Five Amazing Playlists for your Yoga Classes or Focused Work Time

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I feel like absolutely one of the luckiest humans because I have been granted the special gift of being able to teach yoga a couple of times a week.  I teach in a gorgeous, community-forward studio along with some really special venues in my town including a beautiful barn built for weddings and other events by one of my former students and an incredible urban green space—Bell Tower Green—which turned asphalt into inspiration in the middle of my downtown district in Salisbury, opening in the Fall of 2021.  By day, I am a high school visual arts teacher, but I fill my metaphorical bucket by teaching yoga.  The energy brought into a room with people who choose to roll out their mats is incredible and beyond measure, and I am so grateful I made the choice to train with the talented Sandy Raper in 2017-2018, earning my 200-hour, Registered Yoga Teacher status, and I have been teaching pretty much ever since my YTT graduation--even going online for a year solid to keep our yoga community connected when the world and our studios shut down in 2020.

Music is also a huge part of my life, and live music is another huge bucket filler for me. I love to dance and wiggle and be a part of community within a community at festivals and shows. You can be sure that at any time during the year, I have at least one concert scheduled in on my paper calendar; likely more. So a carefully-curated playlist for the yoga classes I teach is super important to me.  The playlists I create align with the way I was trained to teach my yoga classes—in “sequencing chapters.”  Music starts soft and slowly for chapter 1 where, as a facilitator of the flow, I work with students to center and warm up as well as build rhythm.  The music pics up in cadence as the flow picks up as well in chapters 2, 3, and 4–standing poses, balancing poses, and core and/or inversions, respectively.  As we move back to the mat in chapters 5 for backbends like bridge or wheel and then stay on the mat for chapter 6—hips and finishing poses like happy baby and supine twists, the music begins to settle, mimicking our flow allowing us to settle onto our mats.  Chapter 7 is savasana, the moment we’ve been waiting for, and this state of conscious relaxation is matched by music that allows us to do just that.  

I gather up songs over time always adding things that catch my ear to my Spotify playlist I’ve name “new yoga music.” (Click here to find me on Spotify: @meredith.abramson) These songs might come through the radio, be something I Shazam while I’m out and about, gather while in other teachers’ yoga classes, or fellow music-loving friends share with me.  About every six months, I comb through that particular playlist and attempt to craft a catalog of songs that effectively matches up with the sequences I create aligned with the aforementioned chapters.  Because the start of my yoga practice is ritualistic—settling into stillness (often in sukhasana) as we center and settle ourselves before building that rhythm as we then start to work up the superficial lines of our body—I usually do not begin playing the music until we’re well into that warming-up movement at about 6-8 minutes into our practice.  Very few of my playlist songs have lyrics, and that is by design. One of my main missions is to allow people to truly be able to turn inward during practice, and I know from experience that lyrics often bring me out of that ability to turn inward (because I have a tendency to want to sing along). So, while there are plenty of valid opinions on this topic, I tend to go with lyric-less songs. My playlists cover about 45-50 minutes of the flow and up to 5 minutes of savasana.  The savasana music has been indicated under each clickable link, but the two or three songs that come after savasana are even more easy to identify as they’re usually with lyrics, a bit more upbeat, and the the post-class songs that I play as people gather up their goodies and exit the studio.  

If you’ve ever struggled finding the “just right” songs to play during your personal practice or while you’re teaching, know that I am here for you and willing to share the goodness I’ve created with my carefully-curated playlists.  Sharing is caring, and I can’t wait to hear what you think of these lists.  By the way, I’ve named them based on the time frame or venue in which I teach.  While the year may seem dated, know that music transcends time and space. There's plenty more on my Spotify profile; feel free to follow me and like those other playlists on Spotify as well. This blog just highlights five of my faves.

Also, note to my fellow school teachers—I play these playlists in class all the time.  They’re totally chill and perfect for ambient sounds in the room that I find relax my students and help them settle into work mode at school.  In fact, as I work on this blog, I have one playing.  Obviously, hearing the music was inspiration for putting pen to paper, but it’s nice to know that I am exemplifying my case in point as I write today.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to send me an email at meredith@bigloveyogalife.com

Big love!

Meredith

🎵 Yoga Playlist One🎵 (named "Summer 2023" on Spotify)

Sometimes, it's one single song that inspires me to sit down and build a playlist, and that's the case with playlist #1. Since we're approaching summer and this playlist has all the summer feels, this is the one I will share with you first. The song that inspired this list is the opening song, "Avril 14th," and as soon as I heard it, I knew it would be the playlist opener. That first song really sets the tone, and this playlist is one of my favorites.

CLICK HERE to access playlist --> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6XtGHKsKPdyZDz6I6ZIneN?si=a1d2b1abf0b647c5

Savasana song: "Rest" 🙏🏼

🎵 Yoga Playlist Two 🎵 (named "Early Spring 2024" on Spotify)

My most recently-built playlist, created because I got hold of of Nightmare on Wax's collaboration with Jack Johnson "Better Together." This song reminds me of my daughters and my hubs, and was instantly inspired to create a playlist around that one song. This series of songs has a sense of awakening; while our winter in North Carolina wasn't a harsh one at all, the songs curated for this list helped me come out of those shorter, darker days and watch the world awaken. It's a good one.

CLICK HERE to access playlist --> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5V76kLRhZYbiJ2CO5ZzrTP?si=db081abc5679496e

Savasana song: "The Southern Sea" 🙏🏼

🎵 Yoga Playlist Three 🎵 (named "Yoga at the Barn" on Spotify)

I built this playlist to teach at one of my favorite venues--the barn at Cedar Hill Events. I began teaching there as we were emerging from strict Covid restrictions (and the studios were all still closed). The barn opens completely on three sides, so the open-air practice is special and gorgeous. This playlist suits that vibe.

CLICK HERE to access playlist --> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6udNAIENKHXXgqfWAxSnSW?si=438c0b4f04454e22

Savasana song: "Santosa (Contentment)" 🙏🏼

🎵 Yoga Playlist Four🎵 (named "Yoga Fall 2022" on Spotify)

I love this playlist. Perfect for the fall, the songs all feel warm and snuggly while practicing. I enjoy fall and the natural inclination to settle a bit, and this playlist resonates with those autumnal patterns. "Fine Corinthian Leather" is really perfect for landing back on the mat and easing in to spinal twists and hip openers like happy baby. Enjoy.

CLICK HERE to access playlist --> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5y94CRAb4hEf36oCuvB7OO?si=5e911e82106d444b

Savasana song: "In Dreams" 🙏🏼

🎵 Yoga Playlist Five🎵 (named "Yoga Winter 2022" on Spotify)

Sometimes playlists just come together from the get-go, and this one is a case-in-point. I don't recall what was the "one song" for this playlist, but I do know that I had to make ZERO adjustments once I rolled this one out. These jammy songs will bring you some warmth and sunshine through the winter months, and because of that, it isn't JUST for winter.

CLICK HERE to access playlist --> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/76k9oeZTbxkpnH0tviZOUU?si=2920f655df0b4b98

Savasana song: "At Ease" 🙏🏼

Big love coming your way! Thanks for reading.