The Best Yoga Playlists For Yoga Teachers

A great yoga playlist is a lot like avocado on a veggie burger. Can you get by without it? Sure. But the right yoga playlist (like the perfect avocado) just makes everything better. 😌  Am I right? 

A good playlist can help you set the tone for your class, but how you use them is entirely up to you. You can time your entire vinyasa flow to a meticulously set playlist, or maybe you only cue your music to set the warm up and guide students into savasana. Teaching online, like me? You can link Spotify to your video streaming platform so your students hear the playlist as the practice along with you. The options are really endless! You can find playlists for your yoga classes in tons of places on the internet, but today we present you with a curated list of playlists available on Spotify.

Regardless of the type of yoga you teach and how long your classes are, there’s a playlist for you out there. While interests and inspiration will be different for every yoga teacher, here are some of our favorite, ready-to-go yoga playlists on Spotify. Cue music and enjoy!

1. Great For Kundalini And Spirituality: Brett Larkin Radio

Surprise! I’ve started creating my own music inspired by teaching Kundalini. I put together a few songs that overlap beautiful instrumentals with chanting. They have a nice beat and make the best yogic atmosphere. I like playing the Spotify radio station based on my music so I get over an hour of music based around the style of my songs.

2. Great For a 90 minute Session: Yoga Girl Playlist of the Month

Rachel Brathen, better known as Yoga Girl, has been sharing her love of yoga via social media for years. Her monthly yoga playlist boasts over 225,ooo likes and is updated every month with new tunes. This yoga music playlist is perfectly sequenced and clocks in at just above 90 minutes. This way, you can have a killer, full-body practice with tunes to accompany you the whole time. If you like happy, feel-good indie pop, this is the playlist for you. Rachel seamlessly blends traditional meditation music with folk and indie music to create a perfect yoga playlist. 

3. Great For an Upbeat Vinyasa Practice: Vinyasa Flow – Upbeat / Lofi Vibe

When you first start using music in your classes, the big question with your yoga music playlist is often lyrics or no lyrics? Some teachers love including folk or pop favorites to bring things down to Earth. Others find the lyrics distracting and disconnecting, especially if you’re teaching a mixed group of students. In this playlist by Christina Merhar, lyrics are kept to a minimum and beats dominate, making it perfect for an energetic vinyasa practice. It’s a blend of chill electronic and upbeat indie dance. You might just find yourself hitting repeat and bumping from vinyasa flow to workflow without skipping a beat.

4. Great For Play and Go, Hour Long Session: Sol Rising Yoga Playlist of the Month

Sometimes, you just want to hit play and practice. We love the Sol Rising yoga playlists on Spotify for this very reason. Sol’s yoga playlists usually clock in at just above an hour, and include a soothing warm up set, an upbeat, steady set, and soothing songs to end. Most of the tracks on the list come from Sol Rising himself, a prominent touring DJ and producer originally from Vancouver BC. His music is designed to inspire and relax. His subtle mix of ambient, lo-fi, and mid-tempo beats are highly favored by yogis around the world for their ability to invoke a feeling of bliss. If you’re looking for a no-fuss, perfectly timed yoga playlist, turn off your shuffle and give this one a try.

5. Great For a Restorative or Yin Yoga Practice: Yoga Music 2021 Yoga Flow & Relaxation

Curated by the mysterious Spotify profile known only as ‘metr,’ this is a fabulous blend of low-fi electro and soothing meditation music. It’s over four hours long, so you’re able to hit shuffle and just let the music play as you work through soothing restorative yoga poses. This playlist is down-tempo and centering, and creates a relaxing environment that will soothe your students’ nerves and make them feel safe. The instrumental tracks on this playlist are great for total relaxation, and won’t distract your students during the meditative practices of yin and restorative. 

6. Great for the Quick Morning Stretch: morning yoga

Sometimes you just need 10 minutes to wake up on your yoga mat. This yoga playlist by Kalyn Nicholson is perfect for those quickly morning sessions. The gentle songs on this list have lush R&B undertones, making them great for an intuitive stretch session as the sun just starts to rise. Most of these songs do have lyrics, but their generally positive themes would be great for setting the tone for your day. Oftentimes when we’re limited to a home yoga practice, a great soundtrack can make all the difference.

