Music is a mood booster and can help promote mental health. This past year has been particularly challenging, inspiring many people to reap the many benefits of bringing more music into their homes. Here is how you can too:
• Be your own DJ: Music can instantaneously cause us to experience anything from joy to nostalgia to relaxation to inspiration, making it a pretty potent mood regulator. Whether you need a high-tempo blast of motivation to finish household tasks or something soothing to wind down after a stressful day, you can be your own DJ and tailor a playlist to your needs at the moment. (And if it means piping speakers into bathrooms, laundry rooms or other unusual spaces of your home, so be it!)
• Learn to play: Whether you’re a novice or an accomplished musician, playing a musical instrument is good for the mind, body and soul. Not only does a daily practice routine give you something to look forward to each day, but the adoption of a new skill can boost self-esteem. To explore the joy of learning to play, YouTube is not a bad place to start! However, a word of warning, be patient with it. While there are thousands of videos uploaded that can teach you ho to play an instrument, not all of them are good quality, that means you may have to do some digging to find a good tutorial video that suits your needs.
• De-stress with dance: If the gym is off the table for you right now, dance can be a great alternative for working up a sweat, and free tutorials abound online that can help you master such dance forms as belly dance, ballet, jazz and tap.
Music can enhance your well-being, especially right now. Fortunately, there are brand new avenues for incorporating this age-old therapy into your life.
