Six Brainwave Entrainment Tips

The new binaural beat products or other brainwave-altering technologies make meditation easy, to say the least. The following brainwave entrainment tips may help you get the most out of them. Of course, ideally you just turn on the audio recording and listen, but there a few "tricks" for making the experience richer.

1. Choose The Right Recordings

You can buy meditation CDs in a local store or download MP3 recordings online, but you need to be sure you know what you're getting. Some come as a series of recordings, each one designed to bring you into a deeper meditative state. Other times, though, you might be buying just one audio recording, so be sure it is has binaural beats in the alpha range for light meditation (8 to 24 hertz) or slower frequencies if you are ready for a deeper state.

2. Use Headphones

Most brainwave entrainment recordings are designed to be used with headphones, and won't work when listened to using regular speakers. Unless the product you buy specifies that they can be used in that way, assume you'll need to have headphones on. make sure they are stereo headphones too. Almost all of them are now - even the small inexpensive ones.

3. Sit For The Best Meditation

Generally you will want to sit to get the most out of these products. You can sit in the classic cross-legged lotus position if you like. Sitting in a chair with both feet flat on the ground works well too. Avoid easy chairs that are likely to be too comfortable, or you'll probably fall asleep.

4. Lay Down for a Meditative Nap

It is doubtful that you get much of the benefits of meditation if you are sleeping while listening to a binaural beat recording. On the other hand, a good brainwave entrainment CD is a good way to put yourself to sleep when you want. Just lay down while listening. Those products which vary the frequencies throughout the recording may cause you to have some interesting dreams as well.

5. Walk For A New Experience

You can load a meditation recording on your MP3 and walk while listening to it. You may not enter as deep a state of consciousness doing it this way, but it's a pleasant experience. You may find that it makes things look different and more beautiful. I like to do this when I want to focus on a particular subject with my meditation.

6. Breath Deep

Brainwave entrainment recordings make meditation easy - just put on the headphones and listen. However, to get the most from the experience, take several deep breaths through your nose at the start, just as you would when doing a traditional meditation. This is one of the more important tips here. Nose-breathing expands your lungs more, bringing cleansing oxygen to your brain and calming your body. Continue to breath through your nose while you listen to the recording.