Yoga

Take a deep, lung-cleansing breath. You're getting sleeeepy. No, wait — that's not right. You're getting ready to roll out your yoga mat, with which you intend to thoroughly steamroll all the ups and downs of the day. That's gonna take some concentration, though, which might be hard with all the passing cars and white noise outside your window. Well, hard if you don't listen to our Yoga Essentials, a spine-tapping mood stabilizer that includes the airy Eastwards-tilting ambience of Terry Oldfield's "Earth and Sky", and the keyboard caresses, whimsical synths and acoustic whispers of Yoga del Mar's "Breathe Again". Nestle up to our Next Steps and you just might be on your way to enlightenment.

Amazing how just a few hours of yoga can change your whole outlook on life, isn't it? Think of it as a sort of spiritual detox, with some limb-loosening exercise thrown in to set your blood to a slow boil or simmer. With a playlist that ranges from East (the traditional Hindu chants of Krishna Das) to West (Harold Budd and Clive Wright's Californified "Orange Portal), our Yoga Next Steps is all about assisting your two ears in developing a Third Eye. Sometimes the music of nature, with no human intervention, is all you need ("The Surf"); on other occasions it is enlightening to find man and nature in perfect harmony ("Stream of Life"). And with a set of Deep Cuts still to come, there's no need to leave your own personal cave just yet.

When it comes to yoga, the goal isn't to look like a rock-hard bodybuilder — one you can bounce pound coins off. It's about achieving a healthy and stable state of mind, along with a loose and limber body. As a yoga master might tell you, when the surface of a lake is still, one can see to the bottom clearly. This kind of inner peace is impossible when it's interrupted by the rising tides of everyday life, however. Hence the soothing, wave-taming nature of our Deep Cuts, including the rhythm-riding "urban shaman" music of Gabrielle Roth & The Mirrors, the stress-banishing flute of Deuter's "East of the Full Moon" and the mellow keys of Bernward Koch's "Simply Great".

Any physical activity that offers you the door to spiritual enlightenment and the ability to coil your legs behind your head has the support of the entire iTunes Essentials staff. Finding the right music to fulfill one's soul-searching quest is a task unto itself, though. As we quickly found out in assembling this playlist, not just any tabla/sitar/finger cymbal (i.e. what belly dancers use) combo is going to cut it. A delicate snowstorm of drumbeats, crisscrossing synths, peace-channelling vocals, and the aforementioned traditional stuff will, though. Now focus on your breathing and the moment. We'll take care of the soundtrack.