If you’ve spent any time in high end salons, yoga classes or wellness resorts you’ve heard the slow and rhythmic sounds of what some call relaxation music. Most of this music includes flutes, chimes, harps, sound bowls and other specific instruments. These musical tools produce rhythms and sound frequencies that have been clinically proven to evoke a state of mental and physical wellness.
By incorporating this music into your wellness routines you can add the benefits of an indulgent spa or exclusive clinic into your own healthy lifestyle for the price of a CD or a few mp3 downloads.
How Sounds Heal Your Body and Mind
Ancient cultures have used music and sounds for thousands of years in rituals to evoke a state of healing. Some even prescribed music as medicine for specific illnesses. Yoga instructors use music to assist in the practice, release stress in the mind and body and create an atmosphere of relaxation. In the 19th and 20th centuries western physicians have studied how certain music has aided in the healing process. So how does it work?
When we are awake and alert our brainwaves are in the beta state. When we relax we shift from beta to theta and during sleep to delta. In the brain, neurons fire at different frequencies based upon the data they receive from the stimulus around us. The use of certain rhythms and frequencies can shift your brain waves to another level of consciousness.
Our body’s parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for activities such as blood pressure, glucose levels and digestion, inflammatory response and heart rate is also affected by what we hear. The vestibulocochlear nerve in our ear connects to the primary nerve in the system, the vagus. Every sound that we hear is processed into information by the vagus nerve which stimulates a specific response.
Music Works for Our Well-being
Music with particular rhythmic frequencies has been shown to shift the status of our brains and our bodies. Reducing stress, lowering blood pressure, improving our moods and alleviating tension. Physicians and surgeons have discovered that music has improved blood flows and even assisted in the healing of cells. The Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine recently published an observational study showing the effects of singing bowl sound meditation on well-being.
While further and more conclusive studies are warranted there has been a significant history of the benefits of listening to relaxation or healing music on human health and well-being. Personally, I have found that incorporating my First Nation flute, and Sacred Music CD’s have had very positive effects on my mental health and more recently on my adventure in Becoming Bionic.
Other Healing Tools
- Guided imagery helped me prepare and have a successful 2nd hip surgery. Here’s what I used: Successful Surgery Guided Imagery
- Healing Affirmations have been shown to decrease pain and the need for pain medication. Only 3 days after my THR I eliminated the opioid all together and after only 9 days I reduced by pain meds by 1/2. I was told that I could begin taking my holistic supplements again as a result of using Affirmations for a Successful Surgery
I’m a strong believer in holistic healing methods. While you should only do what is right for you, as confirmed and prescribed by your personal physicians, I will only share things that have been proven to work for me and my family.
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