7. Great for Yoga Nidra Practice: Manifestation Frequencies

For meditation and yoga nidra, you want to keep distractions to a minimum. In this playlist from Miracle Tones, you get over 10 hours of ambient music set at 528 hz frequency. This frequency of music is believed to help raise positive energy, release stress, and help promote physical relaxation as you prepare for sleep with yoga nidra. Distracting lyrics are a definite no-no for meditation, especially in yoga nidra. You want to place your students (or yourself) is a deeply relaxed, subconscious state. Ambient music is great for this, because there’s no definitive start or stop to the music. As you listen, time seems to just slip away. Even if you’re not taking a traditional yoga nidra practice, listening to this music while lying in bed could help even the most troubled sleeper find some much needed zzz’s.  

8. Great for a High Vibe Practice that Includes Chanting: Kundalini Yoga Mantras Sat Nam

Chanting and mantra are a huge part of the Kundalini tradition. This yoga music playlist puts traditional chants and mantras at the forefront. Curated by Alejandra Avila, a kundalini yoga instructor based in Spain, these songs will help create a sacred environment in your classes. Even if you don’t want to include chanting through your entire class, this playlist would be a great resource to help you find guided chants you might like to include at the beginning or end of your class.

9. Great for Movin’ and Groovin’: R&B Yoga with Dianne Bondy

If you like your yoga playlist to inspire a bit of dance and wiggles, this R&B yoga playlist published by Yoga International and curated by Dianne Bondy is great. Dianne Bondy is a social activist, author, and yoga educator. Her inclusive approach to teaching places a huge emphasis on accessibility – making yoga accessible to everyone regardless of their size, ethnicity, or ability. Her vinyasa yoga playlist includes powerhouse female artists like Mary J. Blige, Lauryn Hill and Janet Jackson. Go ahead, try not to dance when you listen to this one (it’s a losing battle). Even better, feel the music and let it move you ❤️

10. Great for Yoga Festival Vibes: Envision

Envision Festival is one of the world’s biggest gatherings for yoga, music, sustainability and wellness. Though this is an unofficial playlist, Spotify account user Lacey Hammersley did a fantastic job curating this 12-hour-long modern yoga music playlist. This blend of organic electronica and downtempo dub will have you feeling like you just stepped into a jungle wonderland. This playlist includes some of our favorite artists like Desert Dwellers, Emancipator and Poranguí. Don’t be surprised if you find one of your new favorite songs while listening to this one.  

11. Great for All Day Yoga Vibes: Jivamukti Yoga by Chris

You know that feeling when you’ve finished practicing and feel great, but you’re slightly bummed because that’s the best part of your day? My advice is to keep the yoga vibes going all day with this Jivamukti playlist. Jivamukti yoga combines the dynamic physical demands of vinyasa yoga, with the softness of meditation and Hindu teachings. These complementary energies are captured perfectly in this master playlist by Christoph Blomquist. This massive modern yoga playlist is over 26 hours long. From indie folk and classic rock to indie electro and classical, this playlist teaches us that anything can be yoga music if you put the right intention behind it.

12. Great for Getting Witchy: Chill Witchy Vibes

If your yoga practice often follows tarot spreads, rose petal moon water or aura cleansing, this may be the best thing for you since Amazon started selling healing stones. Curated by the mysterious Spotify page known as Alice, this playlist is a mix of soulful female singers and dark, moody music. You may find inspiration in the music and take to dancing, singing, or ritualizing in whatever way you feel called. Let the music play and let your inner goddess out.

13. Great for an Ashtanga Yoga Practice: Ashtanga Yoga Music

Created by the Spotify account of Oscar Inés, this is one of the best modern yoga playlists we found that focuses specifically on Ashtanga yoga. Don’t let the soft opening songs fool you, this eastern-infused electro music is just the right energy for a high intensity Ashtanga class. In a practice where rhythmic breathing is paramount, this beat heavy playlist is perfect for working through the Primary Series. This playlist clocks in at nearly five hours, so no matter how often you practice, you’ll always have some fresh music.

14. Great for a Retro Themed Yoga Practice: power me up 80’s style

This synth-happy indie pop playlist was created by Portland-based yoga teacher Ryan Ashley. After you get your students settled through their opening meditation, click play and let this 60 minute playlist get the good vibes flowing. WALK THE MOON, Robyn, and The 1975 all lend their genius to this powerhouse playlist. This would be great for a high-paced, heart-centered vinyasa yoga flow. 

Closing thoughts on yoga playlist ideas

For yoga teachers, infusing personalized touches to a class can be super fun, and music is a great way to do that. When creating or choosing a yoga playlist, it’s important to think of the intention behind your class. Are you trying to energize or relax your students? Do you want chants, mantras, or meditation music in your mix? Thanks to the creativity of your fellow global yogis, there’s a yoga playlist out there for everyone.