Music has been a part of my life for a long, long time. I still remember the first boom box my parents gave me. It wasn’t huge and the volume didn’t blow my hair back, but it had AM/FM radio and a cassette player, and I was in heaven. My sound systems have changed over the years–first by getting bigger and with more bells and whistles, and then, with the advent of mp3 and iPod technology, they got smaller and more portable.
When I first started running, I brought my Discman and listened to educational and motivational audios. I don’t think it had to do with distraction as much as it did with killing the two proverbial birds with one stone: learn and grow while on the move. Eventually, I transitioned and added music because, let’s face it. Variety is the spice of life! (Plus, when I’m rounding the corner of the 18th mile of a training run, it’s kind of nice to have some angsty Nine Inch Nails, classic Billy Idol or Madonna to pull me along and help set the pace.)
I still run with music, and now that I teach yoga, I create playlists to help set the tone and atmosphere in the studio. Sometimes the music is pretty chill. Other times, it’s upbeat and played just a little louder than normal.
There are some yoga teachers who prefer to have a quiet studio while teaching. I also know runners who like to hear the sounds of nature or be with their thoughts while logging miles. I can appreciate those sentiments, and when I’m “in the zone,” it’s as if the music has stopped. Maybe someday I’ll forgo the tried-and-true habits that come with a decade-long career of running and even roll out my mat in silence. But for now, there will be music.
Here’s one of the latest playlists. It’s a little Thievery-heavy, but I love them! (And I think my members do, too.) Enjoy!
- Shanti/Ashtangi – Madonna
- Radio Retaliation – Thievery Corporation
- Revolution Solution – Thievery Corporation
- Kissing – Bliss
- All is One – Atman
- The Richest Man in Babylon – Thievery Corporation
- (The Forgotten People) – Thievery Corporation
- 33 Degrees – Thievery Corporation
- Them Belly Full (But We Hungry) – Bob Marley & the Wailers
- Rahda Ramana – Tulku
- Hare Krishna – Wah!
eastcoastashtangi 