How Musical Instruments Affect Your Body

Music is a stress reducer for me, and many people I know. Years ago when I worked in Correctional Facilities as a Correctional Officer, music was used in the therapeutic programs. Now as an international speaker and trainer in the corporate world, I build music into some of my presentations, as it impacts the energy in a room. I also find it ignites creativity, and, it helps reduce stress. Music can be a great way to Bounce Forward during change, challenge, conflict and adversity in life, or just to help you keep your feet on the ground in hectic times.

I am delighted to have a guest blog today  from my friend and expert, Sharon Carne.

How Musical Instruments Affect Your Body


By Sharon Carne, BMus, MFA



When I attend concerts performed by the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, I love to listen with my whole body. I can feel the tuba and bassoon deep in my belly. The huge drums vibrate up through the floor into my feet. The cello and the harp warm my heart and ribcage. The high notes of the flute buzz around in my head.


Generally, every instrument is a combination of many sounds called the fundamental and the overtones. The fundamental is the loudest sound the instrument makes. The overtones are higher sounds related mathematically to the fundamental. It is the overtones that make a violin sound differently from a flute. Or a trumpet sound differently from a piano.


Without the overtones, all instruments would sound exactly the same. In fact, without the overtones, your voice will sound exactly the same as my voice.


The fundamental sound of an instrument will affect your body. The instrument’s specific set of overtones affect the auric layers of the field around the body.


Kay Gardner, in one of my favorite books, Sounding the Inner Landscape: Music as Medicine, includes a long list of instruments and where they are likely to affect the listener’s body and particularly the chakras. As a composer, musician and sound healing pioneer, she used this information in her own music.


1. Root, sacral and abdominal chakra centres:

- this area includes the belly, diaphragm, emotional and psychic (gut feeling) centre.

- instruments that directly affect this lower part of the body are drums, cello, trombone, tuba, bassoon and other low instruments.



2. Heart centre involves our experience of compassion and love.

- instruments that affect the heart area are: string orchestra (think heartstrings), English horn, viola, French horn, the high range of the cello.



3. Throat centre involves communication and creative expression.

- instruments that affect the throat area are clarinet, oboe and violin.



4. Brow centre or third eye is the home of insight and perception.

- instruments that affect this area include flute, oboe and trumpet.



5. Crown centre is where we experience bliss and spiritual connection.

- instruments that affect the crown centre are tinkling bells, crystal bowls and high pitched sounds.



6. Instruments that affect the entire body have the widest range of sounds.

- instruments that affect the whole body are concert harp, guitar, piano, carefully voiced synthesizers and the symphony orchestra. - the harp has the purest tone because of way strings are set with one note per string. This instrument vibrates whole human organism. It also creates perfect overtones.


- the classical guitar resonates the body from the belly to the crown, especially the belly, solar plexus and heart.


- the piano affects the entire body because of its range. - Because of thickness and tautness of its strings, the piano does not create perfect harmonics like the harp.


I tell all my students that music is language of the heart and the guitar sits in front of the heart. Other instruments that are held in front of the heart are the cello and the harp.


Music is also a language of the body. The next time you are listening to your favorite CD or at a concert, I invite you to become more aware of how your body listens.

Sharon Carne has been a musician and teacher all her life and a student on the path of evolving consciousness for over 40 years. These two paths have merged into the visionary work of Sound Wellness – bringing the ancient power of sound and music to a deeper awareness and practical everyday use for these challenging times we live in.

Her workshops help people with tangible experience in how sound and music reduce stress, deepen meditation, assist emotional release, enhance focus and concentration and ease the symptoms of illness and disease. Sharon is the author of Listen from the Inside Out, has produced and recorded several CDs, solo and with others. She is invited to speak about sound therapy to a wide variety of corporate and private audiences, many within the medical community.

Join the free online community at www.soundwellness.com to download audio, video and explore more than 100 articles. Join Sharon on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/scarne1

It All Adds Up- A little worrying a day adds to years of stress

"Worry a little bit every day and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything."
American Journalist, Mary Hemingway

What a  powerful perspective this is. How many times has a mistake, an upcoming challenge, a conflict of relationship issue causes you some worry?  What about those worries that take up space in the back of our brain, they are always there just hanging around.  The quote above by Mary Hemingway is so true, if you were worrying 20 minutes a day about something, that adds up to about 9 hours in a month, which is more than 100 hours per year. Some of you reading might be thinking, this is crazy!  We all worry about things. And you are probably right .... there situations and events that will cause us stress and worry, however some folks are more prone to worry more than others. I was at a networking meeting about a year ago and I stopped counting the number of times my seven table mates said the word worry.  By the time we had finished the meal, I had counted the word "worry" 24 times! The challenge with worry is that often people are not aware that worry is consuming. Worry also keeps people stuck in the problem, instead of moving towards a solution. 

In workplaces, times of change, crisis, conflict are a few examples of many when team members may tend to worry. Here's a few strategies to reduce workplace worry and empower people to move to solutions:

1. Address issues early, don't let them fester.
2. Encourage team members to talk about their concerns and seek solutions.
3. Before a workplace change anticipate what the concerns, worries and rumours may be, then, develop a solid communication plan to address these questions and concerns.
4.  Watch your language. Instead of  saying "I am worried this won't work." you could say "I want this to be successful, let's strategize a few ways to ensure it works." 
5. Learn to Let It Go! If you make a mistake, forgive yourself, fix it and move forward. If you forgot to do something, simply do it, forgive yourself and move forward.
6. Focus on your Bounce Forward (TM) response- moving forward not back in times of change, challenge, crisis and adversity.

