Music has always been used in meditation because music in general has a very strong effect on our emotions. We listen to music pretty much all the time, depending on our moods. If we are in a melancholic mood, we find the sentimental type of music to listen to. If we are full of energy, there is rock, pop and whatnot.
So no wonder that meditation has meditation has adopted music from the dawn of times.
Just mention to any of your friends meditation, or even think of it yourself, and you will immediately think of a particular kind of music or setting associated with relevant music (chanting, om, monks, churches, temples, etc).
So as there is music for any particular type of moods, there is also music for relaxation, stress relief, and this is the meditation type of music.
Of course, not everybody experiences the same effect when listening to meditation music. For example, some people achieve that peace and calm through sounds of nature. Others will obtain the same effect listening to various musical instruments. However, all these have in common a particular gentle note in the sounds, all very calming in nature.
When listening to meditation music, you feel your mind calm, which means your mind is able to focus much better. You will be able to breath more slowly and properly, and the most important thing in our Western society, it helps reduce the every day stress, particularly when meditation is performed every day, or in our case, we are listening and relaxing to meditation music for about 15-20 minutes every day.
I love all aspects of meditation and I am blogging about it. I also meditate regularly and posting my feedback, or any new techniques that I have tried. Please visit my blog and drop me a line at: http://meditationtypes.com/, I would love to hear from you. http://meditationtypes.com/
Music can be a great tool to help you relax and get rid of the day to day stresses that effect you. It is such a powerful tool that there are even music therapy courses that focus specifically on the subject. For the casual user, it is important to ensure that you choose the right kind of music though to get the most benefit from it.
Many people may believe that loud or fast paced music is not good for relaxation but this is not necessarily true. It could be that you enjoy heavy metal music and that after a dull and boring day working in an office job, getting home and listening to a vibrant track by your favorite artist may be just the thing you need to help you forget the stresses of the day and focus your mind on something else.
Music can bring back both good and unhappy memories so it’s best to avoid anything that may remind you of an upsetting or distressing situation. For example, if you remember a track from a friend’s funeral then you may associate the feelings that go with that. Focus instead on music that brings back happy thoughts for you.
As well as the more mainstream and contemporary albums available you can also buy CDs that are designed specifically to bring on a relaxed state of mind. This tracks tend to have rhythms that bring your mind into a state of deep relaxation and are popular with anyone who practices yoga or meditation. They can be good for helping you drift off to sleep if you are suffering from insomnia.
The great thing about music for relaxation is that it does not stop you from performing other activities at the same time. There is no reason why you can’t simply carry on with some of those chores or tasks you need to accomplish about the home at the same time.
You can use music to wake you up in the morning if you have an alarm clock with a radio or even better, with a cd player built in. You can also listen to music on the way to and from work in the car. This can help relax you for the work day ahead and minimize any stresses you may feel on the road.
So the next time you have some tasks ahead that you feel will cause you some stress, try to see if there is a way you can incorporate music into it to help you relax more.
If you would like to get more information on how to get the best stress relief, then please visit our information resources site at http://www.beststressanxietyrelief.com where you can find articles and links to similar topics on the subject.
In modern society there are so many pressures on our time and lives that it can seem difficult to be able to find time for relaxation. Even if we do find time we may have so many thought and anxieties going through our mind that it seems difficult to be able to switch off and enter into a more relaxed frame of mind. Many people consciously want to be able to relax and these are a few strategies that will help the process of relaxation.
1.   Relax Through Breathing. Our breathing is an important bearing on our state of mind. When we are anxious, unconsciously our breathing will become more forceful and heavy. To practise relaxation we can try a breathing exercise of concentrating on our breath. We should try to slow down our breathing and focus on our breath and nothing else. Slow rhythmic breathing is a very natural and spontaneous exercise. It will definitely help us to relax.
2.   Live in the Here and Now. A lot of our mental energy is taken up with thinking about the past or worrying about the future. We should try to make a conscious effort to give less importance to the future and let go of the past. There is an old saying that goes something like. 80% of our worries don’t come true. There is nothing I can do about the other 20% so therefore there is no need to worry at all. Try to remind yourself of this idea throughout the day.
