I’ve got some pretty cool playlists planned for May, but before I can share the tuneage with my yoga classes, I need to figure out how to use my new IPhone (I just switched from a BlackBerry), so wish me luck and a lot of patience.
Thought I would share my class playlist from this past week. I threw in some rock, reggae, rap, a song that probably was not the most appropriate for a yoga class, a personal mantra for living, and a few inspirational messages that all mashed up together quite nicely.
Opening Breath Meditation and Warm-ups
“After The Harvest” · The Angels of Venice
From Summer Solstice 2: A Windham Hill Collection – this CD has a nice mix of beautiful, mellow cuts that are perfect for grounding exercises at the beginning or end of class.
“All Woman” · Lisa Stansfield
I know the men in my class were getting in touch with their feminine side while listening to this one.
“Don’t Know Why” · Norah Jones
Standing — Sun Salutations and Flowing Sequences (e.g., yoga-mat dancing)
“All You Need is Love” · The Beatles
“Back on the Chain Gang” · The Pretenders
Shout-out to Akron, Ohio, native Chrissy! The acoustic version from the Isle of View album.
“Back to Black” · Amy Winehouse
I really love Amy’s music, but it was tough finding one appropriate to play, because songs like “Rehab” were not going to make the cut. I’ll admit, the lyrics of this song are about a bad breakup, but I just love the retro sound and beat of this song. I took the class through an empowering flow from a reverse warrior facing the front wall to one facing the back wall (I coined it the double reverse warrior), so we were all focused more on the flow and not so much on the words during this one, and it just all flowed together.
“But we’re never gonna survive unless we get a little crazy
No, we’re never gonna survive unless we are a little crazy.”
Great advice from Seal and a little bit of a personal mantra for me.
“Ganesh is Fresh” · MC Yogi
How can you not smile when you hear a rap song about Ganesh during yoga class?
“Got to Get You into My Life” · Earth, Wind & Fire
This song does two things for me: it makes me incredibly happy, and it makes me want to dance on my yoga mat.
Floor — Back Bends, Heart Openers, Hip Openers, Abdominals, and Twists
“Could You Be Loved” · Bob Marley & The Wailers
The prerequisite reggae song (every yoga class needs at least one).
I’ve always loved Elton and let’s just say this prolific man has an incredible song list to pick from, so you will see him pop up often in my playlists. This love ballad has a special place in my heart, and I wanted to share its lovely message with my students…
“You, you’ll be blessed
You’ll have the best, I promise you that
I’ll pick a star from the sky, pull your name from my hat
I promise you that, promise you that
Promise you that, you’ll be blessed.” —Lyrics from “Blessed” by Elton John
“Angel” · Sarah McLachlan
Last week I included “Sweet Surrender” in my playlist, so Sarah has made the list two weeks in a row! Sarah just rocks and she is an avid yoga practitioner (she’s been practicing for 13 years). In a recent article in Yoga Journal, she had this to say about yoga: “I love the discipline. I love the focus. I tend to be a little airy fairy, and I just love that hour and a half where I can be completely and utterly in the moment. It grounds me. It just solidifies everything for me and allows me to be completely in the moment for myself, with myself. I need that.”
Savasana
“Bathe In These Waters” · Donna De Lory
Donna’s voice is just so sweet and calming and perfect for savasana. I got this track off the Yoga Revolution CD and really need to check out more of Donna’s music. BTW, I highly recommend Yoga Revolution, a compilation of yogalicious artists (Guru Singh, Sarah McLachlan, Wah!, Sheryl Crow, and Peter Gabriel are just a few) with songs perfect for yoga playlists.
I really liked this playlist! Especially the version of “Back on the Chain Gang”
Thanks Abby that version of “Back on the Chain Gang” was from a 1995 live album called The Isle of View – all unplugged – all awesome.
Ah, love this! Never thought of Back on the Chain Gang for yoga my dear but I see it works! I made a fun spring playlist I will send you. Yoga playlists…so fun!! Thanks for sharing!
Cathy
I’m ready to come and take your class just based on the playlist!!
I use my iPhone as my iPod for my classes. Just be sure to go to settings and turn on airplane mode first. That way texts and calls won’t come thru and turn off the music! Yep – learned that one the hard way.
I love your playlists. I may borrow some of your suggestions if that’s ok?