Yoga Music
Located in 1 route
Music made for or adopted by yoga practice — spanning Sanskrit chant and kirtan, Indian-inflected raga and drone, and gentle world-fusion instrumentals — built to support breath, movement and stillness across a class arc. Instrumentation leans on harmonium, tanpura and tabla drones, bansuri and sitar, guitar, keyboard pads and soft percussion, with call-and-response mantra vocals or wordless singing. Tempos range from beat-free and meditative for restorative work to warm mid-tempo grooves for flow, always avoiding jarring dynamics. The mood is devotional, grounding and uplifting, timed to open, build and settle a practice.
History
Yoga's Western boom from the 1990s created demand for a dedicated soundtrack, filled by the kirtan and mantra revival led by Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, Deva Premal and Miten, Snatam Kaur and Wah!, who brought Sanskrit chant to studios and festivals via labels like White Swan and Spirit Voyage. Instrumental and world-fusion artists (Deuter, Anugama) supplied flow and restorative beds, while a newer wave — MC Yogi's yoga-hip-hop, DJ Drez and Desert Dwellers' downtempo — modernized the sound. Kirtan crossed into the mainstream in the 2000s (Krishna Das even earned a Grammy nomination), and yoga music is now a huge streaming category spanning chant, ambient and world genres.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Wikipedia, Kirtan (Western)
- AllMusic profiles (Krishna Das, Deva Premal, Snatam Kaur)
- Spirit Voyage / White Swan Records history