The soundtrack is more than just Background noise
Teach by beats isn't just a phrase; it's a philosophy.
Music x Mantras
Music is an indispensable ingredient in the flows and teaching systems of top London-based yoga facilitators and musicologists such as Laura McVicker, Alan Ellman and Marcus Veda.
Meditative Melodies
A well-mixed playlist presents yet another avenue to explore the healing and soul-revealing powers of ancient wisdom traditions. Meet the teachers transforming lives through music and movement below.
Marcus Veda
King maestro Marcus Veda spent his 20s exploring the good life as one-half of the Loose Cannons. Now, the ex-musician-turned-DJ-turned-yoga-teacher holds (s)pace and 4-beat rhythms at the heart of his transformative vinyasa sessions.
“The music syncs the breath to the movement and thus focuses the meditation. I am simply the conductor...”
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Integral. The music syncs the breath to the movement and thus focuses the meditation. I am simply the conductor pointing which way to go.
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By BPM. The tempo has to work, then the feeling I want. It has to be 4/4, and the sparser the beat, the better. As a throwback to 80s breakdance and my old manager Arthur Baker, I am (still) looking for the perfect beat.
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Paspatou by ‘Parra for Cuva’. The beat. The vocal drop. It's pure yoga ecstasy.
Laura McVicker
A 10-year veteran of the yoga world, Laura is known for going upside down in... well, anywhere possible - including full-throttle nightclub conditions. Let us just say: she knows how to shake up the dancefloor. Energetic, fun and set to a pumping soundtrack, her classes are a cocktail of mood-boosting drills and thrills.
“Music not only reflects the energy of the class but feeds in and supports it too. ”
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I think the practice and music are complementary. Music not only reflects the energy of the class but feeds in and supports it too. It needs to lift the focus and concentration, not overwhelm.
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I mainly discover tracks on Spotify. I put everything I like into a playlist and then flow to the music myself to see if it works.
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‘A New Error’ by Moderat - for the standing sequence. It is relentless; it comes at you wave after wave and has a great beat.
Sorcha Finch
Handstand goddess Sorcha is as in love with Yoga now as she was when she discovered it over 9 years ago; the connection between breath and movement, its unavoidable influence on everyday life, its power to uplift and heal. Yoga transports her to another state of being.
“With certain tracks, I know from the very first listening that I want to move, practise and dance to them. I just know. ”
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Music transports me to another state of being. The right music combined with a dynamic-focused yoga practice has the power to hold me in a driven, moving, meditative state. Immediately, your presence shifts to a deeper level, as you are completely connected to the moment, to the vibrations throughout your body. Even more than without beats, you can be in the moment, find peace from your inner chatter, and have euphoria from the moving meditation.
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I listen to music a lot. And I go to live music events and gigs. Even watching tv programmes and films have brought epic tracks into my orbit. There are endless sources of musical inspiration. And with certain tracks, I know from my very first listen that I want to move, practice and dance to them. I just know. These tracks make it onto my yoga playlist alongside the classic deep house and techno tracks that cannot be overlooked. These tracks have a drive; they modulate pleasingly and unobtrusively, they elevate one’s mood, and they galvanise.
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The track I most like to move to changes constantly as I discover new artists and DJs. It also changes as I alter my approach to teaching, practising, and life. But, just for the Rogue Room, I will pick Jon Hopkins' ‘Open Eye Signal’. I am always ready to be engulfed by this chest-vibrating track.
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I am constantly sharing music with my friends. Today, I will gift readers ‘Baby’ by Four Tet. I could try and show off my underground and eclectic music taste, but this banger always puts me in a positive mood. I hope it does the same for you today, too.
Flaminia Agrimi
Flaminia focuses on the live aspect of performing. It allows her to have a full scale of creative freedom and expression. This freedom in sound lets her build a unique story that weaves together sonic worlds, inviting you to get lost driving distortions and eerie atmospheres.
“When the music is right, you can get completely immersed and lost in the flow.”
