Music is a language of energy, a ‘vibe’ of emotions and joy […] making it a powerful means through humans can connect ~ Patrick Groneman
Music can promote health, change your mood and provide a golden opportunity for inner awareness. Whether you are unwinding with classical, rocking out to a favourite pop-song, meditating with inspirational tones, or listening during a breath session, it can touch your being and instantly transform your experience.
How Music Affects You
Research and empirical evidence over many years of study have shown that:
- Music creates resonance in many brain areas that are responsible for movement, planning, attention, learning and memory.
- Music has the stunning capability to stimulate the brain to create new neural pathways after injury. This regenerative capability of the brain to bypass damage is called neuroplasticity
- It releases a neurochemical called dopamine, which reduces anxiety and promotes pleasure, joy and motivation. (Hearing a song we love can make us smile and get us moving to the beat)
- Music can increase serotonin levels in the brain which regulates sleep, elevates mood and reduces pain.
- Music re-surfaces memories to the injured or diseased brain and allows severely brain-injured people to recall personal memories. A 2009 study () found a link in the brain between music and memories during intense life experiences.
- When used before, during and after surgery, there is less pain, anxiety and less need for pain meds during recovery. (Music helps surgeons be more alert and effective during surgery as well)
- Music can inspire greater connection, and compassion for others.
Here’s why music can do what it does ~ Brain Entrainment
Brain entrainment refers to the brain’s ability to follow and mimic the frequencies of the sounds it is fed. Music externally delivers a variety of frequencies to the brain that induces different states of brainwave activity:
Beta Waves = Awake, normal alert and active consciousness
Alpha Waves = Calm, relaxed states and slowed breathing
Theta Waves = States of intense relaxation such as during meditation
Delta waves = Deep, dreamless sleep states
Gamma Waves = States of high-level processing and insightful inspiration
For example, if there were a requirement for creativity at work, music that contained predominantly alpha and theta frequencies would be helpful. If one needed to overcome insomnia, music with delta frequencies could assist in deep sleep.
Music creates a unified experience that brings heart and brain together and connects us as human beings no matter who we are or where we live.
How You Can Make Music an Integral Part of Your Life:
Learn to play an instrument –Playing a musical instrument helps the brain to fire and connect with both the right (creative) and left (logical) hemispheres. It takes logical skill to play an instrument and it requires creativity to inspire the music itself.
Start Singing– Your voice doesn’t have to be perfect. Just sing or hum a song. It can be the connector between heart and head that promotes improved mood and helps emotional expression.
Spiritually engage through chanting – Ancient practices have long used chanting as a means for deep connection with the universal aspect of self. Sounds such as ‘om’ set up a physical vibration in the body that promotes a sense of expansion and unity.
Take up drumming – When you drum, you are tapping into the essential rhythms of your make-up. That resonance can ultimately enhance and create a profound sense of peace and relaxation.
Deliberately choose what you listen to – When you play a song that takes you back to a past life event, the brain will remember the music and the original emotion. Use this powerful action to recall positive, uplifting experiences and notice the shift in your mood.
How Life Is Better With Music
- Playing a musical instrument can be therapeutic and inwardly balancing
- Music can entrain the brain to more relaxed states, greater focus, and healing
- It helps encourage deeper and more sound sleep
- It supports meditative states of consciousness,
- It helps process subconsciously held fear, grief, sadness, and resentment. (This is particularly true during Breathwork processes.)
- Songs hold promise as a potential form of communication and emotional dialogue with autistic children
- Changing the music you listen to can help you move through changes in life.
From ancient times to present day music has been an integral part of life. Using it to your benefit can provide a powerful way to heal and grow.
