You’ve probably heard about all the amazing benefits of meditation, feeling more calm; reduced anxiety; igniting inspiration and creativity; producing calm thoughts. Maybe you have even tried meditating yourself and experienced some, most or all of the above. But maybe you haven’t. Meditation is not for everyone, and despite reading all the books, going to the classes and trying meditation yourself, you’ve found yourself fidgeting, with your thoughts running wild, feeling frustrated and a bit confused, wishing the inner calm would hurry up?

Why Electronic Music Meditation
I know a lot of people like this and it’s why I’ve started teaching meditation with Electronic Music. It may sound weird, but it works. I’ve been learning meditation with Masters in India for over eight years. The ashram I go to is very musical, with a lot of dance and celebration – full of life, energy and vibrancy. For an even longer time I’ve loved electronic music – everything from techno, electro, house and ambient. And so teaming the two together came quite naturally to me – I used to come home from the ashram and play around with mixing meditation techniques to different tracks. It felt so fun and juicy and different. At first it was just for me as I wasn’t sure anyone else would get it, but for me it really worked. I found I was able to go deeper into the techniques and deeper into myself, and felt less distracted.

Over the years, as well as continuing my own research and playing with different sounds and meditation, I also studied sound therapy and music and I began to understand why electronic music and meditation worked together so well.

Meditation is about connecting with our being, the aspect of us that is eternal, unlimited and full of potential. We are human beings but are only ever really taught to connect with our human aspect like our mind, thoughts and emotions. Meditation helps us to connect to the more subtle ‘being’ aspect us of.  The meditation techniques prepare us to slow down, relax and become more aware all at the same time. This is sometimes referred to as tuning into the meditation bandwidth – the place where you access that sweet spot of your being and meditation just flows. I find electronic music can really help prepare us to get into that meditation bandwidth. 

What to Expect in an Electronic Music Meditation Class
I pair the faster electronic tracks like techno or electro with shaking the body. This may sound odd at first but it’s honestly amazing. It is a quick fix to get rid of frustrations, negative energy and all the stresses of the day and really come into our own energy. It’s liberating, refreshing and has a very natural yet surreal relaxing effect when you stop. It’s brilliant if you need to shift energy quickly and don’t have time for 90 minutes of yoga. 

The beats and bass in electronic music are very tribal and rhythmic and particular tracks can  help to entrain our brainwaves into a gamma state. Pairing this with breathing techniques helps us to stay focused and present and prepare ourselves to sit still afterwards. 

Ambient electronic music can be a wonderful follow on to calm us and relax the body into a parasympathetic state. When the body and mind are relaxed then it’s so much easier to glide into the meditation bandwidth. 

What I love about pairing meditation techniques with electronic music is that it makes meditation super accessible and fun for everyone. So many people who’ve never been able to meditate before often find this really helps them to connect and ‘drop in’. 

Want More From Your Meditation?
Of course understanding more about how to meditate is also helpful. Learning the foundations, understanding why certain techniques work and which ones you resonate with most (plus knowing how to structure a bespoke meditation session using them) is so incredibly valuable. This is what I teach in my 5 week online meditation course Addicted To Being. 

Belinda is giving Hip & Healthy readers an incredibly generous £50 off her learn to meditate course Addicted To Being with the code HIPHEALTHY50… For details of her next Electronic Music Meditation classes check out her website www.belindamatwali.com

Belinda Matwali is a meditation teacher and electronic music enthusiast who is passionate about making meditation accessible and fun for all. Click here to learn more about Addicted To Being, or check out this page to find your nearest Electronic Music Meditation. To keep up with what Belinda’s up to, follow her on Instagram.