by Jasmine | Sep 8, 2018 | Couples Retreat, Couples Yoga, eStore, Meditation, Romantic Date Ideas, Stuff I like, Yoga Music, Yoga Teacher training
Top Yoga Meditation Music and Yoga Songs I play in Class
In a yoga class setting up a vibe with lights, music and space is such a key part of the experience. It really takes you to a sacred place and I tend to get all bejiggety is my sound system is not working. Whenever I am teaching at a new place or subbing I make sure to spend awhile understanding how their music system works (I’m not technically inclined and tend to panic when the music won’t start)
I tend to play the same 30 CDs all the time but I love picking up new ones all the time ( a few years from now this list will be very different) Even if you don’t practice yoga, these CDs will work well if you want a sacred vibe for meditation or a special ceremony. A few of them will work well for cocktail parties too. Since I work a lot with couples yoga, I am always looking for couples romance products to review and awesome yoga meditation music.
Shamanic Dream – When I play this in my classes, I almost always get a student come up and ask me what the CD is. It is hypnotic, ambient and a bit tribal all at the same time but with a fairly even tone. I teach a lot of couples yoga classes and I usually play this at the end so people can drop into a very deep space when the lights are very low. This will transport you.
Sound Sleep for Infants -Another CD you won’t usually find on your top ten yoga music CDs. I don’t know if I would play this during the entire class but it works stunningly during Shivasna. It is some ambient music with a heartbeat in the background. This doesn’t work well if there is background noise like an AC in background though. I also play this CD for 40 minutes at night when I have insomnia. This CD makes me feel like I am in the womb.
Dessert Dwellers – One of my students suggested this to me a few months ago. I tend to have a lot of CDs that are not just Sankrit chants and Ooommming. I like the chill, funky vibe but the tone is even enough to play in a class. A good one to play at cocktail hour as well.
Snautam Kaur – I discovered her when I was at Omega a few years ago. She was part of the Ecstatic Chant weekend. Don’t let her turban scare you. She does a few songs in English as well. She has a voice like an angel and you can feel her soul pouring into all of her chants. This is one of the CDs that my yoga students ask me about the most in my yoga class.
Rain – Another CD you won’t usually find on your top ten yoga music CDs. This is acoustic guitar and piano and I remember playing this when I driving around in the mountains of Vermont during the changing of the leaves. I still see the leaves whenever I listen to this. The music just matched the mood so well – melancholically beautiful.
Wah! – The ! is not a typo. I discovered Wah! when I was working at the Chopra Center in San Diego a few years ago. We used to play her CDs in the store to give it a Chopra Center vibe. I’ve seen her play a few times and it always shocks me that she is is not in bigger venues ( she usually leads a Kirtan at a yoga studio) If Natalie Merchant and a chanting Indian guru had a baby then this is who they would produce.
Yoga & Meditation Music and Song Reviews
Le Spa Sonique – Don’t let the purple flowers scare you. This had a euro chill kind of vibe to it, sweet, sultry and sexy. I think I discovered this at Kripalu a few years ago.The beat can be a bit funky and might not work that well during shivasana. This is a great CD to play for a cocktail hour as well.
Deva Premal & Mitten I don’t think you can call yourself a yoga teacher unless you have at least 2 of their DVDs. Deva’s voice is like an angel and their tunes are soulful, sensual and penetrating. I get plenty of students that come up to me after class asking what the music is. I remember the first time I went to one of their concerts. They think of their concerts more like a group of people getting together and singing…very interactive and the way that they lead some of the mantras you’ll feel incredibly connected to the ether of the universe. My favorite song is in English though, “There is so Much Magnificence”. http://www.devapremalmiten.com/ I love Deva Premal yoga music and her songs are so soulful.
