The Healing Power of Music - By Kim Otteby

Just the other day a young Zambian man asked me what I thought about music and whether it can be used in healing various illnesses. Certainly from my own experience I know the profound effect music can have on me and how it’s helped change my mood and outlook on several occasions. For instance, I now always make sure that I have a really good CD in the car when driving through Lusaka traffic, and it really does help curb those frustrations! But beyond this, can music really be used as medicine?

Human beings have been using sound to access deeper states of consciousness, expanded awareness and heal the body for thousands of years.  In ancient Greece, Apollo was both the god of music and medicine. Today, with highly sophisticated technological equipment, we can now observe the functioning of the body and the brain in unprecedented detail in how it responds to sound, and the results are staggering!

As your brain comprehends the sounds of music, electrical energy is released by neurons creating various frequencies of brain waves. The brain waves that are created in turn determine what 'states of mind' you are in. For instance, beta waves are most prevalent during focused and active thinking, while alpha waves prevail during relaxation. Once through your brain, music in the form of electrical impulses make their way down your spinal cord causing an impact on your nervous system, and hence your heart rate, pulse, blood pressure, and muscle tension.

It’s amazing how many research studies there actually are on the subject, and although we may perhaps not have any Sound Therapists working in Zambia, it is certainly a growing profession elsewhere in the world. Music is being used in ways to alleviate or lessen pain. Studies have shown that music used as medicine can increase immune function and decrease ACTH (stress) hormones. Music has even been shown to have very favourable effects when treating serious conditions like cancer. Another benefit of "healing" music is to stir our emotions and feelings, to help us deal with grief, sadness, anger or other feelings. By allowing us to really experience our feelings, the intensity will eventually lessen and even dissipate, resulting in healing.

To benefit from music you must first prepare yourself to listen. Relax, perhaps take of your shoes and breathe. Make sure that you really listen to the music, not doing anything else. Most people tend to have music as a background while doing other activities. However, to get the best benefit you need to move it to the foreground. Choosing the actual music is not always easy, and to help you there are several companies that have designed music CDs for specific conditions and illness. But you can also create your own. For instance you may want to try a technique called music sequencing. Let’s say for instance that you are dealing with depression, select a composition which represents your depression in its extreme form. Follow this with a music piece that is only mildly depressing. Then select a neutral composition, and end with a composition which is clearly uplifting and motivating. Listening to music in a sequence like this allows for your current stress level or mood to be first honoured and then to be gradually transformed. When the music stops, enjoy the silence for a few moments. This will help integrate the feelings.