A New Look at a Therapy You Already Use: Music If you are looking for an easy way to improve the quality of your life, you may be surprised to know that you are already using one of the best "alternative therapies" for stress management - music. Recently, Italian researchers have found that our blood pressure pr essure heart and breathing rate all respond to music; we become vitalized with music of an increasing tempo, while slow, meditative music induces a relaxing effect. The fact that music is a pleasurable experience can be seen as a health benefit, for when we are relaxed, the body tends to function better. Listening to music seems to have the th e similar effect similar of many other relaxation techniques. There have been other individuals who have conducted research on the effect of music, not only on humans but plants and crystals as well. Since the core of music is vibration, it is easy to see why a discordant vibration that is found in the music of heavy metal or hard rock, generates a much different effect than the harmonious ones found in classical or new age music, making it well known for its calming qualities. Have you noticed that classical music is most often chosen for environments that deal with large numbers of people, such as metro or subway stations? Or the immediate connection that music called the "blues" puts a person in a deep, contemplative mood? In Eastern traditions, music has always been connected to our emotions - the soul of a person, that in fact, each person's spirit is attuned to a specific note on the music scale. In the next part of this series, we will take a deeper look at the Core Influences of Music.
Core Influences of Music There is no doubting the powerful influence of the vibration we call music. In fact, there is an ancient story that relates th at the soul did not want to enter the physical body, until music was placed inside the body and the soul entered to hear it. It is the internal vibration of our bodies that makes us so connected to the external sounds we hear. When you place your hand over your heart, you can feel your body vibrate to its rhythm, your breathing creates another pattern that affects the functions of your body. Your heartbeat sound is attuned to a specific note on the scale; each person has a note that their heart responds to deeply. Because our own bodies make "music", our health is very much affected by vibrations of all types. It is the patterning of music that makes it effective in treatments. The type of music that you listen to consistently; can tell a therapist a great deal about your state of well-being on all levels. In ancient China, the emperor would review music reports from each province, when all the provinces were in harmony, peace reigned in the land. But when the music became discordant, it was a sure sign that the people were discontent and attention to the situation was needed. There are many other examples throughout history, where music has been used to maintain well being in societies. Next we will look at Using Music for Healthy Living.
Using Music for Healthy Living Tuning into the vibration of your own body; the rhythm of your breathing and heartbeat helps you to become more aware of the external sounds you hear. Music has the innate ability to affect both the emotional and the physical parts of our being. Each person has their own particular set of circumstances that make them respond differently to different types of music, for some music is more of an emotional experience, for others, they become physically animated. Our emotional and physical states are connected; it has been called the “mind-body link”. Research has shown that there is a definite link between a person’s emotional state and their physical conditions. When choosing music for therapeutic reasons choose music that is compatible with your current state and then sequence it to move toward the state that you desire. This is called entrainment. The entrainment process is quite evident in music. It is possible to have rhythmic entrainment, melodic entrainment and dynamic entrainment. Entrainment music has the potential to (1) resonate with the listener’s feelings, (2) transform negativity into positivist, and (3) promote a state of liveliness or serenity. Certain sounds, in specific sequence can help bring the listener from one place to another.
