Listening
to music does wonder to alleviate
stress. Everyone has different tastes
in music. We should listen to the
music that makes us feel comfortable.
Sitting down and forcing yourself
to listen to relaxation music that
you don't like may create stress,
not alleviate it. Music is a significant
mood-changer and reliever of stress,
working on many levels at once.
The
entire human energetic system is extremely
influenced by sounds, the physical
body and chakra centers respond specifically
to certain tones and frequencies.
Special consideration should be given
to the positive effects of one actually
playing or creating music themselves.
Among the first stress-fighting changes
that take place when we hear a tune
is an increase in deep breathing.
The body's production of serotonin
also accelerates.
Playing
music in the background while we are
working, seemingly unaware of the
music itself, has been found to reduce
the stress of the workplace. That’s
why so many retail places play music
while you shop – to take your
mind off the high prices!
Music
was found to reduce heart rates and
to promote higher body temperature
- an indication of the onset of relaxation.
Combining music with relaxation therapy
was more effective than doing relaxation
therapy alone.
Many
experts suggest that it is the rhythm
of the music or the beat that has
the calming effect on us although
we may not be very conscious about
it. They point out that when we were
a baby in our mother's womb, we probably
were influenced by the heart beat
of our mother. We respond to the soothing
music at later stages in life, perhaps
associating it with the safe, relaxing,
protective environment provided by
our mother.
Music
can be one of the most soothing or
nerve wracking experiences available.
Choosing what will work for any individual
is difficult, most will choose something
they 'like' instead of what might
be beneficial.
In doing extensive research on what
any given piece of music produces
in the physiological response system
many unexpected things were found.
Many of the so-called meditation and
relaxation recordings actually produced
adverse EEG patterns, just as bad
as Hard Rock and Heavy Metal.
The
surprising thing was many selections
of Celtic, Native American as well
as various music containing loud drums
or flute were extremely soothing.
The most profound finding was any
music performed live and even at moderately
loud volumes even if it was somewhat
discordant had very a beneficial response.
As
we mentioned before, there is not
a single music that is good for everyone.
People have different tastes. It is
important that you like the music
being played. I recently picked up
a rest and relaxation CD at Wal-Mart
that has done wonders for me. It has
the sounds of the ocean in the background
while beautiful piano music plays.
It’s very soothing.
One
note here, it’s probably not
a good idea to play certain types
of ballads or songs that remind you
of a sad time in your life when you’re
trying to de-stress. The reason is
obvious. You’re trying to relax
and wash away the anxious thoughts.
The last thing that you need is for
a sad song to bring back memories
you don’t need anyway.
Here
are some general guidelines to follow
when using music to de-stress.
•
To wash away stress, try taking
a 20-minute "sound bath."
Put some relaxing music on your
stereo, and then lie in a comfortable
position on a couch or on the floor
near the speakers. For a deeper
experience, you can wear headphones
to focus your attention and to avoid
distraction.
•
Choose music with a slow rhythm
- slower than the natural heart
beat which is about 72 beats per
minute. Music that has repeating
or cyclical pattern is found to
be effective in most people.
•
As the music plays, allow it to
wash over you, rinsing off the stress
from the day. Focus on your breathing,
letting it deepen, slow and become
regular. Concentrate on the silence
between the notes in the music;
this keeps you from analyzing the
music and makes relaxation more
complete.
•
If you need stimulation after a
day of work, go for a faster music
rather than slow calming music.
Turn up the volume and DANCE! It
doesn’t matter if you can
actually dance or not. Just move
along with the music and do what
feels good. You’ll be shocked
at the release you can feel!
•
When going gets tough, go for a
music you are familiar with - such
as a childhood favorite or favorite
oldies. Familiarity often breeds
calmness.
•
Take walks with your favorite music
playing on the walkman. Inhale and
exhale in tune with the music. Let
the music takes you. This is a great
stress reliever by combining exercise
(brisk walk), imagery and music.
•
Listening to the sounds of nature,
such as ocean waves or the calm
of a deep forest, can reduce stress.
Try taking a 15- to 20-minute walk
if you're near the seashore or a
quiet patch of woods. If not, you
can buy tapes of these sounds in
many music stores. This has been
very calming for me – you
should try it too!
There’s
another great relaxation technique
that I have found in coping with my
own anxiety problems: self-hypnosis.
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