Healing Power of Music - Jane's Mindful Musings

  Jane Witherspoon is a Canadian expat adventurer, yoga instructor and passionate rambler who recently relocated from Panama to Denia, Spain. 

For as long as there have been human beings, we've created music. But why do we love it?

Music has therapeutic qualities that can help us heal from mental and physical ailments. It reduces stress and anxiety, eases pain and trauma, and releases dopamine, which boosts our mood and make us feel happy. Therefore, music is often used in therapy to aid in the healing process.

My father was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's, and as he fell deeper into the chaos of the disease, he found a fascinating connection with the movie Mamma Mia. We watched it over and over with him, and an amazing transformation took place every time. Watching him find joy, seeing him laugh and sing along with the songs, brought not only moments of happiness for him but also to all of us who were watching him slowly slip away.

It reminded me that we can all find joy, even during difficult times.

Many of us turn to music not only when we are happy but also in times of turmoil. Music helps us navigate confusing emotions because it touches our souls in a ways words cannot.

Did you know that when we hear a piece of music, our bodies latch on to its rhythm and our heartbeats and breathing patterns adjust to match the beat?

Personally, I prefer to live in a peaceful environment without any kind of noise, as it helps me maintain a sense of calm and clarity. However, there are occasions where I find music helpful. For instance, I have specific playlists I use to energize myself when I work out, playlists that help me relax and connect with myself when I do yoga, and playlists that I listen to when I need a pick-me-up and want to feel happy.

We all have special songs that we connect with. There are songs we choose to bring up our energy, the ones that just make us feel alive. Songs for when we need to find calm and relaxation and songs that instantly will bring back special memories, happy or sad.

We all use music to find a connection with ourselves and others starting before birth in our mother’s wombs and continuing until we breathe our final breath.

So my Sole Sisters, as you ramble out into your week may you connect with the joy and healing power of music. 

Human beings seem to have innate musicality. Thus, the capacity to understand and derive pleasure from complex musical patterns appears to be culturally universal. Musicality is expressed very early in development. In this sense, music may be compared to speech in other cognitively interesting ways that we use sound. But, whereas speech is most obviously important for communicating propositions or concepts, obtaining such knowledge is not the primary function of music. Rather, it is music’s power to communicate emotions, moods, or affective mental states that seem beneficial to our quality of life - Robert Zatorre, Ph.D.

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