Always remember that you set the tone for your massage therapy space or clinic.  Sports enthusiast...high priestess of healing touch..deep tissue devotee: whatever your bodywork focus, your music selections can embrace and support that.  Music is important, but never lose sight of the fact that it's there to support your work and provide a comfortable background tapestry of music for your clientele.  Studies suggest that listening to your favorite music can actually release mood-enhancing chemicals in your brain.

Healing and music have gone hand in hand for much of human history. In ancient Greece, music was used to ease stress, promote sleep, and soothe pain. Native Americans and African tribes used singing and chanting as part of their healing rituals.

In pre-electric societies, music was special because one needed to be in the presence of the musician in order to hear the music.  Today we hear music all the time, almost everywhere we go, which means that selecting appropriate music is more important than ever.

As bodywork professionals who specialize in helping people relax, relieve tension and stress, and just feel better in general, music can be a subtle yet powerful ingredient contributing to the relaxation process.  And thus music selection becomes key.

If you're just beginning to build a music library for your practice, or you're looking to add fresh tracks to your mix, here are five steps to selecting useful and satisfying massage music. 

1. Ask your clients, and ask yourself

Everyone is different and what some people might find relaxing (nature sounds, drumming, vocals), others might find distracting. If you have a particular client who can only listen to ocean sounds in order to relax, then you might make a special playlist for her.

If you have repeat clients, try taking surveys of your clients to identify which music works best, and which works least well. This may help identify problem music that you might delete.

2. Select massage music with a suitable tempo

Tempo, music’s rhythm or beat, is important when selecting massage music. Music with a slow rhythm (slower than the natural heart beat which is about 72 beats per minute), and a repeating or cyclical pattern, is found to be most effective in aiding relaxation. It may be that humans are influenced by the heartbeat of our mother while still in the womb. A relaxation response to certain music is perhaps associated with the safe, relaxing and protective environment of our earliest memories.

In addition to a slow tempo, listen for music that doesn't have abrupt changes, and that flows smoothly between tracks.

3. Listen to samples before you buy

Take the time to listen to audio clips of massage and relaxation music from multiple tracks on an album, if you're buying online and the website offers samples of the music. You will get a better feel for the music if you listen to more than just the first track or two.

4. Ask other MTs for music recommendations

Reach out to your colleagues and find out what everyone is listening to. You might even be able to swap CDs to sample new music.

5. Patronize music providers who support artists and musicians

Sometimes it's easy to forget that there are people behind these albums: artists and musicians who create music just for relaxation and massage and who should be paid accordingly for their work. At Peace Media has a long history of directly compensating musicians and producing excellent music for massage and bodywork professionals.

And finally, make it easier:

• Convert your CD library to MP3 and put it on an iPod. It may take awhile, but it will be an investment in making your life easier.
• Create playlists which are different, and which satisfy various groups of clients.  Maybe you'll want all the barking dog noises on the same playlist.
• Purchase new music on a regular basis to add variety, to build your music library and to avoid staleness.  Without a steady flow of new music, even your favorite playlist will feel tired after a while.  Clients are often polite, and they may wait a long time to complain, but meanwhile they're feeling bothered by an old and too familiar playlist.