A lot of people nowadays, prefer listening to music while meditating. It is very common in yoga centers and schools today. Traditionally, we could say that yoga wasn’t practiced with any music. The notion probably came from the west where playing relaxing music while performing any method of healing was quite common. Now the music is known as meditation music and it has become commonplace that people find it hard to meditate without it.
It is also true however that traditionally meditation was practiced in places that had ambient noise that was peaceful and pleasant. The meditation music we have also provided a similar effect. Beyond just helping us relax. It also helps us be more focused and reflect deeply. Some people, however, find that the music distracts them while doing these activities. If you are focusing on the breathing, then you tune the music out, or if you let the music flow through you, you aren’t fully focused on your breathing. With this kind of music now becoming soo common and being played in shopping centers and elevators, it seems to be diminishing the pleasant feelings associated with it.
On the other hand, some people prefer to just focus on music. This they feel is relaxing and peaceful. This cannot be considered meditation exactly, but people do benefit from the practice. Just like mundane activities like cleaning or dusting can be meditative if done right, listening to music can also be so. What you are essentially doing is picking an activity that is simple and adding an experience that is very satisfying and rich to it. This is what makes music the best accompaniment to meditation.Such effective listening to meditative music can be very powerful. It gives you a clear mind, concentration, peace, and happiness. This, some may say occurs from just the practice of listening to music. Experiencing this along with meditation just adds to the experience and helps you find your own source of inner happiness.
Mindless listening to music and meditation, however, vary on the fact that you need to consciously make an effort to practice it seriously. You cannot be multitasking and doing any other activity while meditating. Avoid keeping electronic devices very close to you even if it is the source of your music. Keep your phone away from your body for example, as it can be a source of distraction. Sit or lie down comfortably and stay motionless. Pay attention to your music and you will find yourself opening up to an entirely new world of bliss.
Meditation music also come in the form of natural sounds such as water, streams, waves, bird sounds etc. This is a very reasonable accompaniment as most meditative practices took place in open natural environments originally. Thus it takes you closer to the recreation of the experience of meditation in the olden days. Silence, on the other hand, may have been rare in the earlier times but seems to work fine for some people. Finding a nice and silent place in today’s busy cities however have us resort to meditation music, just to block out the noise of traffic. The sounds of nature connects our minds to the natural world which is often not accessible to us. This is why a lot of people fall asleep listening to these sounds.
Now that we know the various effects of meditation music and nature sounds, it is up to you to choose what works best for you.