3.   Working with plants or animals. It can be very therapeutic working in a garden. Even if we have only a windowsill we can grow plants. When we take care of other things like plants and a garden it enables us to become less self absorbed and so we lose a lot of our mental tension, enabling us to become more relaxed. Similarly spending time with animals may help a lot.
4.   Music for relaxation. The power of music should never be underestimated in effecting our mood. It is worth hunting for music which really helps us to relax, this may be classical music or new age music. To some extent music is a personal choice, but you can intuitively feel which kind of music helps you to relax. Download your favourite tracks to an ipod so you can listen travelling on the tube or bus. It will definitely help to drown out the busy noise of city life.
5.   Meditation for relaxation. Meditation can definitely help us to relax. When we meditate what we are trying to do is to clear our mind of thoughts. If we can learn to empty the mind we will be able to clear a lot of our mental garbage. Removing our negative thoughts will be a significant calming influence on our state of mind. By developing our meditation we will definitely be able to relax furthermore meditation can give us real peace of mind. However to get the most from meditation we do need to give it a certain importance. We should try to meditate every day, preferably at the same time. This will gradually make our meditation more powerful.
6.   Develop harmonious relationships with others. Often the biggest stumbling block to enable relaxation is when conflicts develop in relationships with others. To develop greater harmony it is always worth trying to maintain a loving and forgiving attitude. Sometimes it is better to be happy rather than right. We shouldn’t feel we have to have the last word on everything, otherwise there will be no end to conflict.
7.   Find Time for relaxation. Often we feel pressured by so many things we need to do. However we should feel the importance of making time to relax. If we have a good state of mind then whatever we do will be more effective.
Richard lives in Oxford and is a meditation student of Sri Chinmoy.
Sri Chinmoy has composed many recording of music suitable for meditation and relaxation.
Music for relaxation is available at Radio Sri Chinmoy.
How do you choose the relaxation music that works best? You can certainly start by experimenting with many different types. After all, it seems likely that what one person finds relaxing another will find irritating. But is it all just a matter of personal preference?
Actually no. Though ones personal tastes enter into the equation, there are reasons that some types of music are more relaxing than others. For example, both science and the experience of many people point to the usefulness of baroque music for relaxation. Studies have shown that baroque music at 60 beats per minute causes your brain to produce more alpha brainwaves. Why does that matter? More on that in a moment. For now, here are some specific examples of good relaxation music.
“Harpsichord Concerto in F Minor,” by J.S. Bach
“Concerto No.10 in F Major from Twelve Concerti Grossi,” by A. Corelli
“Winter” from “The Four Seasons,” by A. Vivaldi
“Canon in D,” by Pachelbel
“Adagio in G Minor for Strings,” by Albinoni
Often it’s just a passage from these that has the most relaxing effect. In the first three examples above, the movements referred to as “largo” work best.
What other types of music help people relax? Light jazz (try Luther Vandross) works for some. Eastern music, like that which uses the Indian Sitar, is another favorite (try Ravi Shankar). Generic easy listening music with sounds of nature mixed in is a common choice as well.
Any of the music in these examples is relatively inexpensive. Even the best “sounds of nature” and “easy listening” relaxation CDs are usually no more than twenty-five dollars. However, if you’re willing to spend a bit more, there is a more scientific approach to using relaxation music.
Altering Your Brainwaves
Some types of music work better than others because of what they do to our brainwaves. Our brains primarily produce brainwaves at 14 – 30 hertz (cycles-per-second) during normal waking consciousness. In this frequency range they are referred to as “beta” waves. Frequencies from 8 – 14 hertz are “alpha” waves, which are present when we are more relaxed. Around 4 – 8 hertz is the “theta” range, accompanied by a deeper meditative or drowsy state. Finally, during deep sleep delta waves (below 5 hertz) are produced.
Meditation stimulates the more relaxing states of consciousness especially if it is regularly practiced. The good news, if you don’t have the time nor inclination to meditate, is that music which has been embedded with certain beats works in the same way. This is the basis for the newest brainwave entrainment technologies, based on decades of research. Simply listen to these CDs or MP3s with headphones and they alter your brainwaves, causing a quick relaxation response.
In other words, if you’re willing to spend a little more, you get true relaxation technology. Also, these products generally have pleasant music for a background too (though some use rain or wave sounds). That makes them the best kind of relaxation music in my experience.
