New age relaxation &
meditation music keeps your spirit free and helps you to enjoy a stress
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The Mozart Effect, classical music for relaxation
How to listen to relaxation music to
get the most benefit
Using relaxation Music for Transformation & Healing.
Article by Howard Richman of Sound Feelings Publishing
Related Links
The Mozart Effect, classical music for
relaxation
The ‘Mozart Effect’ received a great deal of media attention in 1993
after the publication of a study conducted by Frances Rauscher, Gordon
Shaw, and Katherine Ky. Since the publication of Rauscher et
al. study, research has been somewhat mixed. Several follow-up studies
by Rauscher and her colleagues provide additional support for the
'Mozart effect.' In 1995, Rauscher and her colleagues investigated
spatial reasoning abilities in 79 college students who listened to
Mozart's piano sonata, listened to various other musical pieces, or did
not listen to music. Subjects who listened to the Mozart music performed
significantly better than the other two control conditions.
Three studies by Dr. Rideout at Ursinus College in Collegeville,
Pennsylvania provide further evidence in support of the 'Mozart effect.'
In 1997, Rideout and Taylor replicated the 'Mozart effect' in 32 college
studies using two different spatial-reasoning tasks. In 1996, Rideout
and Laubach studied 8 college students who listened to Mozart's piano
sonata in one condition and no music in another condition. Changes in
EEG (i.e., brain wave activity) were examined prior to and while engaged
in two spatial-reasoning tasks. Rideout and Taylor found that subjects
performed better on these tasks after listening to the Mozart music. In
addition, the EEG recordings were slightly correlated with the students'
performance (i.e., increased activity was associated with increase in
performance).
In 1998, Hughes, Daaboul, Fino, and Shaw, researchers at the University
of Illinois Medical Center, had patients with seizures listen to
Mozart's piano sonata. In 23 of 29 instances, there was a dramatic
decrease in epileptic activity while listening to this music.
Interestingly, these researchers also documented a substantial decrease
in epileptic activity in a comatose patient while being presented with
Mozart music.
In 1998, Johnson, Cotman, Tasaki, and Shaw studied the effects of Mozart
music on a set of twins who were both suffering from Alzheimer's
disease. One twin listened to Mozart's piano sonata and the other twin
listened to songs from the 1930's in one condition and no music in
another condition. The twin who listened to Mozart's piano sonata
performed much better on a spatial-temporal task than the twin who
participated in the two placebo conditions.
Listening to music is non-invasive, is usually a pleasant experience,
and may have the potential to affect cognition positively. More research
is needed to assess the validity of the 'Mozart effect' as well as to
determine whether this effect can last longer than 10 or 15 minutes. The
'Mozart effect' is clearly a fascinating subject which has the potential
to have far-reaching implications.
There is also a growing body of evidence indicating that active
involvement in music, such as singing and/or playing a musical
instrument, may improve spatial as well as verbal abilities.
It is a matter of fact that
listening to
calming music in general will help you to relax. Of course if you
hate classical music for example you will have difficulties relaxing or
doing anything while it is playing. So it is important for you to find
the type of music that relaxes you, and I mean R E L A X. Something that
just wants to make you lay down and rest and be still and dream. Not the
type of music that lets you perform better or get you in the swing of
things. Think about the difference and experiment, take note how you
react to different types of music.
How to listen to relaxation music to get the most
benefit
One of the most amazing insights from our mind-brain research is that
when the mind is in a balanced state, the brain functions in a
measurably balanced way. As you watch the electrical activity of your
brain displayed on a color monitor, you can see how moment to moment the
mind-brain state flows in and out of balance.
When the brain comes into balance, there is a "synching up" of the
activity of both the left and right sides of the brain. It is like what
happens when dozens of individual musicians stop tuning their individual
instruments, or stop trying to drown each other out, and finally begin
to actually play music together as one orchestra.
When this unusually balanced brainstate was first discovered, numerous
researchers attempted to identify the key method necessary to bring it
about. After thousands of experiments, the data analysis revealed that
the single most important element was an open, focused quality of mind,
sometimes described as "panoramic attention" or as "mindfulness of
space."
In this state of panoramic attention, the mind is balanced, peaceful,
open, clear, and powerfully present. Brain activity is balanced left to
right and front to back in a highly integrated, organized, coherent, and
nearly superfluid state of responsive functioning.
So to get the most out of listening to any kind of relaxing music you
can use the following steps:
-
1. Because it is easier for the mind to open, equalize, and balance when
your body is relaxed, take a few deep and easy breaths and release any
tensions you may become aware of. Take a few minutes to scan through
your whole body and to let the breath help you to draw your awareness
into any regions in your body that are calling for attention.
-
2. Deepen this technique to help you focus your awareness into any
sticking points of tension in your mind. Breathing in, focus in a deep
and spacious way within the center of any thoughts. Breathing out, let
the energy of that thought flow or dissolve like a cloud melting into
the deep clear sky.
-
3. Next, sense and feel your whole body like a big balloon that is
completely open, unobstructed, and hollow inside.
