Why a conversation with my former yoga teacher made me rethink the role of music in my classes.
By Anja Kotsch | Anja Kotsch Yoga & Breathwork
Inspired by a lunch talk with Amèlia Valls, founder and teacher at Nydum Yoga School, Spain.
Does music belong in a yoga class?
During a Yin Yoga teacher training earlier this year, I had an interesting discussion with one of my teachers about music in yoga classes.
His position was very clear: music doesn't belong in yoga. In fact, he considered using music in yoga classes a form of cultural appropriation. He compared it to concepts like Puppy Yoga, where traditional yoga is adapted into something new, often to attract more participants and make money.
That was quite a statement. And one I couldn't really agree with.
I understand the concern about commercialising yoga and turning it into just another lifestyle product. Yoga has a rich history and cultural background that deserves respect. And I do think we should question how we teach it, how we market it, and what we might be losing along the way.
But is playing music during a yoga class really the same thing?
For me, there's an important difference between using something as a marketing attraction and using it intentionally to support the practice.
Music is part of the atmosphere we create
When I teach yoga, music isn't there to entertain people or convince them to book my classes.
It's there to create an atmosphere.
Think about how we use other sensory elements in a yoga space. The lighting, the colours, the fabrics, sometimes incense. All these things influence how a room feels when we enter it.
For me, music belongs in that category.
Many people arrive at yoga straight from work or from a busy day at home. They're still thinking about emails, meetings, family responsibilities, or the ten things they need to do afterwards.
And then they walk into a yoga class and are suddenly expected to focus on themselves.
That's quite a transition.
I like the idea of music helping people make that transition. Not because it magically switches off their thoughts, but because it can give them something familiar to focus on and help create a calmer atmosphere.
Almost like a signal: You're here now. There's nothing else you need to do for the next hour.
Of course, music doesn't have the same effect on everyone. What one person finds calming might distract another. That makes the choice of music, and especially the volume, important.
In my current classes, I use music when welcoming participants. Unfortunately, the sound system doesn't allow me to adjust the volume properly, so I usually switch it off once the actual practice begins.
Not exactly my ideal setup.
What about Yin Yoga?
This was one of the topics I discussed recently over lunch with my former yoga teacher, Amèlia Valls, who founded Nydum Yoga School in Spain.
Amèlia has been teaching movement and yoga for many years, and I was interested in hearing her perspective.
We found that we had very similar views on music.
Especially when it comes to Yin Yoga.
In Yin Yoga, we often stay in a posture for several minutes. Sometimes, depending on the position and the class, for considerably longer.
And while the body might be relatively still, the mind certainly isn't always.
Anyone who has ever spent several minutes in a Yin posture knows how quickly the mind can start wandering. Suddenly, you're thinking about tomorrow's meeting, your shopping list, or something that happened three days ago.
Silence can be valuable. But it can also be challenging.
Amèlia told me that she enjoys having music in Yin classes, both when teaching and when practising herself. She even joked that if she attended a Yin class without music, the teacher probably wouldn't see her again.
I had to laugh, because I could relate.
For both of us, music can help create an environment in which it feels easier to settle into longer-held postures.
That doesn't mean a Yin class needs music to be effective. And it certainly doesn't mean that silence is wrong.
It's simply a teaching choice, with a particular intention behind it.
But I wouldn't use music in every yoga style
Interestingly, there's one practice where Amèlia and I agreed that we wouldn't use music: Ashtanga Yoga.
In the Ashtanga practice I know and teach, the breath already provides a rhythm.
The sound of Ujjayi breathing, the connection between breath and movement, and the repetitive structure of the sequence create their own form of concentration.
For me, adding background music would interfere with that experience rather than support it.
I enjoy the sound of everyone breathing, moving and focusing on their own practice. There's something almost meditative about that shared rhythm.
So my decision about music isn't based on a general rule that yoga should always be accompanied by music.
It's based on what I want to achieve in a particular class.
Where does cultural appropriation begin?
The discussion with my Yin Yoga teacher stayed with me because I don't think cultural appropriation is a topic we should simply dismiss when it becomes uncomfortable.
Yoga originated in India, and its global popularity raises legitimate questions about respect, cultural context, representation and commercialisation.
I can understand why teachers with strong connections to those traditions might be concerned about how yoga is presented today.
And I don't want to reduce that concern to a disagreement about playlists.
At the same time, I think we need to distinguish between adapting a practice thoughtfully and using its cultural background as something exotic to sell.
Does music automatically turn yoga into a commercial product? I don't think so.
Could music become a distraction, or could certain choices of music be culturally insensitive? Absolutely.
The intention matters to me, but I also recognise that good intentions alone don't resolve questions of cultural appropriation.
That is why I think the discussion is worth having.
My takeaway
The conversation with Amèlia didn't give me a new rule for teaching yoga.
It gave me more confidence in questioning the rules I encounter.
I want to understand why I use particular elements in my classes, whether that's music, breathwork, meditation or the way I structure a sequence.
And I want to remain open to changing my approach when I learn something new.
For now, I still believe music can be a valuable part of a yoga class, especially when it helps create an atmosphere in which people can settle into their practice.
But I also believe there are moments when silence, the breath and the sounds of the room are all we need.
The interesting question for me isn't simply whether music belongs in yoga.
It's what purpose it serves when we choose to use it.
