Ted McDonald's Playlist

Moving in synch with the breath in yoga is much like a dance, says Los Angeles vinyasa yoga teacher Ted McDonald. "Music encourages you to flow more gracefully through your practice," he says. "It also helps to quiet the mind's chatter." McDonald likes his asana to be fun and energetic, so he fills his playlist with danceable Top 40 hits and a lot of funk. Here, he suggests rhythms for a slow warm-up, a fairly strong vinyasa flow sequence of backbends, inversions, hip openers, and forward bends, followed by a delicious Savasana.

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Om/Invocation by Steve Ross

Moment of Surrender by U2

Viva la Vida by Coldplay

Poker Face by Lady Gaga

Love City by Sly & the Family Stone, featuring Moby

Testify by Common

Hey World by Michael Franti & Spearhead

Hungry Heart by Minnie Driver

Fields of Gold by Eva Cassidy

18 by Moby