Meditation is not merely closing your eyes. It is extremely helpful in removing the stress from your mind and is more of an alternative therapy. Known to cure a variety of problems, meditation involves achieving a higher state of mind through focusing and breathing techniques. You need to free your mind of all the distractions and concentrate on just one activity: relaxing. To concentrate, mind requires a peaceful and quaint environment.
Many of us live in bustling cities today and can’t avail the benefits of a quite village lifestyle. Fortunately, you can create an atmosphere of peace and quiet in right in your home by using music and natural sounds. You can focus using meditation music or you can add breathing patterns to be coupled with meditation music. This way your mind eases itself into a relaxed state.
The Effects of Natural Music
There are particular types of music that are scientifically proven to have calming and soothing effects on human brain through tranquil waves. Certain music forms slow down the functioning of brain waves making it relax and reduce stress. Such a meditation technique is extremely useful for people who love music and want to integrate music into their meditation process.
Natural sounds and music inspired by natural hymns is widely used as meditative assistance. The main benefit behind using natural sounds is to create a contrasting environment. An average person hears teasing urban sounds all day long and this upsets the brain. The aim here is to blind these sounds and immerse the individual in a natural environment through sounds. These natural sounds and music symbolize a simpler and stress-free state of mind, helping brain reconnect with its primal past prior to industrialization.
When we subject our ears to natural sounds during meditation, we are able to tap into personal experiences of our past. These emotions may be from our childhood, memories that have a soothing effect or feelings that make us happy. This reconnect can only be achieved through meditation and that too in a relaxed environment. A feeling of freedom, space and liberation is experienced by the listener, thereby taking him to a relaxed state.
Steps to Use Meditation Music
1. Before meditating, select a natural music track you love hearing.
2. Inspect the music set up (mp3 player/ipod) properly to ensure there won’t be any interference later on.
3. Once the music starts playing, you can start your regular meditation routine. For example, you can lie down or sit in a comfortable position.
4. Start breathing deeply and try to focus on the natural music at the same time. Match the pattern of the music with your breathing pattern.
5. Through this matching, try to achieve a relaxed state of mind. Free your mind from the clutches of this world and let only music touch your ears.
6. Once the natural music stops playing, don’t immediately snap out or get up. Slowly breathe and get up to adjust according to your surrounding environment.
Various Natural Sounds and their Effects
• Rhythmic drumming is known to induce sleep by creating a hypnotic ambiance.
• Use the vibraphone sounds to reduce stress and induce calm.
• Sounds accompanied by rain cut out household noises. It masks urban sounds like heater, refrigerator, food processors etc.
• Thunder sounds also create a masking effect cutting out noises such as barking dogs, loud music systems and honking traffic.
• The rhythmic, steady sounds of ocean waves create a relaxing sensation, thereby reducing stress.
• Wind chimes and sounds of birds chirping are also known to have similar effects. They tend to induce relaxation and counter strain.
• An ambiance of thunder and rain is known to relax a person because it leads one to think that he won’t be able to make it to office today.