My Self-Care Playlist

A bit about my self-care playlist before we begin: I love music. It’s an essential ingredient for my self-care. It creates a mood. It transports me. And it can create a real shift in my being whether I’m listening to music that’s soothing, uplifting, or connected with memories.

It’s one of the reasons that I created bonus playlists for all my courses. Not because those practices demand music inherently, but because music can support us on our journey.

I’ll admit, music for self-care is entirely subjective. You have your own preferences, associations, and memories. But in honor of this summertime series of awesome self-care resources, I offer up what constitutes musical self-care for me.

Here are some of the songs and bands that support my self-care on the regular.

The songs that cheer me up. The ones that give me hope. The ones that help me focus. The ones I know all the words to. The ones that capture my imagination.

Rising Appalachia

Medicine

Deva Premal

Gayatri Mantra

Garth Stevenson

Flying

múm

A Little Bit Sometimes

Nahko and Medicine for the People

Black as the Night

(This one makes me extra happy because of how many of my friends are in this video!)

Lindsey Stirling

Elements

Avett Brothers

Offering

Cat Power

Living Proof

Also: Beyonce

Freedom

(I couldn’t find a video for this one, but you should just go buy Lemonade and watch this piece in particular. It’s so, so good.)

And Also:

Anything that Kathleen Hanna has touched, including Le Tigre’s album, This Island, and The Julie Ruin’s latest album.

Oh, and I’ve been listening to the Dixie Chicks a lot, lately, since they are incredibly charming and wonderful.