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(Photo: Frazer Harrison / Laura Harold | Canva)
It’s *finally* here. The Life of a Showgirl dropped at midnight on October 3 and sparks are flying for Swifties worldwide. If you’re like us, you’ve listened to the album, ahem, more than a few times. Sometimes the most vibey listening moments—full-body chills, butterflies, feeling the lyrics in your gut—come from listening not once but many times.
And what better way to experience that alchemy than connect with the music on your mat? We find it delivers serious energy and all the feels—kinda like Taylor.
So if you’re still reeling from the excitement of The Life of a Showgirl dropping, or you simply want some new contemporary tunes to inspire your practice, you’ve come to the right place. Not that we need to give you permission to practice yoga to Taylor Swift. But in any case, permission granted!
Here’s our take on which of Taylor’s tracks fit with a yoga flow—and where to drop them in your practice playlist.
Perhaps the chillest song of the album, “Father Figure” is a catchy pop tune that gets you excited to step onto your mat—while keeping the mood mellow enough that you can calm that pre-class energy and start to feel more present.
The moody verses are the perfect backdrop for turning inward during seated stretches or Child’s Pose. And just when you’re settling in, BOOM, the bass drops and you’re ready to move into more active poses—and maybe lend a little oomph to your Cat–Cow.
To keep the momentum going, move on to this guitar-strummy, sarcastic, angsty, and all-around satisfying revenge song. It brings the energy and builds to a rhythmic climax that takes you from a seated position to standing or from Tabletop to your first Down Dog of class.
The musical storytelling in Opalite is kinda the song version of a strong yoga sequence—one lyric and riff flows right into the next, making it a strong backing track for upbeat vinyasa flows.
Its steady beat and funky melody is the feel-good and head-bopping opener to the entire album—and, we think, a total vibe for Sun Salutations or any vinyasa sequence that you go through on repeat.
The Life of a Showgirl uses humor in its retelling of life’s challenges and triumphs. “Wood” brings a sense of optimism, hopefulness, and even silliness during the poses in which we tend to get a little too serious, at times, including High Lunge or Warrior 2.
Conjuring images of carefree days and driving with the windows down, “Ruin the Friendship” is a chill tune for when you actually want to hang out in those stretches that hit the spot (Standing Wide-Legged Forward Bend, anyone?).
A glittery song of substance, “Wi$h List” sounds exactly like candy tastes—and is the perfect companion to the types of poses that strike their own balance between stretching and strengthening. Think twists including Revolved Lunge and Half Lord of the Fishes.
This song has a level of badassery that would fittingly be assigned to poses with a bad Reputation (see what we did there?). Definitely Chair Pose or Warrior 3. The rebel vibes won’t have you shying away from any challenge.
The main message we take away from “Honey” is the hard part is over. And what better way to signal to yourself (or your students) that you put in the work and now you get to wind down than by setting the mood with this?
The lyrics and mood mirror what often happens toward the end of a yoga practice. As we take one last Happy Baby or Supported Bridge, we get to gently release whatever stress is still lingering. “Eldest Daughter” would also make for a superrrr reflective yin song.
Ah, the cherry on top of the album—and, in this case, your yoga practice. As you wrap up your final movements and set up for Savasana, definitely cue up “The Life of a Showgirl.” It’s one of those feel-good, everybody clap along songs with a strong narrative (duh, it’s Taylor) that invites a fresh perspective after a long journey. Kinda like what happens after yoga…