Gooey Zen: a 45-min Guided Yoga Journey & Playlist

The right song at the right time is the honey that soothes the throat of a long day – or that begins sweetly a day that’s not yet started.

There’s something to each of these songs that envelopes you in comfort, whether it’s background music as you begin the morning, or the playlist to an ooey-gooey yoga practice that allows every cell in your body to expand and release in individual sighs of relief. I urge you to allow your notions of reality to leave you, just momentarily, and allow your soul to flow to this journey of a playlist, and allow it to envelope you into the truth of you.

1. Fabric – Instrumental (Frankie Stew & Harvey Gunn)

Imagine you are in a dream; you cannot fly, but you are somehow weightless. The sun sparkles as you walk amongst the clouds, viewing your life at bird’s-eye view and seeing all the magic from afar, ready to explore.

2. The Whale (Living Room)

A masterpiece that you don’t recognize as one until you continue to look at it; it’s the piece in the gallery that is known by the true art critics as a masterpiece, but that takes time to appreciate – it’s in the textures of each different paint used, down to the specialized linen used in place of canvas. It’s a special piece of magic that continues to impress the deeper you get into it – this is your life at bird’s-eye view; it’s beautiful.

3. I Know You Got Soul (Sol Rising)

If you’re practicing yoga, this is where you let it go. Wiggle it out in your cat-cows, be fun with your movements. If this is the soundtrack to your breakfast, wiggle it out too – when was the last time you really moved to the music? You got soul – allow yourself to feel it.

4. Velvet (Tree Theater)

Let's go for a walk. And let's pretend you're on the third day of a vacation in the depths of a Costa Rican or Peruvian forest – it's that moment on the third-ish day when you actually have let go of the anxiety around *omg not actually working* -- you look up to the sky, and feel the cool breeze brush across your skin as the sun shines down on you. Yes, that’s this feeling.

5. Gooey (Glass Animals)

You’re in a deep forest, barefoot, walking amongst giant trees beneath a sky of canopied greens. The plushest grass is afoot, and you’ve entered your own realm of Alice in Wonderland madness – but here, it’s all goodness. The Cheshire guides you to a plant medicine ceremony journey of your choosing where you shed all the sh*t that’s stressing you. Yup, gooey AF.

6. Moods (slenderbodies)

You’ve left the plant tea party a bit lighter with a little more soul in your step. Grooving amongst the trees, you feel the soft grass a bit more – the plush cushioning of the greenery, recognizing its deep, glowing, green luster and the scent of wildness unique to things that sink their roots into the earth.

7. Light Me Up (DJ Drez, Marti Nikko)

You’re emerging from the greenery, seeing splashes of sunlight dancing upon everything, filtered through the leaves of the tree canopy. The air you now encounter has taken on the scent of spring flowers rather than deep earth – as the flower petals raise their faces to the sun, you feel the warmth shine upon your own.

Fun fact: this is my favorite song in the entire world to practice to, to play, anything. I do not get sick of it, ever.

8. Sunrays (Catching Flies)

Lying down, you feel supported by the earth. Looking up, the sun shines on you through spring sky where the clouds part – but it’s not just sun; it’s golden peace. You feel it permeate your skin, then wrap itself around your bones, your muscles, your ligaments – like honey soothing each and every fiber of your being.

9. Lace (Random Rab)

You give yourself up to the languid flow of time – each movement is slow, intentionally – allowing for deeper and more appreciative attention to the texture of the moment, whether a physical practice or simple witnessing of the experience.

10. Grandmothersphere (East Forest)

Empty your mind for a bit. Breathe deeply. Allow the quiet to descend upon everything, like a weighted blanket that’s somehow weightless. Allow this comfort to swallow you whole in its embrace. Listen, and know.

11. Bliss (Headphone Activist)

The sound of silence, without silence. Utter calm – the light you’d imagine there would be at the end of the tunnel. It rules everything, bathing you in a glowing brilliance of zen.