Music is an excellent stress management tool for not only your senses, but also your health. It can bring on actual physical changes to your brain waves, breathing, heart rate and state of mind. Music can be a great way to release stress and tension, and one of the best ways to use music to its full benefit is to listen to it when you’re at the spa, or relaxing in your own home spa or bathtub.

Music Therapy is a great form of therapy, but what type of music is the best to listen to while you’re at the spa? Many experts agree that soft, soothing, New Age music gives the listener the most health benefits when they are listening to it at the spa. This type of music is very soothing, and in a sense puts you to sleep, which is perfect for your psyche. In this state of mind your heartbeat and breathing is at its most natural rhythm and you also feel secure, safe and comfortable. If you have been overworked and feel burnt out then we suggest some soothing New Age music such as David Arkenstone, Paul Lawler, Secret Garden, Rachel Kamps, Vangelis, LMT, or Robin Spielberg. Here is a list of some Grammy Awards winners for the Best New Age Album:

2001- Thinking of You, by Kitaro

2002- A Day Without Rain, by Enya

2003- Acoustic Garden, by Eric Tingstad

2004- One Quiet Night, by Pat Metheny

2005- Returning: Pieces for Guitar 1970-2004, by Will Ackerman

2006- Silver Solstice, by Paul Winter

2007- Amarantine, by Enya

2008- Crestone

If you are looking for something more upbeat or get you out of a sad, depressed funk, then you should consider listening to something that makes you tap your foot, sing in the shower or want to dance. Music that will help promote a positive mood could include tunes that take your mind off of what is stressing or depressing you. This type of music will even continue to help you from getting as stressed and depressed in the future. Some suggestions for music to fill this need in the spa include oldies, 80′s music, or even current music like high-energy hip-hop, or pop. Really any music that at makes you happy and picks you up when you’re feeling down.

When you have spent all of your brain power and just need to rejuvenate your mind it would be wise to subscribe to classical music while indulging in your spa treatment. It has been a well known myth called the “Mozart Effect” that listening to classical music will make you smarter. There is even an album titled “Bach for the Brain: Classical Music to Make You Smarter!”
This myth originated from the psychologist Frances Rauscher, in 1993 who published a study titled “Music and Spatial Task Performance” where he noted that students who had listened to Mozart showed a significant IQ improvement. Regardless of what the findings tell us today, Classical music does have it’s proven benefits. It is very intricate and mathematical while at the same time soothing and relaxing. We suggest listing to the classics of Classical, including: Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Bach.

Although healing physical ailments and disease through the use of music and relaxation is not a proven method, many people do subscribe to this idea and there is a lot of spa music designed for healing purposes. Some of these albums include: Sound Healing- The Definitive ‘Best of Soundings’ collection,  Healing Waters by Dean Evenson, Tao of Healing by Li Xiang-Ting and Dean Evenson, and Music for the Healing Arts by Dean Evenson and Soundings Ensemble. These collections are similar to the New Age music, but these have been written and compiled with guidance from health practitioners for the specific goal of healing.

We’d love to hear about your favorite spa music, so please share with us by typing your message in the comment box below.

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Tags: music for the spa, relaxing music, spa music

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 at 2:31 pm and is filed under Aromatherapy Chromatherapy Sound Therapy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.