Wanderlust 108 Dallas // Music + Yoga // Creating Playlists
WANDERLUST 108
This weekend was my first time at Wanderlust 108! It took place in Dallas at Reunion Tower, the weather was perfect. Wanderlust is a triathalon which includes a 5k run, a yoga flow class, and meditation. The 108 stands for 1 = Unity, 0 = Wholeness, 8 = Infinite Love. It's an outdoor mindful movement open to everyone, and of course yogis! DJs, vendors, food, good music and cool classes surrounded me, it was like a utopia of people living in the moment, making connections, and focusing on nothing but wellness. #YogaChella if you will!
While I was there I saw so many people. When I saw the schedule online I was pretty excited to see that they offered Hooping, Acro, AlYoga, Community Yoga, OM Walking, and much more!
MUSIC + YOGA: A DISCUSSION
The event began early in the morning. I decided to explore the grounds and visit the vendor booths. I had come for one class in particular, Music + Yoga: A Discussion. I am a music lover and to me, it has become increasingly important to educate myself and learn about mixing music for a better class experience. We sat down with Producer, Drummer, and DJ Jesse Blake and learned about his creative process in making really amazing mixes and tracks for yoga class. He began his start in DJing for yoga classes many years ago when a yoga studio manager asked him to DJ at their yoga classes. I had tons of questions for him:
How does he find his inspiration? Is there a specific process?
How does one go about creating a playlist?
Should I be using lyrical tracks and/or testing genres?
Shall I keep it traditional or can we trap house the studio?
Where does he look to find good music?
For months I have been looking to work with someone who can help me design a great playlist for my yoga class and this discussion was very informative. I was so eager to soak it up.
CREATING THE RIGHT PLAYLIST: HERE'S WHAT I LEARNED
Look to Spotify, iTunes, MixCloud, and SoundCloud to search for music using their radio feature or curated playlists. I know Spotify has Discover Weekly, Weekly Buzz, New Releases and various playlists such as Peaceful Piano, Chill Vibes, and Lush Vibes.
Spotify may be the best bet for playlist composition because of its user-friendliness and navigation.
Good transition is a must. There's a feature in Settings that allows you to crossfade each track. Click Settings > Playback > then adjust Crossfade. This smooth out the transition between songs so that you don't have that awkward 10 second silence.
BPM (beats per minute) is very important. You can download BPM apps to figure out the pace of a song. Using this information you can search songs based on BPM so that you can select a track that will give you those nice transitions from track to track. If a song is 90 BPM, then I would want to choose a song at maybe 100 - 120 BPM to speed up or possibly increase the flow of my class. Or I may select something from 70-80 BPM to slow it down. You don't want to go from one chill song to a litty track back to back. Don't do that kind of stuff. Unless you have an unexpected purpose. Then live yo life.
Be careful with adding too many songs with lyrics, unless your class is themed that way. Sometimes for focus, concentration, or meditation purposes, it can become a distraction. Try to create an inspiring environment, a good experience for your students. It's your class, but you want them to be able to hear you over that Kendrick Lamar Humble track okay. Now this is not to say I would never use Kendrick. I would just make sure that I place that song where it needs to be. See, I made some mistakes on my first class. And I'm apprehensive to call it a mistake but I came up with a set featuring JoJo, Drake, Chance, Miguel, Snakehips, and Anderson .Paak. I tried to increase the pace towards the 40-45 minute mark of my class but I'm not certain it turned out that way mainly because I was so focused on getting them through the sequences. I wasn't sure if the timing was right. My slowest songs were Sade and Faro. I realized that I needed to be more mindful of the flow. Music is very powerful. It's really okay to have lyrics but just be sure that the playlist fits the flow.
It's your class, so I believe that you can have any genre you want. I hear about Drake Yoga, Trap Yoga, Gangsta Rap Yoga, etc. I am all for it because not everyone is looking for the same experience these days. As long as you keep the quality, there's no reason not to explore!
I believe that music can take you to a place of focus and determination. The goal is to help students heighten their practice, not distract them. So finding a good balance with the genres used and the timing of each track is key. I've got a ways to go in learning how to do this correctly but when done right, it will elevate all the energy in the room. If anyone is looking to help me create a full set, please contact me.
VENDOR BOOTHS
Wanderlust was sponsored by a lot of awesome companies and even Adidas! They had a tent at the event that day it was really off the chain. Inside you could shop for athletic wear, shoes and sports products. They called it "the Dome". I felt like I was inside of a cozy tent.
Shop ADIDAS X WANDERLUST
The shop owners were really nice. I saw a lot of neat things like the Buddha Pants booth and Clean Living Collection. I purchased the best smelling rosemary/mint deodorant from them! You had everything from essential oils to gluten-free jerky. It was like a smorgasbord of items to help you relax, sweat, or make your mouth water! The food was so delicious. I ate this brown rice bowl with guacamole, corn, cheese, salsa, and veggies! Okaaaay now.
I thought it was great that they kept areas clean with recycling and composting tents. Those are the essential details that make Wanderlust 108 more environmentally-friendly and green. It makes me want to come back.
CANT WAIT TO GO BACK
Make-up free and doing me.
