SERENA'S GARDEN Music for Meditation, Relaxation and Healing by Stephen Cohn NEW cover art and more… We’re proud to present this updated, NEW edition of Serena’s Garden by Stephen Cohn. This newly designed version of Serena’s Garden includes the following:

• NEW cover art
• NEW expanded CD liner notes
• NEW voice-guided, progressive relaxation track entitled Serena’s Prelude.

About Serena’s Prelude:
Serena’s Prelude, the first track on Serena’s Garden, is a progressive relaxation exercise, one of the simplest and most effective relaxation techniques. Created by Dr. Peter Desberg, a practicing clinical psychologist and professor, this exercise gracefully and gently guides you into a looser, more relaxed mindset with an effective and easy breathing awareness technique.

One of the great advantages of learning a progressive relaxation technique like Serena’s Prelude, is the ease with which you can apply it almost anywhere, anytime. Whether you’re waiting in an airport, or just trying to relax, ease headache pain and melt away tension at home or work, you’ll find this progressive relaxation technique helpful and easy to apply. The music of Serena’s Garden is the ideal accompaniment for relaxation and stress-relief, spa treatments such as massage, facials and aromatherapy as well as meditation, yoga or any of the healing arts Serena’s Prelude provides a great “entre” to a more relaxing and enjoyable mind-body-spirit experience.

About Serena’s Garden:
Stephen’s music enhances relaxation by offering a lush, soothing collection of compositions designed to slow the rhythms of the body and the nervous system while entertaining the listener with beautiful melodies and instruments chosen from a pan-cultural palette. This is music designed to unleash the imagination, quiet the mind and create a deep sense of well-being

MUSICAL INSPIRATION:
“There are really no formulas for creating something that’s relaxing. I think that a composer can find a place inside where, in writing something, you actually feel the experience of letting go and relaxing or you feel the experience of opening to a space that’s beyond thought. Maybe it’s a question of identifying that place in oneself creatively and then expressing it musically.”

“I have always been in love with music, in love with the experience of making music. My father wrote concert and chamber music and my mother was a violinist and dancer.  Music had a special place in our life; it was revered and it was a special kind of treat to be enjoying music. . .  Every music project that I take on has a special challenge; I got interested in doing relaxation music because I’m intrigued with that natural meeting place of being involved in a spiritual practice and thinking about healing myself first and then healing other people. SERENA’S GARDEN brings a lot of things together because in a way it’s an individualistic type of creative project but on the other hand, it’s intended very much to communicate with people in a very universal place.” –Stephen Cohn

About Peter Desberg, Ph.D:
Peter Desberg, who created the script for Serena’s Prelude, is a Clinical Psychologist in private practice and a professor at California State University where he coordinates an M.A. program in Educational Technology. The author of over a dozen published books, Peter’s popular book, No More Butterflies, has helped thousands of people deal with stagefright and performance anxiety. According to Peter, “self-esteem suffers greatly whenever your fears control you rather than you controlling your fears.” Besides music and classical guitar, which he plays, Peter’s other interests include tennis, the martial arts and the psychology of humor.

“Music is very powerful; I actively use music from SERENA’S GARDEN in my clinical psychology work such as with progressive relaxation training or as an accompaniment to meditation.  Cognitively, I find it more satisfying than “cookie-cutter” new age music, yet it is still mellifluous, maintains my interest and helps my patients to focus and clear their minds without being bored.”
–Peter Desberg, Ph.D, author, professor of clinical psychology,
licensed clinical psychiatrist


ABOUT THE MUSICIAN:
A native of southern California, Emmy-award winning musician/composer Stephen Cohn has always been in love with music, in love with the experience of making music. "I grew up in a home where music had a special place in our life. My father wrote chamber music as a hobby,my mother was a dancer and violinist and my sister is a flutist," says Cohn.

Classically trained as a musician and composer, Cohn completed graduate work in composition and musicology at UCLA. Accomplished on multiple instruments including the piano, guitar and clarinet, he began his professional career singing, composing and writing songs for labels including Motown and Warner Brothers. This quickly led to opportunities to write title themes for TV and scores for films with stars such as Lily Tomlin, Wallace Shawn, Joanne Woodward and William Shatner. Internationally recognized for his concert stage music, Cohn’s compositions have been performed world-wide by such acclaimed musicians as the Arditti Quartet and the Chroma Quartet.

Winning an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Music" for his chamber orchestra score for the documentary film, "Dying With Dignity" encouraged Cohn to pursue his interest in studying how music can promote healing and stress reduction.

"In many ways, my music for At Peace® is a culmination of my long-standing interest in the spiritual aspects of music. There are really no formulas for creating something that's relaxing. As a composer, I look for a place inside, where, in writing something, I actually feel the experience of letting go and relaxing or of opening to a space that’s beyond thought. Maybe it’s a question of identifying that place in oneself creatively and then expressing it musically."
– Stephen Cohn

Among the hallmarks of Cohn’s music for At Peace® is his ability to enhance relaxation by offering lush, soothing compositions designed to slow the rhythms of the body and the nervous system while entertaining the listener with beautiful melodies and instruments chosen from a pan-cultural palette.

"Instruments that speak with a soft, soulful voice are the ones that I gravitate to for this kind of music. Every project has a special challenge musically which involves tapping into and weaving together my skills as a classically trained musician, my intuition, and my desire to create musical resonance and harmony with a timeless quality."
– Stephen Cohn

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