Music As Yoga by Patrick Bernard

• Knowledge of the therapeutic nature of music stretches back to antiquity.
• Music used to purify consciousness (12)
  • Illness only attacks where it finds weakness, which stems from the lack of balance or impurity in the mind, body or spirit
  • In purity is strength
• Sounds do, in fact, act as stimuli that generate a thought process and liberate the energies stored in the subconscious
  • This gives concern in today's world where particularly aggressive types of music exist.
• Some musical pieces are harmful, while others have calming and regenerating effects. Some forms of music overexcite then deplete, while others stimulate without enervating. (14)
  • We should reexamine our conclusions about the alarmingly high suicide, depression and dropout rates in our culture
• Pythagoras developed and adapted what are referred as apparatus or devices, which are divinely created mixtures of certain diatonic, chromatic or enharmonic melodies. (15)
  • He postulated that these helped transfer or redirect the soul's passions - sadness, anger, pity, craving, pride, sloth and vehemence - provided they had taken shape recently or in secret
  • Each passion righted according to the rules of virtue, tempering them with appropriate melodies, which could be likened to beneficial medicines.
• Zen master Su Ma T'sien 1st century BC ' certain notes have beneficial manner on human conduct (16)
• Sounds and music agitate and animate the arteries and the veins. This generates life-giving breath and brings to the heart harmony and rectitude.
  • Kong - notes that affect the spleen, bringing saintliness to man.
  • Tche - note that affect the heart and brings harmony of perfect rites to man.
  • Kio - note affecting liver, bringing harmony of perfect goodness to man.
  • Yu - note affecting kidneys, bringing harmony of perfect wisdom to man.
  • The ancient manuscript explains that the sentiment, born of inner excitement, manifests in the exterior world in sound.
    • When the sounds are beautiful, they are what we call musical notes.
    • Hence (this where the message takes on its fullest meaning), the notes of a troubled period are those of hatred and irritation.
• Chakra - a subtle heart behind the physical heart; tiny organic computer where music's emotional and sensory forces are processed. (22)
• Bhagavad Gita (Sanskrit text) shows how humans are conditioned by certain forces, or modes (gunas).
  • Fall into 3 main categories
    • Tama - Force of ignorance
    • Raja - Force of passion
    • Sattva - Force of virtue
• Pyscho-acoustics, which was practiced by many ancient civilizations, is resurfacing for application in the modern world.
  • [Musicians] have the responsibility beyond simply playing or writing music. They have the responsibility of being aware of how their creativity affects individuals, those who are subject to its consequences, whether good or bad. [51]
• As with healing music, the antidote against the apocalyptic noises in our environment can be found in nature. Nature's song is the easiest road to the abstract garden of harmony. When we become more sensitive to the natural beauty that surrounds us, we feel closer to the divine intelligence that holds sway over the elements. [55]
• The basic nature of music we listen to invariably leaves its imprint on our customs, actions and patterns of behavior. Music imitates life, and life imitates music. [56]
• Monitoring the sound to which we are exposed needs to be extended to babies in the womb, as well. This need is supported by both ancient texts and modern research. We find in the authentic commentary on the Vedanta Sutra, the Srimad Bhagavatam, written by Vyasadev some 5,000 years ago, several accounts that demonstrate how the fetus is capable of hearing sounds from without. [56]
• …Sanskrit verses are poetic texts of great beauty, with elaborate rhythms and metrics. [57]
• Alfred Tomatis concluded after 25 years of research that hearing precedes all forms of cellular organization, as if the whole creative process depended on it. ' Simply because life is listening. [58]
• Precious vibrations and powerful energies exist in the spoken word. … When we are aware of the power of our words, we become captain of the vessel of the body-spirit in which the soul travels. [69]
• As one old saying goes: "If man digs his grave with his fork, he also forges his destiny with his tongue." [70]
  • The Bible tells us that what comes out of our mouths matters.
  • Each word, each expression we utter, determines a little more the circumstances that will crystallize in our lives.
  • Like a computer, the subconscious registers data without having the slightest sense of humor.
• According to [Karl Otto Schmidt], by human beings' power to determine what they will become, they become it. In this way, humans are the undeniable masters and primeval causes lf the circumstances and events that mark the entire course of their existence. Their lives are in their own hands.
  • In Sanskrit, human being is called prabhu, or master.
• Within us lies the root of all sound images projected on the giant screen of our own existence. Peaceful souls do not seek situations of conflict. [72]
• Humans are of divine nature. We hold within our souls and on our lips the sound keys of our destiny and that of the world.
• Healing power of sound, at bottom of prescription- Medication should be taken with psycho-acoustic vibration: "I feel perfectly well, I am in excellent health"- to be repeated ten times a day, morning, noon and evening.
• In a sense, the supraconscious is an accumulator of images, sounds, emotions and memories directly connected to the manner in which we allow ourselves to perceive existence.
• The Sanskrit word mantra means "mental liberation." This sound, or combination of sounds, delivers the mind from its worldly conditioning and limitations.