Krishna Das What Bruce Springsteen is to Modern Rock, Krishna Das is to the kirtan (group chant) scene. I saw him perform at Omega a few years ago and have been a fan ever since. His songs are in Sankrit which could turn off some of your students ( or could turn the other ones on…everybody’s different). His CDs are good to play in class but attend one of his live shows and watch yogis jump and twirl around in delirium to his music.http://www.krishnadas.com
RECENT BLOG POSTS
- My Review of Amazingself.com – Fine-Tuning Your Eating, Skin, Wallet and Mindset
- Sleeping with Your Enemy or Shooting Your Enemy? My Review of SaveTheMarriage.com
- Partner Yoga for Beginners and Partner Yoga DVDs and Videos
- Romantic Ideas, Romance Tips and Top 9 Romance Sites for the Love-Challenge
- Yoga for Couples – Sexuality and Spirituality Merge in Yoga Poses and Couples Meditation
- Couples Yoga Poses and Couples Meditation Benefits
by Jasmine | Sep 1, 2018 | Yoga Music
I wrote this post about 6 years ago but just wanted to re-post it.
Our family went to the stunning Fingerlakes region of New York state and got to see an intimate Krishna Das Kirtan event at the Hangar theatre. For those of you that are new to Kirtan, it is a call and response performance where the leader is chanting out sanskrit chants involving various Hindu gods such as Krishna, Ganesh or Shiva. Kirtan discovered me about ten years ago in San Diego at a Deva Premal and Miten performance in San Diego. I didn’t know anything about Kirtan and had never been to this kind of performance where the audience is completely involved and engaged.
What is Kirtan? What will change in your life after Kirtan?
Most Kirtan aritsts don’t consider it a “concert” or”performance’ but just a group of like-minded souls getting together to raise their vibrations through chanting. For those who go bonkers over the sitting and silence involved in meditation kirtan or chanting is another avenue to raise your awareness in an open-hearted and divine way and will leave you feeling blissed out and connected to the ether of the universe.
Kirtan with Krishna Das in the Fingerlakes, Ithaca, NY
Layering traditional Hindu kirtan with accessible melodies and modern instrumentation such as drums and violins, Krishna Das has been called yoga’s “rock star.” With a soulful voice that touches the deepest chord in even the most casual listener, Krishna Das has taken the call-and-response chanting out of yoga centers and into concert halls, becoming a worldwide icon, primarily in the US and Europe and the best-selling chant artist of all time, with over 300,000 records sold.
When you think of yoga and meditation students, you usually have an image of them just sitting quietly and without moving. Something about KD’s ( as his fans and friends call him) makes yogis start to twirl around in delirium… quite a sight! When I looked around the room at the Hangar Theater, I saw a wide range of demographics:from singles, couples, families and young people in their 20s to more senior folks who must have been in their 60s. I always wondered why at Kirtans I only see all whiteface. I’ve been to dozens of Kirtans and even though the music has an appeal to all age groups, it seems to just appeal to caucasians. Anyone out there have an explanation for that?
What answers will you hear from your soul after Kirtan?
Kirtan with Krishna Das in the Fingerlakes, Ithaca, NY
Something mysterious and other-worldly about the chants gets me to be present to that deep voice in my soul… when I am searching for answers to my most soul-wrenching questions, I can start to hear that quiet but wise voice which I call my soul become clear. The vibrations in the chants help you to tune into frequencies within that you can not easily access without a spiritual practice such as yoga, meditation or prayer. Have you been to a Kirtan before? What was it like for you?
by Michael | Aug 18, 2018 | Stuff I like, Yoga Music
In a yoga class setting up a vibe with lights, music and space is such a key part of the experience.
It really takes you to a sacred place and I tend to get all bejiggety is my sound system is not working. Whenever I am teaching at a new place or subbing I make sure to spend awhile understanding how their music system works (I’m not technically inclined and tend to panic when the music won’t start) I tend to play the same 30 CDs all the time but I love picking up new ones all the time ( a few years from now this list will be very different) Even if you don’t practice yoga, these CDs will work well if you want a sacred vibe for meditation or a special ceremony. A few of them will work well for cocktail parties too.
