One of the most frequently asked questions I get these days is 'how can music be used most effectively for stress management?' There are just a few basic principles that one needs to understand in order to tailor their favorite music for stress management purposes.
It is most important to use YOUR favorite categories of music. If you don't like Mozart or classical music, don't use it! (However, I do hope you'll at least try it!) Good, quality music can be found in most any genre of music.
Choose music that has pleasant associations for you, music that brings you cheerful memories.
If you are trying new music, instrumental music tends to be more stress-relieving than music with lyrics. This is because it does not demand you to "Think."
Choose music that is slow, but that has a regular pulse or beat. Researchers have discovered that music with the tempo of the healthy, resting heartbeat will guide (synchronize or match) your own breathing and heart-beat to it, thus slowing down our racing body rhythms.
Racing thoughts can lead to anxious and stressed-out feelings. For this reason, use the rhythms of slow music, to slow your body and thoughts down.
What are some of my favorite music for stress management? I listen to a lot of classical music. I like the slow movements of the Baroque composers for relaxation. I also like much of the Celtic music that is out, Enya, the Native American flute music, crystal bowls, and the solo piano music of Chopin, Brahms, Rachmaninoff and Debussy.
My list could go on forever. I like slow reggae music, steel drums, the voices of Anonymous 4. If you're not familiar with these names, check them out on the internet, or at your local music store. If I have left you with a burning, unanswered question, please, feel free to contact me.
Dr. Alice Cash is an internationally known speaker and clinician. Her lectures, recitals, keynotes and workshops are sought out by businesses, hospitals, universities, churches, and associations. She is based in Louisville, KY and is a clinical musicologist. For more information, go to http://www.HealingMusicEnterprises.com
Source: www.a1articles.com
