Today I want to explain to you what advantages and disadvantages you’ll find if you use background music for meditation.
When you practice meditation, you want to find a calm and comfortable spot, especially if you are new to it. A place where you can offer fewer distractions to your wandering mind, and noise and sounds can be part of it.
So, what happens with music? Is it an ally of your meditation or not?
Meditation without Music
The better advice would be to practice meditation without using any type of sound. The same music can make your mind going to the pleasure of listening to it, or it can turn your attention when the melody raises a little intensity or tone.
Therefore, it would be convenient not to use it. But there are some exceptions…
Meditation with Music
Sometimes it turns out that, for whatever reason, you can only meditate in a certain place or at a certain time. And it turns out that at that time and place there is too much loud noise, too much discomfort, or maybe an intermittent sound of something that really bothers you. Even if there are people talking too close by (and our mind tends to “activate itself” automatically when we hear other people talking).
So, if with music we can make those sounds that make us uncomfortable, practically disappear, then it would be good to use the music to soften and improve the sound environment. In this case, music can become a great ally of your meditation practice.
Best Music for Meditation
That said… what’s the best music you can choose for your meditation practice?
It should be relaxing music, without lyrics or maybe repeating a Mantra, soft and without rises of tone that can make you, suddenly, paying too much attention to it.
The internet is plenty of pre-made playlists you can use during your practice. Apple Music and Spotify, if you have an account with them, will offer you hours of perfect relaxing music with no ads.
I love living in this “time” where music is so easy to reach, inspiration and new tunes can be discovered just touching the screen of our phones. Easily giving us immediate access to millions of songs, hours of new and old feelings, making us laugh, cry, close our eyes, and being lulled by it.
If you have Apple Music check out this Mindful Meditation Playlist!
Music: Ty Burhoe – Angel’s Prayer (Invocation)
I will forever remember the first time I heard the song of this video: I was doing my teacher training in Barcelona, and it was one of the first practices we were doing with one of the loveliest humans I’ve ever met, UjU Yoga. It was the end of the class and we were lying in Shavasana. Just a few seconds went on and I fell so deeply inside while feeling my heart so full of unconditional love, that tears came into my eyes and… oh is even hard to describe it in words.
All I can say is that I’ll be forever grateful for that moment, for those lovely humans that were surrounding me, for that song… that every time I play…. brings me so deeply inward that I can almost feel I’m flying.
What’s your experience? Leave a comment below, contact us, or share your practice with music on Instagram tagging @create_mindfulness