Shamanic Dream – When I play this in my classes, I almost always get a student come up and ask me what the CD is. It is hypnotic, ambient and a bit tribal all at the same time but with a fairly even tone. I teach a lot of couples yoga classes and I usually play this at the end so peple can drop into a very deep space when the lights are very low. This will transport you.
Sound Sleep for Infants -Another CD you won’t usually find on your top ten yoga music CDs. I don’t know if I would play this during the entire class but it works stunningly during Shivasna. It is some ambient music with a heartbeat in the background. This doesn’t work well if there is background noise like an AC in background though. I also play this CD for 40 minutes at night when I have insomnia. This CD makes me feel like I am in the womb.
Snatam Kaur – I discovered her when I was at Omega a few years ago. She was part of the Ecstatic Chant weekend. Don’t let her turban scare you. She does a few songs in English as well. She has a voice like an angel and you can feel her soul pouring into all of her chants. This is one of the CDs that my yoga students ask me about the most in my yoga class.
Rain – Another CD you won’t usually find on your top ten yoga music CDs. This is acoustic guitar and piano and I remember playing this when I driving around in the mountains of Vermont during the changing of the leaves. I still see the leaves whenever I listen to this. The music just matched the mood so well – melancholically beautiful.
Desert Dwellers – One of my students suggested this to me a few months ago. I tend to have a lot of CDs that are not just Sankrit chants and Ooommming. I like the chill, funky vibe but the tone is even enough to play in a class. A good one to play at cocktail hour as well.
Wah! – The ! is not a typo. I discovered Wah! when I was working at the Chopra Center in San Diego a few years ago. We used to play her CDs in the store to give it a Chopra Center vibe. I’ve seen her play a few times and it always shocks me that she is is not in bigger venues ( she usually leads a Kirtan at a yoga studio) If Natalie Merchant and a chanting Indian guru had a baby then this is who they would produce.
Le Spa Sonique – Don’t let the purple flowers scare you. This had a euro chill kind of vibe to it, sweet, sultry and sexy. I think I discovered this at Kripalu a few years ago.The beat can be a bit funky and might not work that well during shivasana. This is a great CD to play for a cocktail hour as well.
Deva Premal & Mitten I don’t think you can call yourself a yoga teacher unless you have at least 2 of their DVDs. Deva’s voice is like an angel and their tunes are soulful, sensual and penetrating. I get plenty of students that come up to me after class asking what the music is. I remember the first time I went to one of their concerts. They think of their concerts more like a group of people getting together and singing…very interactive and the way that they lead some of the mantras you’ll feel incredibly connected to the ether of the universe. My favorite song is in English though, “There is so Much Magnificence”.
Krishna Das What Bruce Springsteen is to Modern Rock, Krishna Das is to the kirtan (group chant) scene. I saw him perform at Omega a few years ago and have been a fan ever since. His songs are in Sankrit which could turn off some of your students ( or could turn the other ones on…everybody’s different). His CDs are good to play in class but attend one of his live shows and watch yogis jump and twirl around in delirium to his music. 
What are your favorite CDs or music to play during yoga or meditation? Post your thoughts on our Facebook page.
When I play this in my classes, I almost always get a student come up and ask me what the CD is. It is hypnotic, ambient and a bit tribal all at the same time but with a fairly even tone. I teach a lot of couples yoga classes and I usually play this at the end so peple can drop into a very deep space when the lights are very low. This will transport you.
by Jasmine | Mar 30, 2014 | Yoga Music, Yoga Retreat, Yoga Teacher training
One of my favorite things to do at places like Whole Foods or the store in a yoga studio is to put on headphones and listen to some of the music they are promoting. One of my main tasks when I am at Kripalu or Omega is to plunk myself down and go through dozens of CDs and then only let my self buy my favorite 10%.
Just so you understand part of my biases, if a CD has a lot of slow-moving and then fast tempo songs I tend to discard those, even if I really dig them since I want to have one consistent mood when I am teaching or practicing and don’t have to get up and change the music….I just find that disruptive for myself. I tend to stay away from stuff that has loud bells or chimes in the middle of a long tranquil spell since it breaks the mood. It’s hard to hold tree pose when all of a sudden you hear a clanging, “GONG”.
