Part of the fun of teaching yoga is being able to pick music to go with the class. I find that with children’s yoga classes I try to match poses with music and I try to be very careful of lyrics. Music can be a powerful tool.

I like to start class off with something upbeat. Lately I have been using Jack Johnson. The kids often recognize the songs from the movie Curious George. I have also used Snatam Kaur’s Feeling Good Today CD to start off class. The music once lead to a class discussion about the origins of yoga as many of her songs use sanskrit.

Music sets the tone for a class as it can increase or decrease energy. When I turn on Who Let The Dogs Out while we practice our down dogs, you can feel the energy crackle with anticipation for flipping our dogs and barking and working hard.  In contrast, I have used a new age song called Hot Air Balloon by Aerial Acoustics while doing the breathing exercise “Balloon Breath” which lends itself to gracefully flowing through the classroom as our balloons deflate.

For my older kids classes, I make a point of finding songs with lyrics that inspire. There are so many songs for the tween/teen age group that are about needing someone else for things to be better that I try to find songs that are self affirming. Some examples are Everlife’s Daring to Be Different or Find Yourself in You, JoJo’s song Exceptional and Jordan Pruitt’s Outside Looking In.

I also like to end class with something more gentle like Sarah McLachlan’s version of Blackbird or Israel Kamakawiwo’s version or Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

Check out some of the music I’ve mentioned and please share your favorite yoga music!