Should You Meditate with or without Music?

Music is often thought of as a staple for meditation. But, music isn’t a necessity unless you need it. The comforting silence or the gentle music transports a person into a state of deep relaxation, and that’s a decision everyone must make for their own meditation practice.

Meditation can be done with or without music. It doesn’t truly matter which you choose. It is a personal preference. Both have benefits for certain types of people, and both have cons for different types of people. Some people prefer both depending on their mood and preference for each session.

Who should meditate with music? Who should meditate in silence? What kind of music is the best? What are the benefits? So many questions and debates surround meditation. There are even more debates about whether or not music or silence is best. Keep reading for everything you need to know to help you decide if you should meditate with or without music

Who Should Meditate with Music?

Many people choose to listen to soothing music while they meditate. Not only that’s fine, it may even be better for some people. It all depends on you. You may be a newcomer to meditation. You may also just be easily distracted. While listening to music while meditating is for some people, who would benefit the most from it, though?

Those Who Don’t Get Distracted Easily

If you’re someone who can concentrate while just about anything is going on behind you, then music might be a good option.

You may be someone who is going to be annoyed by a random chime in the music. Or you may be someone who hears running water and then starts to think, “Is my faucet running?” If that sounds like you, then maybe listening to music during meditation might not be the best option for you.

Music is meant to be relaxing, even monotonous in a way, especially when it accompanies deep meditation. Focusing on parts of the music that aren’t important can ruin the experience completely.

Listening to music during meditation requires a decently trained mind that can put the music in the background instead of obsessing over it.

Those Who Need Something to Help Them Focus

On the other side of the coin, some people can’t focus on silence and need something that can keep them on track. These people can use music as an anchor to help them stay inside of their deep meditation.

If you are someone who might forget what the task at hand is or if you’re someone who needs the sound to remind them to breathe deeply, then music is a good choice.

The calming sounds of the ocean or birds chirping can help keep you in a relaxed state of mind increasing the levels of your concentration.

It is important, though, that you remember it is not something to get distracted by. It is meant as a guide, not a focal point. If you find yourself falling out of your meditation in silence and need a gentle reminder to stay on track, then meditation music might be the best option.

If You are New to Meditation

Beginners with meditation may have a hard time with silence. If they’re inexperienced, then their mind might wander off much easier than a seasoned meditator. At first, it might even feel sort of odd to just lay there with all the silence filling the room, making you feel unsure what it is exactly that you are supposed to be doing here and how the practice works.

In these cases, meditation music might come in handy. It can help a beginner track their time, breathing, and focus.

When you are just starting out, it can be extremely hard to just arrive in the zone, a place of deep concentration and focus. A good choice of music can help you do that quicker.

Silence Scares You

Some people use meditation as a powerful tool to improve their mental health. In moderate to extreme cases, silence can be scary. You’ve probably heard people say, “Silence is deafening.”

Meditation can help heal anxieties and bring a sense of inner peace. However, people with mental illnesses may have a hard time focusing. This can cause their mind can wander very easily. This can bring up bad memories or anxieties. The silence can be terrifying to some people.

For those who fear silence, music is a wonderful option. It can provide a sense of comfort. It can also provide an anchor to keep your mind from wandering off too far.

Some of the Benefits of Listening to Meditation Music

There are many benefits to listening to music while you meditate. These benefits don’t help everyone. Every person is different, and every person will have a different experience with different types of meditating.

Deeper Relaxation

Music can truly relax a person deeper. Gentle chimes and water flowing can give the meditator a greater sense of calm. This can help achieve peak mindfulness while meditating.

Music can trigger memories or feelings that we are unaware of. So, the right kind of music can remind your brain of a time that you were most relaxed and send you into a deeper state of relaxation.

Transports the Listener

The wind is blowing gently; waves are crashing down, the campfire crackles gently. You can smell the ocean, the fire. You can feel sand between your toes. You are there. You are on night time beach, and you feel more relaxed than ever before.

You open up your eyes again, and you are in your home. You are in your bed or your comfy chair. The music you were listening to during your meditation session transported you to your favorite spot. It has brought you to a place that calms all your nerves and helps you find inner peace.

Music is powerful. Ask any musician they will tell you it can change lives. It can also transport us to different places. Listening to music while you meditate can bring you to a place that will help you achieve an even deeper calm.

Who Should Meditate without Music?

Silence during meditation is the preferred route for many people. For many people, especially a seasoned meditator, it is the best way for them to achieve true mindfulness.

It can be great for sleep and deep relaxation. Who are these people, though? What are some of their traits? Are you one of them?

If you Get Easily Distracted

Those who can’t have anything going on in the background or they get distracted should probably stick to silently meditating. Many people cannot even have a fan blowing, or they will get so distracted and lose the task at hand.

One of the major points of meditating is being able to maintain that trance-like state for a certain period. If music is distracting you, then you won’t be able to achieve those results.

Those Who Have a Hard Time Clearing Their Mind

When meditating, you need to forget everything. Nothing is important in those moments except for breathing deeply and becoming relaxed. One therapist told me to pretend like my mind was then the attic, and I needed to sweep it clean.

If you have a hard time achieving this, try silent meditation. It can be hard to focus on nothing when there is music playing in your ear. It can be much more beneficial to have nothing going on and be able to send all other thoughts away.

Too Much Sound Makes you Uncomfortable

For some people, too much sound like hurt their heads. You have a sensory overload and need silence to maintain a peaceful state.

It isn’t uncommon or someone to become easily overwhelmed with too much noise going on. In these cases, it is important to meditate silently to achieve the right state of being.

