lMusic speaks to the heart and brain and even changes our breathing rate. In short, it’s a natural anxiolytic to use at all times, even when you’re doing yoga or want to cheer yourself up.
Music, with its rhythm and waves, makes the cells vibrate and is ideal for yoga. It increases or slows down the heartbeat, affects breathing, calms or speeds it up, and engages in dialogue with our brain, affecting different areas and awakening emotions. “We are a big orchestra: each cell has its own frequency. And music helps us keep it in balance,” explains the music therapist. Donatella Nicolosi. The effect of notes on the mind and body is now more than confirmed by science. For example, a study published in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences found that patients who combated their anxiety with music had more tangible results than those who were treated with anti-anxiety medications alone.
Biologist and musician Emiliano Tosa he even brought a piano into the operating room of the Ancona United Hospital to measure how music affects our well-being. The effect was demonstrated on the entire team, as well as on the patient’s brain, which, despite being under complete anesthesia, perceived the beginning and end of the melody. But what kind of music is best for relaxing? And what is the ideal backdrop for practicing yoga or meditation? Here is Donatella Nicolosi’s advice and Raffaella Pellegrinipsychologist and music therapist.
Yoga and Music: Rhythms of Nature for Asanas
“Usually yoga is about relaxation and concentration,” explains Raffaella Pellegrini. “It is good to choose slow songs as a background for this practice. Several studies have shown that music has a “driving” effect on our respiratory and cardiovascular rhythms, as well as inhibition. Rhythm, in short, is one of the parameters directly responsible for the impact on our psyche. “Sound is energy, it has its own frequency that affects the body and mind, modifying the waves activated by our brain,” explains music therapist Donatella Nicolosi.
“When we are in the normal waking state, beta waves. The moment we enter a state of greater relaxation, surface meditation, alpha waves: slow breathing and heart rate. So for yoga, you need low-frequency music that makes them produce.” There are examples? Search music on Youtube or Spotify by aeolialike Angel Love: ideal as a backdrop for asanas.
Whatever genre you choose, keep an eye on changes in volume and tempo. “They should not be sudden or very intense,” Raffaella Paganini warns. “It is also better that the work does not have too many different instruments or voices, and that they are characterized by soft or clear timbres, rather than rough or scratchy.” Yes, even to the sounds of nature. The rustle of the forest, the singing of birds, the falling rain, the waves of the sea are sounds that various studies have shown to calm the sympathetic system, which triggers reactions associated with stressful situations, and stimulate the nervous system. parasympathetic, which promotes relaxation and self-care. Also ideal for pranayama, the practice focuses on the breath. For a more dynamic yoga practice, a good solution is provided by the floor relaxit is better if it is characterized by a rather slow rhythm, which helps to mark movements and take various positions.
Song of the planets for meditation
The most appropriate music for a more meditative practice is one that causes the brain to activate theta waves, typical of the phase in which we dream. In this case, a CD with nature sounds or something instrumental will do, preferably without clear lyrics, because it can be distracting. “There is music that can attune us to the universe, and for this very reason it promotes a meditative state,” adds Donatella Nicolosi. Did you know it? NASA has recorded song of the planetsincluding the Earth and the Milky Way. You can find it on Youtube and try using it as a background for your meditation practice. Yes, also to Tibetan and Eastern sounds: such instruments as sitara variation of the guitar widely used in India can help you focus on your breathing.
Yoga and music: anti-stress songs for everyone
Music has a powerful calming effect, which is great not only for yoga. The most recent study, published in May in the Journal of Public Health, confirms this impact on healthcare workers being tested during the pandemic. Listening to music has been seen to help reduce stress, anxiety, and the risk of burnout. Immersion in playlists in the morning is ideal: the Department of Psychology at McGill University in Canada has noticed that listening to music after waking up strengthens the immune system, reduces stress levels, increases the production of serotonin and oxytocin, and reduces cortisol, the stress hormone.
The Milan Symphony Orchestra created Nostress Symphonix and Symphonix Plus Concerts to combat anxiety at work and sold them in packs of five as if they were medicine packs. On the leaflet it was written: “suitable for people of all ages who live between obligations and all sorts of thoughts, so much so that you often have to find the right balance.” They range from Ravel to Debussy, from Beethoven to Dvorak. “The seasons of Vivaldi are also ideal, they can represent the times of our soul: spring, summer, autumn, winter,” advises Nicolosi.
To relax, you can also take another path that goes in the opposite direction but leads to the same result. “You can “unload” yourself with a pleasant charge of energy,” explains psychologist and music therapist Raffaella Paganini. “In this case, more sustained rhythms and large volumes with frequent energy changes are needed, which contributes to the activation of the body. There are examples? This is my life Bon Jovi, Don’t stop me now Queens, stronger kanye west, I gotta Feeling peas with black eyes. In any case, it seems obvious, but it is not: choose the genres and styles that you like, because the works that are more familiar to us make us feel good more easily.
Yoga and music: what instrument do you have?
They also have different effects on the mind and body. “For example, the piano and harp have a range of sounds that appeal to the heart and the unconscious and relax,” explains Donatella Nicolosi. “Strings work on emotions: if you need to survive grief or separation, violins work, they help express what you have inside.” Percussion affects self-esteem. “Perfect for meditation, the shaman drum resonates with the heartbeat: it reminds us of a mother’s heartbeat, which is by far the first sound that reaches our ears.”
There is a playlist for everything
On the web you can find the right music for every type of yoga and meditation. Here are the playlists selected Patricia Kipel, music consultant for Rehegoo, the world’s first manufacturer of relaxation music. You can find them on Spotify.
For yoga
Guided yoga at home: explains in English how to do yoga poses with background music.
For meditation
- Corerumet Deep Meditation 50: contains 50 tracks that can be used as a background for meditation, from sea waves to birdsong combined with keyboards or guitar.
- Relaxation session: nature sounds and background music for yoga and relaxation.
- gongs for meditation AND Tibetan mantra bowls: Tibetan bells, sitar and percussion combined with mantras are perfect for meditation.