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Music has an essential role in my practice. It is the fundamental element that helps me connect the pace of my practice with the breath. When the music is right, you can get completely immersed and lost in the flow.
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On an emotional level, I select music that makes me recall feelings I want to live in at a certain point of the flow.
On the technical level, I choose tracks that are easy to mix and transition well from one to another, paying usually attention to rhythm structure and tempo.
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Burial, Four Tet, Thom Yorke - His Rope
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Donna Summer - I Feel Love
Taylor Bratches
A Brooklyn-based DJ/producer, energy worker, intuitive channel, and writer. She’s immersed herself in the dance music community for over a decade, is a music journalist for Resident Advisor, and has played parties and festivals all around the U.S. The synthesis of music, spiritual practice, rave ritual, and movement are core to her identity as a practitioner and a healer.
“I believe in the power of the dance floor to facilitate connection and healing.”
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Because we are vibrational beings, I believe sound has a profound effect on our physical and energetic bodies - so I’d say it’s essential. In fact, I came into my energy work practice through raving. I was dancing for hours on end at an outdoor party when I realized sound and movement allowed me to access higher states of consciousness. This ultimately led me into energy work. When I work on others, the music selection is paramount — I think it makes the body more receptive to healing. I also work in ceremonial settings that incorporate traditional sacred/vibrational instruments.
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Since I’m a DJ, too, digging is one of my favourite things to do. I love making curated playlists for my sessions that incorporate my favourite ambient tracks, as well as songs with traditional instruments.
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Either “Two Thousand and Seventeen” by Four Tet or “Tonalis” by Grant Aaron. Both put me into an incredibly deep, meditative state. Just gorgeous, resonant tracks.
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“Rev8617” by Skee Mask or “Means Nothing” by Otik. Two of my favorites, and both are so emotionally potent.
David Kyle
Founder of Progressive Ashtanga Puerto Rico and the highest directly-trained student of Larry Schultz, the creator of The Rocket system of yoga. David travels far and wide, bestowing the beautiful stories of Larry and teaching the Rocket system to people all over the world.
“Yoga has always been a way to keep my attention inwards.”
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Music has always been a way to keep my attention inward so it naturally fits yoga for me. I hear the rhythm of the music like an ethereal voice that resonates of my teachers from the past. Moving me forward and moving me deeper.
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Magician never reveals his secrets. No, honestly I mainly use Spotify and enjoy searching songs relevant to my taste. I tend to prefer grouping songs by the BPM to fit different parts of the class. I avoid lyrics but sometimes lyrics support the yogic intention too.
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That’s a hard one to single out but I could say Phaeleh & Soundmouse “Breath in Air”.
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If you haven’t heard it.. “Fly Away” by Sir Was
Jules McLellan
Head of Yoga at Blok London, Jules draws from an eclectic range of styles to create firey flows. Expect plenty of play and musical arrangements to get lost in.
“Music helps ease us into a moving meditation; we start to balance our breath with the song’s rhythm, syncing up with the other beautiful humans practising with us.”
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The right music enables us to let go of negativity and anxiety. Music helps ease us into a moving meditation; we start to balance our breath with the song's rhythm, syncing up with the other beautiful humans practising with us. Music helps us to connect as we move and meditate in space.
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I can spend an insane amount of time in a Spotify hole! I select my tracks by taking the songs to my mat and moving to explore how it makes me feel. I also take a lot of musical inspiration from my teachers and friends.
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I am obsessed with 'For Seoul Pt 1' by Gidge - an Ellman special. I have this track on most of my playlists. I have also been known to break out some occasional Pink Floyd in Savasana, but we can blame my dad for that!
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Wow, what a great question! There are so many! These are less for the yoga mat, but I love 'Crave You' by Flight Facilities. I can always listen to Deep Purple's version of 'Hush' (no apologies) and basically anything by Loudon Wainwright III.
