Using Music in Your Spa for Stress Relief
Music is an integral element of any spa environment, and using music in your therapy sessions can add a special touch for both you and your clients. Different genres of music create different atmospheres and affect guests’ emotions in various ways. Selecting the perfect playlists for your spa will help create that desired atmosphere in the room so that clients leave feeling relaxed, refreshed and revitalized.
Music can help reduce stress and anxiety by releasing relaxing hormones like endorphins and serotonin into the body. It may also lower heart rate and blood pressure, while altering breathing patterns. Studies have indicated that certain musical styles promote a state of relaxation such as soft classical or meditation music.
Music with slow beats that induce meditative states and hypnotic or trance-like states is the most effective for relaxing the brain, with varying tempos producing various degrees of stress reduction.
For optimal relaxation, play relaxing music at a low volume with headphones or noise-reducing in-ear buds so that you can listen without distraction during your treatment. Popular selections include sounds of nature such as rain, thunder and ocean waves, along with soothing instruments like flutes and Native American stringed instruments.
Your customers’ music choice has the power to affect how they feel during and after their treatments. Some may find that listening to certain types of music while taking a warm shower works better for them than hearing it during an ear candling session.
Many music therapists have described an effective receptive intervention which involves creating a playlist with personal preferences, which patients can transfer into their own music-making. This could involve recording musical improvisations and/or compositions performed during therapy sessions as well as preexisting music that is unique to each patient.
Another calming intervention is the use of music instruments like singing bowls, gongs, harps and bells in therapeutic settings for people suffering from physical or mental illness.
Music therapists present in the focus group identified two primary therapeutic objectives for free and structured improvisation: tension release and direct relaxation. Synchronization was mentioned, though not specifically linked to these targets. On average, they began by synchronizing with their patient’s musical expression before working on tension release or direct relaxation strategies.
Some participants mentioned a receptive goal, which was to provide relaxation by playing or listening to the patient’s own music outside of music therapy sessions. This could involve selecting music suitable for them to relax to, such as their favorite jazz album.
