Neuroscience Shows How Dance Music And Meditation Have Similar Effects

Traditionally there would simply be silence or ambient background noise to accompany meditation. Come for the silly mindfulness games, stay for the secret of life. While new age music has become a cliche in the wellness world, there isn't a singular definition of meditative music. Swirling synth drones, plucky zither, vibrating gongs, whirring bowls, chirping birds, crashing waves.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind while incorporating music into a sleep-promoting evening routine. Parents know from experience that lullabies and gentle rhythms can help babies to fall asleep. Science supports this common observation, showing that children of all ages, from premature infants to elementary school children, sleep better after listening to soothing melodies. Browse the many genres of her beautiful, melodic, storytelling meditation music styles here. Music is certainly not a magical cure, nor is it a substitute for therapy, medication, surgery, or any other medical treatments. But music can be an important element of your well-being and self-care on a daily basis, as well as a helpful partner in dealing with more acute health conditions.

Music therapy is administered by a credentialed provider who assesses the individual’s needs. Treatment involves creating, listening, singing, or moving to music. It’s used for physical rehab, pain management, and brain injuries. Healing with sound is believed to date back to ancient Greece, when music was used in an attempt to cure mental disorders.

When your mind wanders – which is natural – come back to the music. You can only achieve deeper states with certain kinds of music. Scientists are now measuring this collective experience at concerts. One of the reasons we love music so much is that we can forget our troubles and just be. Immersed in sound and devoid of the usual angst of life, we perceive our world from a hyper-present flow state. As both a musician and meditator, I believe that there is a connection between the exalted states on the dancefloor and the spiritual states achieved in meditation.

You sit, you don’t speak, you don’t move (if it’s not walking meditation), and you are alone with your thoughts. If you’ve never meditated before, and you try it in silence right off the bat, the quiet can sometimes put people on edge. But let’s talk briefly about some of the music that’s unique for meditation. If you’re just starting out, this might be a good place to begin.

Music forces us to take a present-centered perspective on reality in order to engage with it. Whether it’s Debussy or deep house, in order to perceive a musical piece we have to follow each beat or note as it happens in real time. This sense of being present feels good; not being present can even make us unhappy.

Certified music therapists are professionals trained in using music to improve mental and physical health. A music therapist can assess a person’s individual needs and create a treatment plan that can involve both listening to and creating music. For more information on music therapy, talk with your doctor or visit the American Music Therapy Association. If you do have trouble meditating with music that has lyrics or loud instruments, try the more traditional meditation music, like instrumental music, meditation bells, or nature sounds. For me, this simple benefit alone should be more highlighted more often to promote hearing music while meditating. Improved focus, concentration and mental clarity are also some of the less-focused benefits of meditating with music.

In the Buddha’s day the vast majority of meditation would have taken place outdoors. Even when meditation took place indoors, the buildings would have lacked glass windows and silence would have been extremely rare. So you could argue that meditating in the presence of natural sounds is closer to the original practice of meditation. On the other hand, just because silence was rare in Ambient music the Buddha’s day doesn’t mean that people then wouldn’t have found silence useful as a background for their practice. Stress is becoming a side effect of modern life and if it’s not taken care of, can lead to serious conditions, such as anxiety and depression. Both music and meditation have been shown to have an positive influence on a persons mental, emotional and physical state.