Miles Mortensen
Ex-DJ-producer-and-techno-artist Miles Mortensen knows a thing or two about marrying movement and melody. His choice of soundtrack is intrinsic to his teaching. In his classes, Miles intertwines elements of his ongoing journey of self-inquiry and introspection with challenging and fast-paced flows - a spiritual ass-kicking of the best kind. The music, more often than not mixed by himself, is the cherry on top of deeply layered moving meditations.
“Music allows me to tell a story...”
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Music allows me to tell a story and create a journey with my teaching. It enables me to play with the highs and the lows of every practice, building up the energy and providing a space for students to ascend into presence and being.
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I select my tracks simply by considering the energy and rhythm they hold, what part of the story they could tell, and the feelings they evoke in me.
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Very, very tricky question. Off the top of my head, I would say either 'Anything Else' - the Sam Goku & Quatri Remix - by Himbrecht or 'Dream Machine' by Dominik Eulberg. They never get old.
Katarina Rayburn
No stranger to the Rocket Yoga scene, a regular headliner, Kindred studio owner, teacher trainer and all round kick ass multi-tasking mother, business owner and amazing human, music provides her with a heightened sense of feeling and emotion in her practice.
“Music helps me to zone out from everything that’s going on around me.”
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Music helps me to zone out from everything that’s going on around me and can often give me a heightened sense of feeling and emotion in my practice.
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I have a ‘liked’ song collection on my Spotify so generally choose from their with a few classics I like to use for opening and closing (with the help of my husband Jules 😉)
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These tracks represent me most within my practice:
It wasn’t meant to be by Theo Kottis
What I Might do by Ben Pearce
Nova by Burial, Fourtet
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Roots by Romare
Rachel Walsh
Northern Rocket Star Rachel Walsh teaches up and down the country, festivals, workshops and retreats. You can always lean on Rachel to bring the fun to class, expect big beats and a Rocket Rave.
“I play the tunes in my classes that I’ve got on repeat as i’m walking down the street.”
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Music sets the tone for the whole practice- it is integral that from the first beat and the first breathe that the vibe is set. Sometimes that’s slow and steady- a real moving meditation and others, it’s party time! If you fuck it up the whole thing feels disjointed and weird (like that time a couple of disco tracks made it into my yin playlist!)
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I play the tunes in my classes that I’ve got on repeat as i'm walking down the street. I’m not a music snob- I love dance music but it depends on my mood as to what I’ve got in my ears- I’ve been hammering Biceps new stuff for a tad too long now and love some softer stuff to start and finish. The tunes, just like the practice is a ride - you need to be eased in and out.
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I Need You by Octo Octo
I get goosebumps just thinking about this track!
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Purple Skies by Kornel Kovacs.
Imi Wiseman
The Rocket queen has landed. Imi never quite expected something to compete with her passion for dancing, but yoga slowly took over. Her East London sunrise sessions are renowned not only for their energy and fierce community but for the pumping baseline.
“Sometimes, people send me tracks - some of which are amongst the best and most memorable gifts I have ever received.”
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Music should not be a distraction from the practice. For this reason, I would never play a track with a significant vocal or complicated or distorted rhythm. The music needs to reflect and contribute to the natural energy and movement in the room; as a way to get deeper into the meditation, not further away.
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Spotify and Beatport rabbit holes. Sometimes, people send me tracks - some of which are amongst the best and most memorable gifts I have ever received.
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One of my favourite tracks of the year was 'The Future Dance (Rigopolar Mix)' by Futuristant. So good for Surya and so menacing!
Alan Ellman
The inimitable ninja Alan Ellman discovered yoga in 2011 whilst living in Hong Kong. What started as a hobby quickly became a vocation. Hearty sequences collide with punchy playlists that would give any underground club a run for its money - a rebellious Rogue to his core with classes to match.
“I want everyone who comes to class to feel what I feel when I practise.”
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Both yoga and music are an integral part of my life, and my teaching is an extension of my practice. I want everyone who comes to class to feel what I feel when I practise.
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Calm at the beginning and end to centre and ground, alongside the breath. Good times only in between.
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'Siwa' by Kotelett & Zadak. Pure joy.