How to Practice Music Meditation

Music meditation involves focusing your attention and awarness on your breath as you meditate and listen to music. Meditation music can include relaxing music specifically created to help people get into a meditative state, but it can also include any music that you find enjoyable.

Benefits of Music Meditation

Music has many wonderful benefits for stress management and overall health. It can help you calm your physiology without making a conscious effort, and that can alleviate stress in your mind. Music can also lift your mood, slow your breathing, and create other stress-inducing changes. 

Meditation is also one of the most popular stress management strategies for good reason—it brings short-term benefits like a calm mind and body and can build resilience toward stress over time. Practicing meditation can help:

• Reduce cortisol levels
• Improve stress management
• Increase self-awareness
• Increase immunity
• Build greater empathy
• Reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression
• Improve sleep quality

Combining music with meditation can deepen the positive effects and bring you greater stress relief.

As a bonus, for many people who are beginners to meditation or perfectionists, music meditation can feel simpler and more instantly relaxing than other forms of practice. It's a stress relief technique anyone can use. With regular practice, this meditation can help you to manage better whatever stress comes.

Effects of Music and Meditation

Research on the effects of music and meditation is promising.

One study found that both meditation and listening to music had positive effects on memory and cognitive performance in adults experiencing subjective cognitive decline, which is a predictor for Alzheimer's disease.

Another study found that both meditation and music listening have beneficial effects on stress, mood, sleep, and well-being in adults with subjective cognitive decline.

Listening to music can also help increase dopamine in the brain, resulting in euphoria and happiness. Pairing music with meditation can help you stick with your practice and enjoy it more.

Instructions for Music Mediation

Here's how you can get started with music meditation:

Choose the Right Meditation Music

Choose meditation music that can help you relax. This means finding music that you enjoy listening to—if you don’t enjoy classical music, for example, don’t choose it. You should also look for music that has a slower tempo, and preferably without lyrics, which can be distracting and can engage your conscious mind—the part of your mind that we hope to slow down.

Get Comfortable

Get into a comfortable position and relax. Many people think they need to sit with their legs crossed a certain way or use a meditation cushion, but really, whatever position you feel is comfortable is the position you should try. 

Relax and Breathe

Once you've found your position:

• Close your eyes
• Relax your muscles
• Breathe through your diaphragm
• Let your shoulders, your belly, and even the muscles in your face relax

Breathe in deeply through your nose, gently expanding your belly rather than your chest, then exhale through your mouth. 

Stay Focused on the Music

If you find yourself thinking about other things (or even thinking thoughts about the music), gently redirect your attention to the present moment, the sound of the music, and the feelings in your body that the music evokes. Try to really feel the music.

Set a Timer

Continue this practice for several minutes, until your time runs out. As thoughts come into your head, gently let them go and redirect your attention to the sound of the music, the present moment, and the physical sensations you feel.

Tips for Practicing Music Meditation

The good news is that meditation is something you can start easily. The key is to start small—a few minutes each day—and then keep working on your skills. Research has shown that meditating for as little as five to 10 minutes each day can be beneficial. Consistency is key, so try to set aside a little time each day to practice.

Try Instrumental Music

If you find the music brings lots of thoughts, memories, and internal dialogue, switch to a different type of music. Instrumental music can come in many forms, including classical, jazz, new age, and more, and it can be less distracting than other types of music.

Create a Meditation Playlist

Create a playlist specifically for your meditation session and match the playtime to the desired length of your meditation session. You can time your practice with the number of songs you choose so you don’t have to worry if you are taking more time than you have.

Notice and Redirect Thoughts Without Judgment

If you find yourself 'thinking too much,' don’t beat yourself up over it; this is natural for those beginning meditation practice. Instead, congratulate yourself on noticing the internal dialogue and redirecting your attention to the present moment.

Takeaway

Music can be a great tool for focusing your awareness and attention during meditation. Both music and meditation have powerful mental health benefits on their own, so combining them may help maximize their effects. If you are interested in trying this approach to meditation, start by finding relaxing music you enjoy and then set aside about 15 to 20 minutes each day to practice.