-
4. Now, sense yourself sitting right at the very center of your
universe. Consciously open and expand the field of your awareness to
become aware of you unique place in space. Allow the internal sense of
openness and spaciousness to expand. Allow your field scanners to reach
up to see, sense, or feel whatever is above you, and to reach down to
sense and discover whatever is below you.
-
5. Now allow yourself to effortlessly maintain this evenly hovering,
open awareness that attends equally to the flow of both inner and outer
experiences. Find the balance of mind necessary to equally attend both
to the things or people around you, as well as to the spaces between
these things. Delight in dwelling within the equalizing spaciousness of
balanced awareness.
-
6. As you deepen and expand this quality of panoramic attention,
effortlessly include the resonance of all the sounds filling the space
within and around you. In a similar way, sense everything within and
around you that is in motion … and balance this with the mindful
awareness of everything that is still and unmoving. Let this awareness
extend equally to include all the experiences within and around you.
Combine this with your favourite relaxation music and you will find
yourself relaxed, refreshed and rejuvenated after even listening to
music for only 10 minutes . It is also ok to just lay down and fall
asleep!
Using Music for Transformation & Healing
Article by Howard Richman of Sound Feelings Publishing,
Tarzana, California.
http://www.soundfeelings.com/free/music_healing.htm These tips were prepared by Howard Richman and are offered for free as a
courtesy.
11 helpful free tips show how to listen to music for transformation and
healing from sound feelings. This free information reveals secrets to
support recovery, meditation and
spiritual growth through music healing.
All music can be healing especially for
stress, pain, insomnia,
addictions, smoking,
cardiovascular illnesses, post-traumatic-stress syndrome, TMJ,
panic
disorder/anxiety, overweight, anorexia, bulimia,
depression,
low
self-esteem, stress, creative or emotional blocks, anger, fear, sadness,
hyperactivity, attention deficit disorder,
inner child processing
(adults), stress and insomnnia for the pregnant woman, anxiety and pain
during birth, colic and anxiety in the newborn infant, breastfeeding,
emotional armor,
conflicts, infertility, cancer,
anger, AIDS, infection,
fear,
lack of self-respect, immune system suppression, scleroderma,
frustration, individual transformational music, self-reflection,
heightened awareness,
relaxation, and
inspiration.
-
1 Select Appropriate Music.
Most of us choose music that we “like” but will this give us the best
results? In fact, often the music we are least attracted to will have
the greatest benefit (when played in the right sequence). Let’s say you
are very angry. So your first instinct is to put on some really angry
music. Does it really help, or does it kind of perpetuate how you feel?
Yet, on the other hand if you play some light and happy music, by
comparison to how you are currently feeling, it will probably make you
feel angrier! As you see, selecting music is not a simple one-shot
process.
-
2 Consider Music Sequencing.
Sometimes it is necessary to first choose music that totally matches
your current mood rather than the mood you wish to acquire. Consider
arranging a series of different musical compositions in sequence that
are customized just for your needs. For example, if you are dealing with
depression, select a composition which represents depression in its
extreme form, to you. Follow this with one that is only mildly
depressing. Then select a neutral composition, and end with a
composition which is clearly uplifting and motivating. Listening to
music in a sequence like this allows for your current stress level or
mood to be first honored and then to be gradually transformed.
-
3 Speakers Are Ideal.
It is ideal to listen to the music through speakers rather than
headphones so that the cells of the body themselves may “listen” to the
sound.
-
4 Prepare Yourself to Listen.
Take off your shoes. Stand relaxed, sit or lie down and breathe.
-
5 Listen All the Way Through.
It is preferable to listen to the musical composition all the way
through, without interruption. This allows for the optimum response to
the transformation process.
-
6 Foreground, Not Background.
We all have the tendency to use music for the background of other
activities. Try developing the technique of just listening to the music,
not doing anything else. This way, you will get the best benefit.
-
7 Your Response is What is Important.
It is through your response that the emotional/cellular memory may be
released. Do not think that you have to just stay still and concentrate
on the music! In fact, if the music inspires you to get up and do
something or your mind begins to wander, allow, allow, allow! Allow all
responses without judgement. On the other hand, do not begin listening
to the music while you are already doing other unrelated activities. The
important thing is to let the music embrace you totally.
-
8 Listen Actively, Not Passively.
Allow the music to reach your inner feeling, and respond freely to it.
Everyone has a different manner of expression. You may experience visual
images, thoughts, movement, an intensification of emotion, physical
vibrations, sleep, or nothing at all.
-
9 Observe Mind/Body Connection.
A lot of research has been done recently showing that there is a
definite connection between the mind and the body. (Actually this refers
to the emotions too but it sounds succinct to say “mind/body.”) Even
though music healing is often related to relaxation and emotional
issues, there is the likelihood that this indirectly could have a
benefit on physical illnesses as well.
-
10 Enjoy the Silence!
When the music stops, it is suggested that you bask in the silence for
many moments. This will help integrate the feelings.
-
11 Use a Journal.
If you wish to record your progress in a journal, it can be helpful, but
it is not necessary.
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