Most of the music works well for other things like massage and other spiritual activities and some of them are just slow and sensual and great for just chilling and romancing. if you don’t like hearing someone chant Oooooommmmm for a full hour when you are practicing then you can check these out.
So here is my list of Yoga Music CDs Reviews, in no particular order.
Creation by David Young – This is a great all purpose yoga, massage or just chill CD. It has an even ambient tone and no surprises on it. He has a lot of other great romantic, spiritual music, some of which are more suited to yoga than others.
Mirabai Ceiba – A Hundred Blessings. Some of the tracks are in English and some in Sanskrit and one is even in Spanish. Their voices are soothing and quite melodic but the transition from a slow paced to a fast paced song might catch you off guard if you aren’t watching the pace of your class. Suitable for a vigorously paced yoga class for some of the songs.
Snataum Kaur – She does traditional Kirtan or chanting, some in English, some in Sanskrit. One of my Indian friends hates going and hearing westerners chant in Sanskrit…she says it hurts her ears to have Westerners butcher the sacred sounds of Sanskrit. (Hey Nikita, sometimes it hurts my ears to hear you butcher the English language with your Bengali accent) Kaur’s voice is very pure and angelic. My favorite CDs of hers are Prem and Celebrate Peace. I’ve been to a few of her concerts, which are not as pulsating as Krishna Das but still a moving and profound experience.
Sounds of Sleep for Infants – I’ve never heard anyone else play this at a yoga studio or any hippy-dippy event. It is basically the sound of heartbeat with some very soft music in the background which was produced so that parents could have a way to soothe their colicky infants to sleep. I actually like playing this for myself when I go to bed and then I got the idea to play this during the restorative part of the yoga class. It’s quite hypnotic and ambient. I wouldn’t play this during a vigorous yoga class but perfect for shivasana or for a restorative or gentle class.
by Jasmine | Sep 13, 2013 | Spirituality, Tantra, Yoga Music
Deva Premal and Miten… how do I idolize thee…. let me count the ways.
For those of you that have never had sacred ecstatic chant connect you to the ether of the universe if you live near Philadelphia, your chance is coming up in 10 days.
I remember my first concert or “satsang” with them. They don’t consider their events concerts but since the audience is participating by singing along they use the sanskrit word which means’ communal gathering”.
A few hippy dippy friends of mine had invited me to their concert and I had never heard of them before. I remember being so moved by the experience… the soul-touching way that community, music and intention can bond a group of strangers and transport you to a feeling of oneness and peace. I had never experienced that before with a bunch of strangers in a dark room and words escaped me and all I could do was cry.
That was the first of about a dozen concerts from them I attended over the last 15 years or so. I’ve have since gone to many of their other satsangs in Philadelphia, New York, another time in San Diego and also at the Omega Center outside of New York City.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IFlaG45xM8#t=12 (Gayatri mantra)
They also led a dolphin retreat in the Bahamas which I was Jonesing to go. They actually lead a few retreats around the world…. I think in Costa Rica and Greece.
If you are a yoga or tantra teacher, I think there is an unwritten rule in the manual that you have to own at least three of their CDs. I think I have four of them…. one of them I thought I lost and I bought it twice so not sure how that counts.
Although they usually sing in sanskrit, my favorite chant is ” There is So Much Magnificence”… often at concert Miten will divide the audience into two parts so there is a call and response aspect to it……. awe-inspiring!
The North America tour, which kicks off Sep 10, 2013, will reach from Miami to Vancouver and Montreal to Phoenix.
For information on concert locations and dates visit BrightStarEvents.net. I found a coupon code for 10% discount DEVA10. MantraFest 2013 will be performing in Philadelphia at Temple Performing Arts Center On September 22nd 2013 as part of the twenty five city tour.
