The Sound of Music- therapy for body,mind and soul



“All workings of the universe are various harmonic vibrations based on sound;the universe itself is music. Hence sound is the original and most primal of all creative and healing energies" David Frawly (renowned Vedic scholar)


 Music to the ears

Music, the language that unites the world! Today we see a lot of people working, driving (or sitting in the car), walking/running, doing yoga/ exercises, studying or even sleeping, and at the same time listening to music. With easy accessibility via youtube and other portals, music has become an integral part of our existence.



                                                                     Universal music

It is now accepted that music is a form of therapy (some hospitals are even employing it therapy, for example Apollo Hospitals and Gleneagles Global Hospital, Chennai) for physical ailments as well as mental.

 Music therapy at Apollo Hospitals

My esteemed ex-colleague, Dr.Jothi Clara, Group Nursing & Quality Director at Gleneagles Global Hospitals, has done an entire thesis on this, and is an inspiring example of what the field of musical therapy can achieve. I was fortunate enough to see several of her workshops on Music Therapy at Chennai:  https://in.linkedin.com/in/clara-micheal-82154231



                                                              Clinical music therapy

From Indian Classical to Bhajans, from Kundalini music to Sufi kalam, music affects our mood in various ways and means. It is all very logical, since music stimulates brain wave patterns. Ragas are capable of leading to relaxation, as observed with the alpha-levels of the brain waves. They may also lead to favorable hormonal changes in the system (Crandall, 1986).

                                                       Effects of music on the brain

And this knowledge is not new.Our ancestors knew it all.  The ancient science of  “Nada Yoga”, predating the Tantras, acknowledge the role of music , recognizing that by stimulating the mood andcontrolling the brain wave patterns, music can play a very important role as a complementary therapy.
More about Nada Yoga at :https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/5320/nada-yoga

                                                                                 Nada Yoga

Suffering from the blues? The ragas Jaijayanti, Pooriya, Darbari Kanada, Khamaj and Sohni are known to lift up the mood (mentioned in a few Ayurvedic texts). These can be easily downloaded from Youtube. I am giving a few links at the end of this article. You don't have to go into the grammatical nuances of it. Just listen, enjoy and feel your mood lifting up.


                                                  Music can tackle depression effectively

Some specific ragas mentioned in the classical texts for various diseases affecting the body and mind, are:
Raga                                                   Disorder it corrects
Khamaj, Puriya                                   Tension, Stress, Neurosis
Jaijayanti, Sohni                                  Stress
Sahana , Punnagavarali                    Aggression, Anger
Todi, Poorvi, Darbari Kanada          Headache, Anxiety
Deepak                                                 Stomach Disorders
Gunkali, Jaunpuri                              Constipation
Malkauns, Hindolam                        Gas, Bloating, Fevers
Malkauns                                             Low blood pressure
Pooriya, Todi                                       High blood pressure
Bhairavi                                               Sinusitis
Darbari Kanada                                 Chronic Asthma
( source: “ Healing techniques” by Dr. Hrishikesh Bhat)
This is also borne out by modern medical studies, as the following table shows:

                                                       

                                                         Uses of music therapy


( Source: https://mlifka.wordpress.com/music-as-therapy/)
Music is known to affecting the body, mind and soul, the vibrations touching our senses and colliding with the atoms of our body. Physics teaches us that our bodies are atoms in motion, and the sound waves therefore have a natural capacity to affect these atoms.
According to Hindu philosophy, the primordial sound, “Om”, is at the very root of the creation of this universe. It is said that “Om” influenced the first of the five elements of the Universe, Ether, to set off the process of creation in motion. Spiritual chants such as the Mahamrityunjay Mantra, Gayatri Mantra have been studied for their healing effects. At the heart of it, it is actually positive thinking and positive functioning in action.



                                         Om- the primordial sound


Indian classical music has been arranged according to a particular pattern, the Alap ( introduction),Jor(Elaboration),Gat(Fixed composition), Jhala (fast tempo),Tarana (ending) etc. These correspond to the rising and descent of the human mood, and thus have a profound effect on the mind, body and soul.
Remember Tansen, who could bring rain from the sky with his amazing rendition of ragas? He is known to have cured one of Emperor Akbar’s queens with his rendition of a selected raga.In addition, there was several practitioners of the musical healing genre, namely Saint Thyagaraja, Muthuswamy Dikshitar and Shyama Sastry, who have demonstrated the healing role of music.


                                                         Tansen the musical genius


Music finds its expression in other cultures too as a mode of healing. In Chinese medical theory, the five internal organ and meridian systems are believed to have corresponding musical tones, which are used to encourage healing. And therefore, music has an important role in healing in Chinese Traditional Medicine ( TCM).

Music can be used as an adjunct to other modes of treatment for its healing effect, on both the patient and the healer. A cardiac surgeon I worked with long back, could never operate if his favourite music was not playing in the background! And this is true for many operating rooms around the world. In both the preoperative and postoperative phases, music has been known to be beneficial for patients.

And it doesn’t have to be limited to classical music. Your favourite Bollywood song may be equally effective, as may traditional/ folk music or latest instrumental music. For that matter, a large number of popular Bollywood songs are based on classical music.You just have to listen with your heart. Music touches your soul, so let the thinking take a backseat and the soul take over. Voila! That’s it!
Here are a few resources which give an insight into the emerging  field of music therapy:

https://www.scribd.com/doc/142971760/Ayurveda

If you would like to find out more about specific ragas, I am pasting a few links which might be useful:
Raga Jaijayanti:
Raga Bhairavi:
Raga Puriya
Raga Khamaj
Raga Darbari Kanada
Most of the ragas I have mentioned earlier in my article, are available on youtube and can be easily downloaded from there.
Happy listening and happy healing! Enjoy!!


Comments

  1. Pradeep NairDecember 16, 2017 at 11:56 PM

    Probably one good reason why I see lots of people with speakers plugged into their ears! Music, which I guess is what they are all listening to, must surely be working wonders for them. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. AbhiDecember 21, 2017 at 5:04 AM

    Yes, thats very true. I do that very often!

    ReplyDelete
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