This article is brought to you as part of the ASCAP Wellness Program.

 

Meditation offers a multitude of benefits for music creators, including lower levels of stress and anxiety and improved focus and productivity. According to a 2014 meta-analysis in JAMA Internal Medicine, meditation programs can lead to small to moderate reductions in multiple negative dimensions of psychological stress. And meditation comes in many forms, each offering different perks and rewards.

 

“Meditation provides an abundance of benefits for musicians and creatives in numerous ways that have been discovered through scientific research,” says Angel Dawn, a double-certified reiki master and spiritual advisor. “Specific types of meditation have been shown to increase cognitive flexibility that allows for divergent thinking – a type of ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking that allows for multiple solutions – versus convergent thinking, which strives for one ‘correct’ solution.”

 

In particular, mindfulness meditation, sound baths, reiki and transcendental meditation are popular forms of meditation that can be especially helpful for music creators, due to their ability to activate different senses and unlock forms of problem-solving and thinking that may heighten creativity and productivity.

 

Let’s break down the three main categories of meditation.

The 3 Main Categories of Meditation

 

There is no single correct way to meditate; it’s about choosing the type of meditation that fulfills your needs and allows you to stay consistent. According to Dawn, different types of meditation tend to fall into three main categories:

 

1. Focused Attention: This type of meditation involves focusing on one thought or bodily process, like breathing, and excluding all other types of stimuli.

 

2. Open Monitoring: With this form of meditation, you’re being completely present and observing internal and external stimuli, such as your thoughts, emotions and bodily sensations without any judgment or reactivity.

 

3. Automatic Self Transcending: This type of meditation centers on the internal repetition of a mantra as a focal point to achieve a deeper state of mind or specific brain wave state.

 

The Most Beneficial Meditation Practices for Music Creators

 

Mindfulness Meditation

 

Mindfulness meditation is a form of open monitoring that involves observing your thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations without any judgment. By being mindful of your emotions and train of thought, this type of meditation can help nurture your creativity and problem-solving abilities by encouraging divergent thinking, Dawn explains.

 

As you become more aware of how social media and criticism affect you as a creator, for instance, mindfulness meditation can help you to take a step back and observe how these factors make you feel, and craft a productive response instead of simply reacting.

 

Mindfulness meditation can also provide a useful boost to creators’ productivity by helping to increase awareness of external stimuli and training the ability to block out distractions and focus on what is deemed important.

Sound Bath

 

Another type of open monitoring meditation, sound baths involve “bathing” in soothing tones and sounds that a sound healer creates using singing bowls, Dawn says.

 

Comfortably sitting or lying down, your goal is to become highly attuned to the frequency, pitch and vibration of the sounds, as well as the thoughts and feelings they elicit. Sound baths can be an ideal way for creators to reach a state of relaxation while improving their performance and productivity.

 

“The vibrations and sounds emitted during a sound bath can induce a state of relaxation, slow down the nervous system, release tension and promote a state of mental clarity and calmness, all of which can improve focus, performance and creativity,” says Meghan Kenny, founder of META Bodywork.

 

However, because reaching a deeply relaxing state through this type of meditation relies on specific sounds, it may be more difficult to have sound baths as a daily meditation practice. Ideally, a meditation practice is something you should be able to do every day, in order to reap the benefits, Dawn says.

+READ MORE: The Benefits of Sound Bath Meditation for Creators

 

Reiki

 

Reiki is an ancient energy healing technique, in which a reiki healer uses their hands to harness universal energy to deliver physical, emotional and spiritual healing. Reiki can also be performed on oneself. It is often used to help clear blockages in the body’s chakras – or, energy points – and achieve a sense of peace, security and relaxation, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Reiki can be especially useful to music creators who may be overwhelmed by the pressure to succeed, perform, hone their craft and produce new work.

 

In a typical reiki session, you would set an intention and then lie down while the practitioner places their hands on or just above specific chakras, Kenny explains. The practitioner may follow a certain sequence or rely on their intuition to guide them. Throughout the reiki session, you might experience a variety of sensations, such as warmth, tingling and deep relaxation.

 

“If done independently, this practice could be a unique form of meditation if the person is able to place their hands or focus their attention on a specific area for an extended period of time. Hence, this involves focused attention combined with open monitoring meditation, where the latter involves perceptiveness to changes in energy and sensations,” Dawn says.

Transcendental Meditation

 

Transcendental meditation involves repeating a mantra that is specifically prescribed to you by a transcendental meditation teacher in a one-on-one session.

 

Transcendental meditation, which falls under the automatic self transcending category, is a great meditation practice for musicians and composers who may have trouble focusing on one thought or bodily process, or those who find it difficult to zero in on their thoughts, emotions and sensations.

 

“Automatic self transcending, which is commonly associated with transcendental meditation, has been shown in studies to significantly improve markers of health that include cognitive flexibility, mental health, blood pressure reduction and minimization of anxiety,” Dawn says. “Since this provides documented health benefits, along with the added cognitive flexibility for greater creativity, this can be invaluable to music creators.”

 

+READ MORE: 6 Ways Creators Can Benefit From Meditation