Healing Music

For many, music can have a healing effect on both the body and the spirit. In fact, the old adage "music soothes the savage beast" can be applied to the human condition as well. The appropriate music tends to have a relaxing and soothing effect on a person, and is often used in combination with massage therapy, oil therapy, fragrance, and other forms of complementary healing.

It is easy to find a wide assortment of healing music. Simply searching on the Internet brings a multitude of websites that offer music in a variety of forms. Many of these titles feature sounds of nature, including thunderstorms, crashing surf, rain, forest sounds, trickling streams and other sounds of nature. These are often combined with soft classical music to create a naturally soothing way to relax and unwind.

To soothe an overactive mind and induce sleep, there are also musical selections designed specifically to lull you into sleep. These often include natural sounds, soft music and sometimes even employ various levels of white noise. These pieces are designed to help you block out the ambient sounds that may be keeping you awake, while inducing a relaxed state.

To aid in the effectiveness of massage, many artists have produced collections ideal for meditation and the healing arts. This music is generally soft, harmonious, and full of gently vibrating tones that serve to induce relaxation and a state of consciousness that is more receptive to healing.

With the recent surge in popularity of spas and wellness centers, a new genre of music called "spa music" has emerged. The music is available to practitioners as well as private individuals, and can help you recreate the spa experience in your own home. Full of beautifully arrangement instrumentals, soothing vocalizations and gentle rhythms, spa music can help to create the perfect ambience for massage, mediation and other forms of spiritual centeredness.

A more specific type of healing music is called "trance" music, in which the listener progresses into a trance-like state to connect to a deeper spirituality. The music is often infused with the rhythms and instrumentations of ancient cultures, including South American, Native American and Middle Eastern. Often full of energy and drumbeats, the music can help to clear the mind from the modern day chaos and bring about an awareness of the universality of man through a shared experience in music.

Ambient music is another category can be very helpful in creating the right mood for spiritual healing. The music is used for relaxation and meditation, and often does not contain the lyrical component people generally expect from music, but rather a soft and sensual combination of sounds that create an experience outside the realm of everyday existence. This "other-wordly" effect can help to create an experience in which the cares and stresses of the day-to-day world are replaced with a true sense of relaxation and inner connectedness.

For yoga enthusiasts, there are a number of audio collections available. Many of these draw on Far and Middle Eastern music for their inspiration, and may include harp, Indian santoor and sitar, Celtic guitar, and other forms of instrumentation. Unlike the ambient music, yoga music is traditionally melodic, helping to create a peaceful sensation while counting and holding the various yoga poses. Along these same lines, there are musical collections that can be helpful at home when trying to balance the energy forces through feng Shui. The music incorporates the energy vibrations of the auditory experience with the powerful forces of earth, water, fire, wood and metal so important to a balanced environment in any home or other building.