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The most memorable Savasanas seem to transcend the confines of time and space. You experience stillness, surrender, and release. You emerge feeling restored and perhaps transformed. You may even find solace within yourself.
Although the culminating moments of your yoga practice can take place in silence, many of us find that our ability to truly experience repose is undeniably swayed by music. But music’s influence on our mood is…complicated. Personal preferences play into the equation, as do complex neurophysical responses, including the heart rate attuning to the rhythm of a drumbeat or the release of neurotransmitters in response to the vibe of a song.
But you don’t need to understand the intricacies of how music influences your mood to recognize when it happens. All you need to know is that whatever you hear should enhance, not detract from, the profound experience that is Savasana. And when you experience it, you know.
The following Savasana songs—some instrumental, others with lyrics, all of them soothing—have struck a chord with us, students and teachers we know, and millions of others, meaning they’ll likely elicit a similar experience in you or your students. Although there’s only one way to know for certain.
25 Must-Try Savasana Songs
Mystical Music
Ashana’s soaring vocals and resonant singing bowls make her one of the premiere New Age artists of our time. With more than 18 million downloads, this is her most well-known (and arguably most transfixing) song thanks to lilting harmonics and that angelic voice.
Length: 9:36
The daughter of gifted sitarist and social icon Ravi Shankar has made her own way in the contemporary music space with her take on traditional Indian music. In 2003, she became the first Indian woman to be nominated for a Grammy. “Naked,” a track from another Grammy-nominated album, Rise, is but one of her consistently standout tracks featuring the sitar.
Length: 4:16
MC YOGI | “Shanti (Peace Out)”
MC YOGI has been a game-changer in the fusion of traditional Eastern music and modern hip-hop and offers plenty of awesome yoga tracks. But nothing beats this Indian-inspired song for a restful Savasana. Yoga teacher Erin Stewar considers it a Savasna must.
Length: 6:59
Michael Mandrell and Benjy Wertheimer | “Santosa (Contentment)”
These musicians made only one album together and the closing track is transportive. The comfort it brings can definitely be traced to the warm sounds of traditional instruments, including the esraj, tamboura, and tabla.
Length: 8:36
Dean Evenson, Scott Huckabay, Phil Heaven | “Sacred Alignment”
This Celtic-tinged ambient track is yoga student Kristen Lindblad’s go-to song for settling into Savasana. “It can evoke some deep emotion from me while I’m in that relaxed state,” she says.
Length: 8:37
Sacred Earth | “Breathing Space”
With more than 38 million downloads, this blissful track is another fan favorite. It draws on the bansuri, a traditional Indian bamboo flute, along with the thrum of cicadas in the background.
Length: 8:06
Jane Winther | “Om Mani Padme Hum 1”
Jane Winther’s music is minimalistic yet lush, soothing, and almost bewitching. This track, her most popular, adds the practice of mantra to Savasana. Try it in traditional Savasana or even during a restorative supported Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclining Bound Angle Pose).
Length: 8:24
Instrumental Tracks
Beautiful Chorus | “Heart Chakra”
The album Resonance Meditation, from the popular independent vocal group Beautiful Chorus, walks you through each of the seven chakras. “[It’s] great if you’re looking for something without spoken words,” says yoga student Rachel Blake. Although any of the songs could work during Savasana, Blake recommends “Heart Chakra.”
Length: 4:40
The relaxing electric guitar track drenched in reverb is so soothing. (Fans of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You” will find it familiar.) This track is one of only four songs by the artist on Spotify, and we’d like there to be more.
Length: 3:35
Brian Eno | “Always Returning”
Ambient music producer Brian Eno strips everything down in this piano and guitar ballad. The main hook loops throughout the entire song, making it easy to settle into that blissfully hypnotic Savasana state.
Length: 4:04
Portland-based yoga teacher Ryan Ashley says she always plays this “relatively unknown and delicate” song from East Forest’s Music Meditations album for Savasana. She finds it to be uncannily adept at enabling students “to unwind and fall deeply into themselves.”
Length: 8:50
Olafur Arnalds | “Tomorrow’s Song”
This uplifting yet delicate piano ballad provides an easeful ending to any yoga practice, particularly restorative or Yin. When you want a full-length album for your yoga practice, the Icelandic composer’s expansive discography offers ample options.
Length: 3:07
4444This song’s melancholy guitar meanders through a field of crickets before dissolving into rhythmic drums. “It just makes me zone right out,” says yoga teacher Harvest Radich, who relies on this trackfrom the band’s 1997 album, I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One, as her go-to Savasana track.
Length: 5:43
Manose | “Land of the Medicine Buddha”
A gifted flutist from Nepal, Manose includes 10 instrumental meditations in this song from the album Call Within. It draws on the soothing sound of streams, wind chimes, and the bansuri, an ancient flute-like instrument. Medicine, indeed.
Length: 7:00
Contemporary Songs
Mae’s cover of the 1960s classic by Bob Dylan dispenses with accompanying music to emphasize the wisdom imparted. “May you always do for others, And let others do for you.” Her rendition of the song brings a sense of closure to class, as it did to the TV series “Sons of Anarchy.”
Length: 2:50
A soft, tinkering piano slowly builds into layered vocals from the iconic ’90s shoegaze band singing, “thinking about love” over and over. This indie track is a perfect set-it-and-forget-it Savasana track.
Length: 8:00
The late Jeff Buckley never disappoints. His crooner voice is characteristically emotive in this ’90s electric take on composer Leonard Cohen’s classic. Those heavenly falsettos can bring on divine rapture.
Length: 6:53
Nouela | “The Sound of Silence”
In this haunting cover of Simon & Garfunkel, Nouela and her breathy vocals are unaccompanied save for the occasional piano chord. It’s as if the space in between the sound reverberates off the walls. Yoga Journal senior editor Renee Schettler finds it particularly quieting for students after an evening practice with the lights low.
Length: 3:23
Though recorded and released more than 50 years ago, this classic speaks to all generations with a message that still lands: “Imagine all the people, sharing all the world…I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will live as one.”
Length: 3:07
Electronic Music
Slow Dancing Society | “A Song That Will Help You Remember to Forget”
This ambient rock production by solo artist Drew Sullivan exploded in popularity after yoga influencer Rachel Brathen worked it into regular rotation on her Yoga Girl Playlist of the Month. It merits the hype.
Length: 6:14
With its gentle beat and serenely sighing strings, Random Rab’s “Lace” brings a captivating combination of downtempo electronics and traditional string instruments to Savasana.
Length: 3:47
Télépopmusik and Angela McCluskey | “Breathe”
With its higher BPM, this track is especially suitable following a high-energy class. And with its elevated pace, it can help students who find prolonged stillness challenging struggle less. The tinge of cool-lounge vibes make it an ideal segue from yoga time to social time.
Length: 4:42
Jellis | “You’re The One That I Need”
The unique blend of downtempo breakbeat and soothing vocals make for a captivating Savasana. The lyrics are minimal and repetitive, which means very little distraction for resting yogis.
Length: 3:37
This effusive track from Odesza’s breakout 2014 album, In Return, radiates happiness. Electronic notes shimmer and ripple as playful voices frolic in the background and you feel the pleasure of a carefree summer day.
Length: 3:28
With its uplifting melody, this track creates an optimistic yet soothing atmosphere for you to bask in the afterglow of your practice. You’ll literally walk out of the studio vibing like a beam of light.
Length: 3:34
This article has been updated. Originally published July 13, 2023.
