“She who hears music feels his solitude peopled at once,” wrote the post Robert Browning. And anyone who’s ever been uplifted by a favorite tune when feeling blue knows exactly what he meant.

For thousand of years, people have used sound and vibration, including music to relax, access deeper states of consciousness, and heal their bodies. Practices like chanting and drumming or using Tibetan singing bowls and Chinese meditation gongs, are just a few examples of how sound and vibration are incorporated into daily life. In nada yoga, the yoga of sound the human voice and classical Indian instruments are used as a path to self-realization, opening the spiritual channels and harmonizing the physical body. “The ultimate goal of nada yoga is self- realization through connecting with the anahata naada, the unstruck inner sound or the sound of our True Being.” says Shanti Shivani, a nada yoga teacher, vocalist, and sound healer.

Whether its chanting mantra or singing along with your favorite CD, sound and music have the power to change your mood, and maybe your health too. Research suggests that music can have beneficial effects on health ranging from reducing chronic pain to improving the recovery of stroke victims. “ The ancient traditions all say that we are sound, we are frequency,” say Shivani. “Western scientists are discovering that the ancient knowledge is correct.

The next time you are stuck in traffic, feeling stressed and overwhelmed, feeling under pressure or are just having a difficult day, pop in your favorite CD or turn on some soothing music and let the vibrations of the music soothe your mind, body and soul.
Feel the music and vibrations melting your stress away.

Namaste,

Rochele M. Lawson, RN,AHP,CMS