November 16, 2012

Music Therapy to heal the heart and alleviate the soul

Article for a Magazine
Picture Courtesy: Viveik Tickoo
We humans undergo turmoil of emotions each day. The busy life and the quest of achieving more than anyone else, make a void in every human. In such a situation an efficient and easy to go healing way is required; a way that can be used on daily basis without much expenditure. To meet such a demand an old yet new therapy came to existence yet again "Music Therapy". Past has been a benchmark to prove that music is one of the best sources available to heal any kind of defect, void or disease.

Actress Pushtiie Shakti (better known as Mahi Talwar of Mahi Way, YRF's show on Sony TV), who is a music therapist shares her expert comments with us however she states that she is not a specialist in healing through music. She does not use this technique very often to treat patients but she believes in it with true heart and would love to know it more.

She uses sound vibrations for healing which help to unblock the emotions. "Music touches various parts of body and emotions. Our body is an amalgamation of vibrations and sound is again a vibration. The human body has a number of energy centres with diverse rates of vibration, they are known as charkas.  Like music has 7 swaras (notes), there are 7 main charkas.  This builds up a relation between our body and the music. Each swara is associated with its respective chakra in ascending order. Like the base 'sa' is linked to the 'moladhar chakra'. Thus each and every part of our body can be cured by the combination of different swaras," quips Pushtiie.

Hindu Culture is well equipped with Shlokas and Mantras. Now it's scientifically proved that chanting or listening to Vedic mantras lowers the blood pressure and normalizes the heart beat rate, the brain wave pattern, the cholesterol level and the adrenalin level.  Researchers have proven that Gayatri Mantra helps in relaxation of muscles and has a gentle effect on nervous system, whereas Hanuman Chalisa reduces the stress and fear. Pushtiie shares a logical reason on this, "When you chant shlokas it creates positive sound waves that get absorbed by our body. When this happens it corrects the wrong vibrations. Correction gives healing."

Music has been adopted as a professional method to tackle various situations. Musicians, psychologists and psychiatrists have started coming together as a team and treat the needy ones. Music is now accepted in every field of medical science. Therapists believe that a person suffering from any medical problem from hypertension and stress to pain and fear will heal faster if they get a planned dose of music over time. This therapy is lately adopted to treat pregnant women. Many maternity hospitals have come up with an innovative initiative to encourage pregnant women to take a stand against female foeticide through music and rhymes. The hospital administrations have also decided to play religious music for pregnant women even in the labour room.

Pushtiie adds, "If a pregnant women sings a particular piece of music everyday then the baby in the womb becomes familiar with that music and it gets stored in his/her sub conscious mind. Later in life whenever the child hears that piece of music, he/she feels connected to it and assumes the presence of his/her mother there. It is also advisable to listen to Mozart music during pregnancy. It sends positive vibes to the baby."

Doctors explained that music has been a part of treatment for centuries, but the scientific exploration of its medicinal properties is a very recent development. The extensive researches on Music rehabilitation brought up the therapeutic powers of music. This therapy can cure numerous diseases. Soothing music is also believed to have an effect on drug addicted patients and has been adopted by many drug and rehab centers.

Music treatment also plays a vital role in curing risky diseases like Hernia.  It can act as a substitute to spinal anesthesia while performing inguinal hernia surgery. Generally, hernia patients who undergo surgery have to accept the anesthetic risk and complications but music therapy is risk free and far better. This raw data was converted into facts by a Doctor in Bangalore when he treated a hernia patient using music therapy.

In day to day life also music therapy has carved its niche. Household women prefer to listen to music while working and they find that comparatively they are able to complete their chores happily while humming or listening music. Some students also share that their learning becomes easy when they listen to soft or Sufi music at low voice. Some people also follow a routine of sitting on a comfortable chair in lazy afternoons and listen to music or simple tunes for some time period. This habit gives them self-relaxation and freshness. On this Pushtiie said, "If you are feeling low, disheartened or stressful, then just sit back and listen to some motivational music. You will feel much refreshed, and motivated."

As an ending thought; Pushtiie shared a piece of advice to this generation Adams and eves. "Dolphins are known as animals of love. They produce a particular sound wave which affects the Heart Chakra. So whenever you feel that the intensity and emotion factor from your love life is missing just go and spend some time with Dolphins. If that's not possible then take out some time and listen to the Dolphin music on internet. You will see yourself falling in love all over again."

-K Himaanshu Shukla




Copyright © 2012 - ScrutinyByKHimaanshu

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