Six String Yoga: Classes with Live Acoustic Guitar

People find these classes and send us the same message: wait, there’s live music? Yes. Back in 2015, for a short stretch, Matt put down the camera and picked up his guitar, and Erin taught to whatever he was playing. We called it Six String Yoga.

There are five of these classes in the library. Here’s the story behind them and how to pick one.

Why these are different

You’ve probably noticed that our regular classes don’t have music in them. We’re not able to add recorded music to the videos (copyright gets complicated fast), which is why Erin builds Spotify playlists you can play in the background instead.

Six String Yoga gets around that the simplest way possible. The music isn’t added. It’s happening right there, live, a few feet from Erin’s mat. What you hear is what was in the room, howler monkeys and all.

The very first one

The Fun Vinyasa Flow with Live Acoustic Guitar is about 20 minutes, filmed in Costa Rica, and Erin opens it by calling it our first test round of a yoga and guitar combo class. Since Matt’s usual job is behind the camera and his hands were busy, our son Ben recorded the class. Erin called it a family affair, which is exactly what it was.

It’s also a different style of teaching from Erin. She told you up front it would be short and sweet with very little instruction. She mostly just names the pose. No guiding you in and out, and no breath cues. You flow while the guitar plays. There’s a surprising amount packed into 20 minutes, from crescent moon all the way to crow and even a headstand. It’s a fun one if you already know the vinyasa basics and want to move without a lot of talking.

The one with the monkeys

A week later we filmed the 30 minute Vinyasa Flow with Live Acoustic Guitar. This is the class where Erin actually says the words “six string yoga class” in the intro, so we’re counting it as the official launch. She also warns you about the howler monkeys in the tree above us. They do make an appearance, right in the middle of a thread the needle.

This one has more of Erin’s usual guidance. It’s a 30 minute flow with some deep stretch toward the end, starting in child’s pose. It also ended up as one of the classes in our 30 Day Five Parks Yoga Tour, which is a nice way to stumble onto it if you’re doing the challenge.

The longer ones

The other three are longer, and they come from a time when Erin was still filming some of her live classes with real students on the mat beside her.

Hip Opening Yoga Class with Acoustic Guitar (about an hour, Costa Rica) is a live public class focused on opening the hips, with Matt playing in the background.
Sun Salutations Yoga Class with Live Guitar (about 50 minutes, Costa Rica) is built around sun salutations. If you like repetition and rhythm, this is a beautiful one to get out of your head and into your body.
Vinyasa Flow Yoga Class with Acoustic Guitar (just under an hour, Colorado) is a flow with a group of students, with Matt playing the whole way through. It builds to a peak and then cools down into shavasana.

Erin eventually stopped filming her public classes. She explains why in our behind-the-scenes video: she felt she couldn’t be fully present for the students in the room while also teaching to a camera. So these live ones are a bit of a time capsule, both for the music and for the feel of a real room.

Which one should you try?

Short on time, know your flows: start with the 20 minute class. Very few words, lots of movement.

Want guidance and a little stretch: the 30 minute class.

Want a full hour and a group feel: the Colorado vinyasa class or the hip opening class.

Want something meditative: the sun salutations class. Let the guitar set the rhythm for your breath.

A few practical notes

These were filmed live, not in a sound booth, so they don’t sound like a studio. In the 30 minute class there are monkeys. The balance between Erin’s voice and the guitar isn’t studio perfect either, and we’ve made our peace with that. It sounds like a real room because it was one.

Since the music changes the pace, give yourself permission to follow the music instead of Erin’s count if that’s what your body wants. Nobody’s grading your timing.

And because people always ask: no, we haven’t figured out how to film Matt playing and holding the camera at the same time. If we ever do, there will be more of these.