It's 2022 and the fact of the matter is, lo-fi hip hop is out, binaural beats are in.
Thanks to technology like streaming, there’s plenty of ways you can get your zen on from the comfort of home, work, the bus—anywhere, really. Plugging in with meditation music and playlists is an easy way to help clear your mind and get you centred.
Plug in your headphones in, take a deep breath and prepare to zen out with our picks of the best meditation music and playlists.
Binaural Beats: Meditation
Level up your calm and enter the alpha meditative state you were born to be in. Binaural Beats is a meditation playlist that is fast replacing all that you know about lo-fi hip hop, riddled with mid-range frequencies which ease your big noggin into a Theta brainwave state within minutes. Much like its name suggests, 'binaural' beats send different frequencies to each ear which makes the brain perceive a third frequency. The general consensus is that listening to cruisy beats like this will help you get better sleep, lower your anxious state and increase feelings of being relaxed.
Calming Music + Nature Sounds
Running water, chirping birds, wind rustling through leaves—turns out nature's discography is one of the most soothing soundtracks to rewire your brain, level out your energy and settle those anxious butterflies. This meditative playlist combines the music of the natural world with chants, low frequencies, isochonic tones and ambient tunes. Play it on your commute to work, while you practice some downward dogs, while you read, or make dinner to clear your mind of all the detritus.
Morning Meditation
One of the best times to practice meditation to create a sense of calm and harmony is in the morning, so you feel focused and refreshed to seize the day ahead. We’re just over here dreaming of a sunrise meditation session... This Morning Meditation playlist combines energising tunes with more laidback melodies that will motivate you to wake up, relax and mentally prepare yourself to tackle whatever the day throws at you.
Meditation Sleep Music
Meditation means many different things to different people, and if closing your eyes and catching some ZZZs is your idea of meditation, then this is the playlist for you. On the Meditation Sleep Music playlist, ambient binaural beats and Solfeggio frequencies (yes, we had to Google that too) seamlessly work together to promote brain waves related to deep sleep. This chilled-out playlist uses science to help facilitate restful sleep, let go of mental blockages and cleanse negative energy.
Peaceful Meditation
Boasting over one million likes, this meditation playlist is certainly popular and is perfect for those wanting a little bit of everything. The Peaceful Meditation playlist has laid-back tunes, upbeat melodies and some groovy tracks that you wouldn’t expect on a meditation playlist but, somehow, they work. Plug this one in when you’re not sure what kind of meditation you’re feeling and let the sweet tunes guide you to a state of mental clarity.
Guided Meditation
As much as we love just doing our own thing to laidback meditation music, sometimes we want to follow some structure and that’s where guided meditation music comes in. Spotify’s Guided Meditation playlist compiles the best guided tracks for a variety of meditation needs, from letting negative energy go, to focusing on specific chakras and conducting body scans. Listen to the soothing voice of the instructor as you follow the guided practice and prepare to feel rested and rejuvenated.
Yoga & Meditation
If you like to combine your yoga and meditation into one jam-packed, zenned-out session, then this is the perfect playlist for you. This musical lineup is full of new-age music to balance mind and body, and we’re all about that balance. Think classics from Steven Goldmund all the way to sweet melodies from Sophie Emitt and a heap more.
Tibetan Bowls
If you haven’t been to a Tibetan singing bowl class, you can try the next best thing with this Tibetan Bowls playlist. This style of meditation music uses vibrating bells to produce rich, deep tones, which are said to help improve sleep, reduce negative energy and improve general health. This traditional playlist is full of meditative tones which will help you slow down and take your zen to the next level.
Now that you’re feeling oh-so-zen, it’s the perfect time to do a total playlist spring clean. Get rid of those overrated mid-2000’s playlists and listen to our best playlists for every occasion.
Image Credit: Urban List