Miten comments: “For Deva and me, this tour is about coming together in celebration of a New Beginning—an invitation to celebrate the momentous shift in humanity’s planetary attitudes that is currently underway—a positive change in the way we view the resources we consume, a change in how we view ourselves as messengers of this transformation that is now upon us all.
The direct, daily experience that Deva and I have is that mantras support us through every challenge. Our mission is to share this powerful healing tool with the world. And we know that this is a mission we share with GuruGanesha. His music has always been remarkable for a depth of spiritual connection that has a real sparkle and twinkle.”
With a dozen beautiful albums and countless inspiring live performances to their credit, Deva Premal & Miten have become the foremost and best-selling duo in mantra music, with a fan base that includes everyone from Cher to the Dali Lama.
It all began in 1998, when Deva and Miten’s groundbreaking recording of the ancient Sanskrit “Gayatri Mantra” became the soundtrack for the burgeoning worldwide Yoga movement.
by Jasmine | Aug 28, 2013 | Meditation, Yoga Music, Yoga Teacher training
Rock Your Asana Off….Cool Music to practice to. Yoga Music Reviews
One of my favorite things to do at places like Whole Foods (sometimes the CD listening station is tucked away so you have to look for it), Kripalu, Omega or the retail in a yoga studio is to put on headphones and listen to some of the music they are selling. One of my main tasks when I am at Kripalu is to plunk myself down and go through dozens of CDs and then only let my self buy my favorite 10%. I love having cool music to do yoga to so here are my yoga music reviews.
Just so you understand part of my leanings, if a CD has a lot of slow-moving and then fast tempo songs I tend to discard those, even if I really dig them since I want to have one consistent mood when I am teaching and don’t have to get up and change the music….I just find that disruptive for myself.
I tend to stay away from stuff that has loud bells or chimes in the middle of a long tranquil spell since it breaks the mood. It’s hard to hold half-moon pose when all of a sudden you hear a clanging, “GONG”. I also stay away from music that is heavy on spoken vocals, since that can also be distracting. Ambient music with a consistent tone tends to work best. Often, my students come up to me after class and ask what the music was, so I know I am on track with finding the right tunes.
Most of the music works well for other things like massage and other spiritual activities and some of them are just slow and sensual and great for just chilling and romancing. if you don’t like hearing someone chant Oooooommmmm for a full hour when you are practicing then you can check these out. I don’t tend to do a lot of oomming in my classes. I teach a lot of beginners and worried this might be scary for them. I like oomming myself, but can appreciate the non-hippy that is weirded out by this ritual in class. I wonder why they never play music in a Bikram class?
Never thought I would say the word ooomming ( if that is even a word) so much in one blog post.
So here is my list, in no particular order.
Deva Premal and Miten. For long-time yogis they will come as no surprise. For those newer to yoga, they have a soulful and sensual way of chanting ancient mantras. I have played this for lots of non-yogis when I was just chilling at home and they commented on how beautiful and soothing the music is. I think my favorite song is “There is so Much Magnificence”…..I contemplated playing this at our wedding reception. There is a deep healing quality to their songs and they seem to be very therapeutic whenever I am going through “stuff”.
The Gift of Love. Deepak Chopra. I worked at the Chopra Center for a year and was exposed to some really great stuff. There are actually a few different sets. I like them all. A lot of this music is fairly sensual as well and most of it is in English. Nice, modern beats to it. This CD works better for just chill hang out music since there are some spoken vocals on it that can be distracting.
Ekova – This usually would not come up in a Yoga class. These beats are faster moving and funkier…they feel almost african at times since there are some deep rhythmic beats in some songs. I wouldn’t recommend this for massage but for a a more vigorous yoga class.
Spa Sonique – Don’t let the overly feminine cover with purple flowers scare you (for men). This has some very beautiful beats, great for massage or a romantic night as well.
Wah! ( Not a typo) If a chanting Indian Guru and Natalie Merchant had a baby this is who would pop out. Her music is chanty, soulful without being too “out-there”.