 Reducing worry in your life and in your team, can reduce ongoing stress, improve morale, ensure the effectiveness of decision making, and add years to people's lives.

To get your copy email  our office :  chris.alcock@hammondgroup.biz

 

 

A Sign of the Times

   

Many of us are well aware of situations or circumstances that cause us stress.  In the moment we can recognize the signs of emotional response to the stress we are suddenly experiencing.  Are we as good at recognizing stress over the long term?  What about stress that slowly creeps in?  The kind of stress that seems small but accumulates over time and before you know it, we are blowing our tops.  We have all experienced this stress at some time or another in our lives.  It isn't as easily recognized or noticeable in our lives until it accumulates and become too much.  

There are still ways of catching this stress before it becomes too much.  We need to be much more intentional about recognizing it before it becomes overwhelming. 

The following is a list of signs and symptoms of stress, personal and work related stress:

• weight change
• changes in hygiene
• posture
• trembling or shaking
• increased smoking or coffee drinking
• change in energy (highly energized, or lethargic)
• skin pallor or blushing
• breathlessness
• inarticulate speech
• sighing
• changes in health
• nail biting
• tearfulness
• frowning or overly serious
• tone of voice
• alcohol or drug abuse

Signs and symptoms of stress at work:

• being late for work
• absenteeism
• longer lunch breaks
• clock watching
• leaving early
• changes in productivity
• performance issues
• frequent mistakes or accidents
• poor memory
• difficulty making decisions
• impaired judgment
• lack of personal care
• loss of temper, mood swings, over-reactions
• withdrawal socially or isolating self
• poor time management and inability to meet deadlines
• low morale / commitment to the employer
• conflict in workplace relationships
• low efficiency

   Do any of these sound familiar? When you reflect on the particularly stressful times in your life, which of these were prevalent?  We can't always rely on the obvious emotional responses to stress.  Not everything that causes us stress is immediate, sometimes it happens over a prolonged period of time.  However, if we pay attention to our physiological responses we can still recognize and respond accordingly.  If any of these signs and symptoms stand out to you chances are they are the best indicators of sneaky stress in your life.  Evaluate these areas often and note any changes that you notice.  Once you have started regularly monitoring your emotional, psychological, as well as your physiological patterns, you will be able to recognize the signs of stress earlier and deal with it in a more effective way.

What are Your Triggers?

What comes to mind when you hear the word "Stress"? What does the word "stress" mean to you?
I have asked hundreds of people these two questions, and the answers continue to surprise me. However, what I have come to realize is, the responses always seem to fall under these four categories: people, situations, outcomes and feelings.

People often define the word stress associated with a specific individual, symptoms of stress, causes or a situation they have experienced, the results or outcomes of stress, or by feelings related to stress. Rarely do the people I ask actually define the word stress.

Let's look at how people define it, and then explore some more theoretical definitions of stress. The following is a list of common answers I hear related to these questions.

Stress is...

People: A supervisor, a team member, family member, neighbour, or _____(insert name)

Situations: Money, role confusion, change, conflict and disagreement, no down time, feeling inadequate or having unrealistic expectations can all be situational stressors. Dealing with negative people, unnecessary, relationship issues, parenting, marriage, or loss are also stressful situations.

Outcomes: Dissention, strained relationships, unresolved conflict, and the increased stress from these cause us more and more stress.

Feelings: Frustration, exaggerated emotion, pain, being tired, or feeling confused.

As you see, most of the responses are described in a negative way. However, stress in and of itself is not negative. Simply put, stress can be defined as any external events that have an effect on your body or mind. Stated another way, stress is anything that you respond to physically or mentally.  Stress can also be understood as the body's reaction to a change or event that requires either a physical, mental or emotional coping or response. Stress is the result of different stressors faced in life, sort of like the wear and tear on one's body from simply living.

The stress reaction is the result of a release of adrenaline (a stimulant hormone) as it enters the blood stream. This, along with other stress hormones, results in a number of physiological changes in the body (which are intended to be protective in nature). This is referred to as "the fight-or-flight response" because it provides both the strength and energy to either fight the situation or flee from danger. The physiological changes could include any or all of the following: an increase in heart rate and blood pressure (to get more blood to the major muscles, brain and heart), rapid breathing (to take in more oxygen), a tensing and tightening of muscles (preparation for action), increased mental alertness/sharpness and sensitivity of sense organs (to assess the situation and respond quickly), increased blood flow to the brain, heart and muscles and less blood to the skin, digestive tract, kidneys and liver (where it is least needed in times of crisis).

Think about a time where you experienced stress. A great example is driving a vehicle. Picture this: you are driving along listening to your favourite music, noticing some new buildings going up along the highway. Shifting your gaze back to the road, you look forward and realize the front of your vehicle is almost in the car in front of you. Slamming on your brakes, you avoid the accident. Your heart is racing, your breathing is more rapid, and thoughts may be racing through your head. That is an example of the stress reaction with physiological reactions, similar to when we are in conflict or experiencing a stressful situation at work.

The key to managing stress is recognizing the triggers that cause the stress and finding ways that work for you to control your response to those triggers. This won't be the same for everybody so you will need to really pay attention to your environment and how you are responding to the people, situations, outcomes, and feelings produced by your daily interactions.