What are the Benefits of Meditation Without Music?

Just like meditating with music, meditating without music also has its many benefits. It can be beneficial in its unique ways.

However, everyone may have a different experience with meditating without music. The great thing about meditation is each person’s experience is their own.

There is a Better Chance of Achieving Mindfulness

According to Headspace, a leading innovator in the meditation movement, mindfulness is, “…the ability to be fully present in the moment…” This is what meditation is all about. One of the schools of thought for meditating silently is that this silence helps bring about deeper mindfulness.

Becoming mindful is noticing the small changes around you, noticing and acknowledging your feelings and thoughts, and letting them drift forward. It is believed that with music, it can be hard to do this because of your focus on music.

In silence, you have nothing all to focus on except for the small changes around you. You must focus on the tension in your left foot and let it go. You must notify your furrowed brow and relax it. You must become mindful when you meditate without music because you have nothing else to be mindful of.

Better Sleep

Better sleep is the goal of many meditators. Those who meditate at bedtime may find that they sleep better when they meditate in silence rather than with music.

Even when we fall asleep, our brains are still listening. If music is playing, then it is likely we become distracted and cannot sleep properly throughout the night.

What Kind of Music Should I Meditate to?

So, let’s say you’ve decided that you want to meditate to music. You have weighed your pros, and you have weighed your cons and have decided that the best thing you can do is listen to music.

As with anything, mediation is yours. You can listen to anything you want when meditating. There are a few choices people like, though.

Spa Music

For starters, many people like to listen to relaxing music or spa music. This is the kind of music you may hear while getting your nails done or getting a massage. It is the type of music that is soft and quiet. It doesn’t tend to be too harsh and doesn’t usually have any words to it.

It may sound like this album, Calm Within: Music for Relaxation of Body and Mind by Laura Sullivan. There are all types of relaxing music out there. Some take place on a beach and others deep in the woods.

Some albums take place in fantasy settings and others that remind you to have a cozy night in your home. You can find something that suits you no matter what you like.

Something Familiar

If you wanted to, you could listen to heavy metal music while you meditate. Some people prefer to listen to music that they know. Music that is familiar and makes you feel happy can help make meditation a lot easier.

They prefer to listen to Africa by Toto for the 100th time because it relaxes them and they don’t focus on blessing the rain. They focus on relaxing themselves, and this familiar song does the trick.

Music that you know can help bring you back to a better time. It can help you find a relaxing time when you’re in a stressful part of your life. It can help bring a better and deeper meditation when you can visit a place that feels familiar with familiar music.

There is a Third Alternative for Meditation

There is one type of meditation that isn’t silence or music. It is speaking. These are usually called guided meditations. Guided meditations have a speaker who will guide you through the meditation.

They are usually accompanied by some sort of soft music. They will tell you when to breathe, what to imagine, what to be mindful of etc. These sort of meditations are great for beginners that don’t know where to start their meditation journey properly.

Guided meditations are a whole other world, though. You can learn more about guided meditations here.

Can you Mix Silence and Music for Meditation?

Some people might find that they fall somewhere in between wanting music and not wanting music for their meditation music. So, they may ask, “Can I do a little bit of both?”

The answer is, of course! You may decide to start your meditation off with a little bit of music to get you in the right mood and on the right track. Then, perhaps once the track ends, you continue your journey in silence to reach that deeper level.

You may also decide to do the opposite and begin in silence and then end your session with music to help ground you and bring you back to the real world.

Getting in the Right State of Mind With or Without Music

Meditation is something that only works when you are in the right state of mind. It doesn’t work without a little bit of prep. With silence or with music, you want to make sure you are in the right state of mind of meditating. These are something you want to be aware of when prepping for meditation.

No Stressors

Don’t try to meditate while you have a super long list of things to do and know there’s no way to relax before you do some of your chores. Also, don’t have your mother-in-law who makes your blood boil be in the room with you, and you can’t relax.

No Distractions

Make sure the dogs are settled, cats are fed, and children are in bed. You don’t want to be interrupted every five seconds when you are trying to meditate and relax. If your sessions are constantly being interrupted, then you aren’t getting a proper deep relaxation. You are just undoing all the hard work your mind is putting in.

Choosing the Right Time

The right time of day for meditating is so important. You don’t want to try and get 30 minutes of meditation when you only have 40 minutes before you have to be at work.

Pick a time that is going to work for you and give you plenty of time to achieve proper meditation. A proper meditation session should last at least 20 minutes.

If you have somewhere to be and your mind will be occupied with what you have to after meditating, then you should pick a different time to meditate.

Getting in a Relaxing Position

Finding the right position to meditate is very important for proper meditation. Laying down with your arms at your side and legs relaxed is the best position for meditation.

However, some people prefer to sit in a comfy chair and relax that way. If your body isn’t completely relaxed, then your mind isn’t completely relaxed, either.

Conclusion

Meditation should be taken into the meditator’s hands. Music or without music doesn’t matter as long as you’re achieving the results that you need to reach complete peace.

Why not try both? Try with music one day and without another? Why not have music in your morning meditation session and silence at night? Everyone is different, and everyone needs to find out exactly what works for them.

Sometimes it can be hard. But find the right music or find the right kind of silence that works best for you. You may want to even find advice from places like Headspace or Calm. These places are full of advice and different types of music that you can find and listen to.

It is helpful to find a community to give support to help with him proper meditation. You may even find that asking a therapist or another mental health professional what you should do is a good way to find a routine as well.