I googled another term that hasn’t yet reached the www. While I’ll bet I’m one of three people who search for it, ’tis the second time I’m looking for this.

I’d like to start compiling a list of great music for vinyasa yoga. Its easy to find a million titles related to some sort of magical transcendence. I’m really looking for something more cosmopolitan to appeal to my adult preferences. Don’t get me wrong, if you like ethereal chants, that’s great. However, the closest thing to a chant I had in my culture, growing up, was Ozzy Osborne stepping on a cat. It’s just not a good fit for me.

The attributes I find highly compatible with Ashtanga or vigorous vinyasa Yoga are the following:

The best music to Yoga to has a medium paced, light-hearted rhythm that doesn’t over-power. It should make you feel lighter and it should help you stay focused when you reach your edge and reinforce the rhythm of your breath.

The singing must not make you listen to it. When you are practicing, you should not find yourself listening to the words. No vocals is good but the singing voice is arguably the most powerful musical instrument and, used skillfully, can be an amazing sub-conscious motivator. I find that foreign music works best (because I don’t understand it) but some artists are wizards at not overcoming the song. Paul Simon comes to mind. I once tried to Yoga to AC/DC. Didn’t work out so well.

Music that is more complex with lots of poly-rhythm tends to last better. Simple melodies and beats will become monotonous quickly. Its not ideal to change music in the middle of your practice!

My Present Yoga Music List

• Gigi - Africa. Probably my all-time favorite. Her voice is mesmerizing! This music drives without taking control
• Paul Simon - The Rhythm of the Saints. Never gets old. If you know it, then you know. If you don’t, it’s not the Paul Simon you’re used to.
• Leon Parker - Awakening. The album Awakening is a mix mash of percussion and bass that keeps a pleasant, groovy pulse. It’s an unusual, “world” music-ish sound (by slim)

I’ll add to this, or continue to post, as time goes on. Please let me know if you found this post andhave suggestions!

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 14th, 2007 at 5:45 am and is filed under Yoga. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.