Yoga is global. Throughout the world, people of all ages and backgrounds are practicing yoga to relax and rejuvenate and musicians are creating music to accompany it. This planet-wide interest in the age-old Indian practice inspired World Yoga (Putumayo World Music; release: October 16, 2012).

Drawing on contemplative sounds from Wales to Tibet and Armenia to Uganda, this collection leads listeners to deeper relaxation and connection with life. With an engaging balance of more traditional yoga sounds—mantra-based pieces with Indian elements—and unexpected acoustic gems from Africa and beyond, World Yoga reflects the practice’s planetary impact and grace.

“Yoga has become a global experience, and we wanted to expand the music beyond the traditional soundtrack,” explains long-time yoga instructor and musician Sean Johnson, who advised on the album and contributed the beautiful chant “Ramachandra.” “We tried to reflect yoga’s full geographic scope.”

Created from Putumayo’s massive music library and tested in Johnson’s New Orleans yoga studio, World Yoga follows the same arc as a yoga class. It begins with a call to focus and quiet the mind and body, thanks to the lush, evocative voice of Gambian-British singer Sona Jobarteh (“Reflections”). Later tracks offer more dynamic moments, without breaking the flow or concentration. And the album closes with deeply relaxing songs such as Tibetan-Nepalese singer Kelsang Chukie Tethong’s “A Prayer to Dispel Sickness and Harm,” designed to accompany the more meditative period of practice.