach lots of styles of yoga: yin, gentle, hatha, and vinyasa, and I make different playlists for each style. The relaxing and meditative states in a yin and gentle class call for different types of music compared to the faster movement in a hatha or a vinyasa.
Today, I am presenting just 8 of the many different playlists I use for my vinyasa style classes. Most are just general vinyasa yoga music playlists, but I’ve also added in a TBT playlist (tbt for me is late 90s early 00’s) and a Reggae inspired playlist as well. You can follow my Spotify page for my other vinyasa style lists and also my other playlists for different styles of yoga.
You can feel free to use these playlists directly or just use them as inspiration for creating your own yoga playlists.
For a vinyasa yoga playlist, you want music that gets the students moving, but isn’t too loud and crazy, it is yoga after all. My playlist usually consists of a slow start with more traditional yoga music to get the students into a calm relaxed state and to get them warmed up. Then I add in more fast-paced but still yogi-ish type of music for the bulk of the vinyasa practice. For the end I bring it back to slower-paced calming music for the cool down and relaxation portion. For Savasana, I usually put a more traditional yoga song like a mantra or some singing bowls sounds, if I am not playing the bowls myself.Â
I always like to have an eclectic sound in the music I play for classes, and music that isn't on the top 40 to give students a new sound to listen to.
Good Vibes Playlist
Reggae is one of my favorite genres I like to use in my yoga playlists. You'll usually find it sprinkled throughout all my playlists but I do have one dedicated playlist that is Reggae inspired. In my Good Vibes playlist you'll find Reggae inspired artists like SOJA and the Expendables, to more traditional artists like Bob and Ziggy Marley, and I add just a touch of Dancehall with Demarco.
Throwback music for me is music from the 90's to the early 2000's. So in my Throwback Thursday inspired playlist I have music from TLC, Aaliyah, Mariah Carey and more. I have also included instrumentals for the beginning and end of the class, so we can keep that TBT vibe while at the same time have music that isn't too distracting for Pranayama and Savasana.
Remember, everyone has a different taste in music, so feel free to add your own flare to these playlists with the style of music you like. The beauty of Spotify is that you can you easily change the songs around and can find almost any song on there too.
You can really play whatever you want, it’s your class, you will feel more comfortable and have fun teaching to the music that you love and your students will love you for it too. Music connects people and makes them feel good. I’ve made tons of connections with my students just through the music I play in class. Whether it’s about a song they’ve never heard before but loved, one of their favorite songs, or an obscure artist that they know and are delightfully surprised that I know them too. So, don’t forget to have fun with the yoga music you decide to create for your classes.
I am always adding new playlists and switching around old ones. You can follow my Spotify account here.
What are some of your favorite songs to add on your yoga playlists?