WebMD - (Link)
What is music therapy?

• Music therapy is the use of music to gain physical and emotional healing and wellness. A trained and certified music therapist, dance/movement therapist, or creative 'arts expressive' therapist can provide music therapy. Therapy sessions can involve listening to music, music-making, or both.

Research is beginning to reveal how music works to heal the body and mind.

• The rhythm and tone of music can excite you or relax you. Music therapy can help reduce your heart rate and blood pressure and increase your ability to think, learn, reason, and remember.
• Music-making is a healthy way of expressing yourself.

What is music therapy used for?

You can use music therapy to help your mental and physical health. It helps people express themselves, find new memories, and calm the body and mind through its rhythm, order, and predictability. Music therapy is sometimes combined with movement therapies, such as dance.

Music therapy:

• May improve forgetfulness (dementia) by:
  • Improving your connection to others.
  • Helping the brain produce a calming substance (melatonin).
  • Improving how well you speak.
  • Improving long-term and medium-term memory.
• May help babies born too early to deal with necessary but painful procedures. Crying is often affected by music.
• Is used to reduce the pain of cancer treatment.

Is music therapy safe?

Music therapy is considered safe.

Always tell your doctor if you are using an alternative therapy or if you are thinking about combining an alternative therapy with your conventional medical treatment. It may not be safe to forgo your conventional medical treatment and rely only on an alternative therapy.

Wheeler, B.L., Nayak, S., Shiflet, S.C., & Agostinelli, S.

• Because music is laden with emotional associations and memories, it provides an effective medium for evoking emotional responses (MacRae, 1992).
• Furthermore, the rhythm in music can structure behavior by simultaneously influencing emotions directly and altering physiological functioning such as heart rate, muscle tone, blood pressure, and respiration (stickler, 1998).
• The primary objective of this study was to evaluate whether music therapy is effective as an aid to enhance a patient's mood, social interaction, and involvement in therapy (occupational and physical) during acute rehabilitation.
• The results of this study indicate that music therapy had a positive effect on social and behavioral outcomes and showed some encouraging trends with respect to mood.
• Given the needs of individuals in acute rehabilitation for improved mood and social interaction and the preliminary findings of this study, the skills of the music therapist could complement those of the psychologist.
• Introducing music, a structured but emotionally expressive medium, into the acute rehabilitation psychologists access to a cost-effective, pleasant, and entertaining adjunct to traditional psychotherapy.

Ho, Man Keung; Settles, Amy. The Use of Popular Music in Family Therapy.

• Listening to popular music, the lyrics which are often personally meaningful, can stimulate clients to discuss personal and interpersonal conflicts and distressing situations that they might not otherwise bring forward.
• Music is one common denominator that transcends differences of sex, age, nationality, education, and socio-economic background.