Experiencing True Relaxation With Meditation And Music

Even deep sleep cannot give you the rest you need if your mind stays busy. Meditation with the help of relaxing music can rest your mind.

by Daniel Kobialka, D.M.A.

young man meditating to relaxing music I heard a short conversation on the morning news today with a doctor who said that most adults need 6 or 7 hours of sleep a night to truly relax and recover, depending on the individual. But seemingly, as babyboomers are growing older, they may get long enough sleep but often are not getting good enough quality sleep.

Babyboomers are a successful, motivated, sometimes driven generation, and they can find it difficult to let go of stress and pressures.

Quality sleep is considered by many doctors to be REM sleep, the deep sleep when you dream. But there are some who say even this sleep is not truly relaxing enough. We all have experienced the feeling of waking up from a particularly exciting or troubling dream only to feel tired still.

True relaxation is of the mind as well as of the body. This sort of complete relaxation comes about when we meditate.

Using music for relaxation

Many people say that music helps them relax and meditate. As soothing as music can be, in order to let the music calm the mind and body, the proper selection must be made, and there are guidelines for this. It is then up to you to pick what music works for you in this way.

When we listen to music with a melody or voices singing, we tend to have expectations. We anticipate the repetition of a chorus or melody, or simply enjoy following along with our minds. This sort of active participation in the music does not support relaxation of the mind.

Music that is gentle, simple and unobtrusive, perhaps with prolonged notes or tones, or music that simply exists without direction, beginning or ending of parts, can be quite suitable for helping the mind let go and simply float aimlessly.

Sometimes people find that music helps them meditate when they are first learning how and then later find that it is distracting. In this way, music can be a teacher of learning how to calm one's mind.

If you visit my online store, you can purchase music that supports relaxation and meditation. I particularly recommend the album, "Pathless Journey". You can also listen to free music samples from this CD and many others, to help you choose music that will assist you in relaxation and meditation.