Relaxing Music Therapy For Stress Relief
Relaxing music therapy is a very potent phenomenon.
Sounds can soothe you, fire your imagination, bring you to the heights of ecstasy or bring you down to the depths of your soul.
Music is known to relax and to help in stress relief. In the right manner, music can bring lightness into a serious situation.
Relaxing music therapy can heal, soothe and bring calm tot an agitated mind.
Defining “relaxing music” seems a matter of personal choice. Some people find the serene sounds of the waterfall and chirping birds relaxing while others relax with their favorite hard rock.
How Does It Work?
The therapeutic effect of relaxing sounds seems to have a scientific definition of its own.
When the human brain is relaxed it produces more alpha brain waves.
When a person is stressed out, his brain produces more beta and theta waves. Beta and theta waves are faster changing brain waves than alpha waves.
Within the fight-or-flee logic of a sudden stressful situation, the human brain processes seem to speed up to act faster. This can be helpful in short, specific moments, but it is counter productive when it becomes a chronically state of being.
A relaxing tune can help with its sounds typically rich in frequencies that are similar to our alpha type brain waves.
The mind is always open to suggestions and thus when a person is agitated or tensed, relaxing sounds, rich in alpha like frequencies, can actually bring brain frequencies down from theta to beta to eventually alpha brain waves, changing the overall mood of the listener during this process.
It’s a scientific fact: A relaxing melody can help a person to get at ease. When a person listens to a piece of music that he finds relaxing, he can focus on that, forgetting his agitation and tension. His/her breathing slows down a well as the heart rate and blood pressure.
Harmonizing Rhythms
A soft, soothing rhythmic beat can mimic a relaxed heart rate and that helps a person to slow down and to breathe easy.
The mind almost automatically follows in a so called ¨relaxation reflex¨, creating even more calmness toward the body and towards its own consciousness. The continuous body-mind interaction becomes one of further and mutual relaxation.
The Effects On Our Body Biochemistry
Relaxing sounds have the ability to reduce stress hormones, like cortisol in our body and quell our anxiety.
For this reason, doctors and practitioners use relaxing music while performing operations and procedures.
Relaxing sound compositions are used by dentists, doctors, acupuncturists and hypnotists to relax and heal their patients.
The effect of lowering your stress hormones levels promotes healing in itself.
Endorphins Released
Listening to relaxing sounds can also help in the release of endorphins, the “feel good hormones”.
These endorphins increase the blood circulation and can make you feel happy and relaxed.
Many people report experiencing a high when they listen to relaxing music.
Create a Suitable Environment
Relaxing music therapy can truly help a person to unwind. However, most of the times, people are so stressed out that a tune alone is hardly enough to help them relax.
The environment also needs to be conducive to relaxation and aid in your stress relief.
The best place to relax is in a space where you feel totally at ease. Put on some subtle lighting. Burn some nice aroma candle. Play some relaxation music and lie down.
In this way most external stimulating impressions are reduced to a minimum and your body can relax better.
Then, let yourself go on the waves of those soothing sounds. Do not judge, just observe. Enjoy and follow the natural flow.
It takes at least half an hour for a session of relaxing music therapy to reach its full relaxing effect.
An Active Approach Can Help
There is a different charm in creating your own music.
Playing music is a relaxing exercise in itself. The touch of those keys on the instrument during the very act of playing can infuse calm and peace into your heart.
Once we play music, our minds often go to a place where only our creativity is real.
Conclusion
Relaxation music can actually cure a lot of stress-induced diseases.
Music can help in obtaining stress relief by assisting you in your quest for the right balance.
Music can also aid in meditation and can help in your spiritual development if you wish to.
In addition, the melody and lyrics can inspire towards a more positive outlook on life. Positive words have the power to create good feelings instantly.
A nice melody acts in its own mysterious ways and combined with those lyrics it can create a powerful drive towards a lighter point of view, a higher level of mental freedom, a broader interpretation of reality.
Take my advice. Whenever you are down and out, take a break and listen to some great relaxing music. Enjoy doing just that and refuel your mind and body.
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