I’m not talking about listening to music while reading a book, tidying up around you, eating or dancing around your room like a maniac (my personal favourite), I mean literally just lying there and listening.

I’m pretty certain everyone does it as a teenager as some point, I certainly did. But I stopped.

I stopped so long ago that until last week I hadn’t just lay down and listened to music in, well, probably over a decade.

But I did last week, and it is such an incredibly enjoyable activity that I can’t believe I haven’t done it in over 10 years.

It was one of the most relaxing things I’ve done in ages (bear in mind I did 2 hours of meditation everyday for 4 weeks at yoga school and am still saying this). I think the reason it was so relaxing was in exactly the way it was the opposite to meditation. Far from getting me to clear my mind of thoughts, it actually just gave me time to think and let any thought come into my head and go with it. It was also so enjoyable as for the first time in ages I properly listened to the music that was playing. I actually focused on it rather than it being a background activity which it so frequently usually is for me.

I now can’t stop listening to music as an activity in itself. My kindle was abandoned for the whole of a 4 hour bus ride yesterday, just listening to music instead.

If you haven’t listened to music, and I do mean just listened in years give it a try, even if it’s for only 10 minutes.

You won’t regret it