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!!
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. :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, thats very true. I do that very often!
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