Lesson 10 of 10
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What to Listen to During Your Workouts

Music and exercise, both wonderful elements of the human experience. Our bodies like us to stay fit and active and reward us with major health benefits when we run, workout, stretch, and work at increasing our capacity and skill in any activity. It is essentially an
instinctive survival mechanism of human life that we have to keep working at our goals and conquer them.

Why is Music Good for Your Mental State?

Music is essentially pink noise. It has the right kind of melodies and action to keep us amused without overloading our brains. Yet, even for sake of relaxation, some people like to meditate and listen to pure white noise, unadulterated chaos like the broadcasts of radiation from the cosmos. But, even the sound of the human voice, itself, on a podcast or television can be soothing. When we communicate with others and hear the human voice, it assures us that we are not alone and comforts our souls by creating that innate human experience of harmonizing our thoughts with others.

Mixing Music and Exercise

People have been mixing music with their exercise since ancient times in the form of dancing. When people dance, they are exercising their entire bodies and showing the artistic and creative sides of what is possible. In this manner, it reaches their higher intellect and the creative centers of the brain that make us more than analytical and predictable robots. The rhythm of the music is particularly enchanting because the muscles during sexual activity all involve rhythmic crescendos. A beat is also important to keep people motivated and synchronized. It perfects our fine motor skills by giving us some direction of when to pause or when to act out certain aerobic exercise or dance moves.

Yet, music is beneficial no matter what type of exercise you may be doing because it is a distraction. It allows you to escape the humdrum reality and follow the piper into that blue zone, the place where dreams come from deep in our subconscious minds. If you have ever try the Word Association Test that is popular in psychology, you will get a glimpse into how our subconscious mind processes data. A lot of it is very rhythmic and follows rhyme and figurative concepts that are unique to each individual.

This is why abstract song lyrics and music can mean so many different things to so many different people. Everyone is associating personal thoughts and experiences from their subconscious minds with the words, phrases, ambiance, beats, and melodies that the music creates. This is also why we tend to develop strong music tastes during childhood and cherish those experiences. Those are the wonder years of our lives when we had low stress levels, and everything was new and exciting. Tapping into those calming memories can be nostalgic and give us a sense of happiness, no matter how hard our work week may have been.

Music is romantic, sexual, and the perfect cocktail to mix with exercise, driving, or just washing dishes. It is a surreal escape from the world and a break from the analytical and logical thought processes. So, keep dancing, exercising, and listening to music to make the most out of the human experience.