I have to let you in on a favorite go-to album for my yoga class playlists. The music is a funky mash-up of East and West: traditional Indian instruments and drums fused with hip hop beats and beautiful mantras layered into the dub. No distracting lyrics, no airy-fairy yoga music – this one is full-on yoga class playlist nirvana!

Jahta Beat – The Lotus Memoirs by DJ Drez

Almost every one of the 15 tracks on this album has showed up on my yoga class playlists, and by far one of my favorites is “For What It’s Worth,” an adaptation of Buffalo Springfield’s classic done in a groovy, mystical style.

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The titles “Nectar Drop” and “Yearning” say it all; they are dreamy, magical, and perfect for flowing through a Vinyasa yoga class with sounds of sitar, horn, piano, and drums mixed together with traditional Indian vocals.

 

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“Yearning”

I’m always searching for awesome music to play in my yoga classes. I like to use upbeat music, but often what I’d like to play has lyrics that are either too distracting or inappropriate for class. When searching for “yoga music,” the typical fare tends to be either too new agey or techno for me. So you can imagine my delight when I attended Tadasana Festival last year and had my yoga musical horizons expanded. There I got to practice yoga to the LIVE musical stylings of incredible artists like Aykanna, Morley, Annmarie Soul, Manose, DJ Fabian Alsultany, and of course DJ Drez, who all offer music perfect for practicing yoga.

 

DJ Drez at TF

DJ Drez performing live at the 2012 Tadasana Festival in Santa Monica, CA

DJ Drez (sometimes affectionately referred to as Dr. EZ) is not only one of the highest ranking DJs and producers in LA’s underground music scene, but he is also a certified yoga instructor who teaches privately in Los Angeles and spends time helping fellow musicians with their practice. You can catch him this summer at one of the Wanderlust Festivals, Hanuman Festival, and lots of other cool yoga festivals.

I was thrilled to find out that this album is the fourth installment in the Jahta Beat series. The other three will be filling up my yoga class playlists real soon.

You can pick up this album from White Swan Sounds, and if you have not checked out the offerings from this label, I encourage you to do so. Sign up for their email newsletter and take advantage of the FREE weekly download they make available. I’ve scored quite a few great tracks for my playlists from the awesome peeps at White Swan Sounds (the sister label to Black Swan) and like supporting a label that is all about promoting the artists that create soundtracks for the yoga of life.

Check out more cool yoga music on the Daily Downward Dog and recent reviews of music by C.C. White and MC Yogi.

Follow DJ Drez on Facebook and Twitter

Follow White Swan Sounds on Facebook and Twitter

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