The magic of music

Most, but not fully everyone, likes some kind of music. What is it that causes some to not get through a day without music? Some music makes us feel bad and other make us feel good. Music moves us. Music is constant in our lives, whether we want it or not.

Jordero doing a mantra workshop at Yogabolaget. Mantramusic is soothing for the soul and creates a meditative state of mind.

Scientific studies show that music affects our hormone levels and these in turn guide our lives more than we can imagine; sleep, weight, energy, sex drive and much more. Music thus has the ability to help you perform better and do more but also relax, unwind and sleep better. Calm music helps the body to physically relax. It also helps to adjust the mind so that we both get better memory and become less worried. The body's healing processes have also been shown to work better, and therefore, music is used for better rehabilitation after surgery. Playing music or singing also slows down the aging of the brain and improves its ability to capture new information. Playing together can be very playful and creative and even improvising can create magic!

We love to play and sing. We play with our children, our guests and love to travel with a bunch of instruments.

It seems that music has a significant healing effect on us and can positively affect the body in several aspects if we use it correctly. Becoming aware of the strong impact that music has on us can help us make wise decisions in our everyday lives. Here are 3 tips for your everyday life: 1. Use the music to help your body energize or relax. 2. Consider the sound image and sound level of public places where you are staying or dining and choose a sound image with care. 3. Use the music when you need to heal the body or mind - in stress, burnouts and other illnesses.

Singing bowls

In meditation and yoga, singing bowls are often used to help balance, heal and create a relaxing beautiful sound. Singing bowls have been used both ritually and therapeutically in many cultures, including Japan, China, Tibet and Nepal. The sound of singing bowls correlates with our inner sounds and chakras. Within feng shui the sound is used to clean energy fields. We often use singing bowls in the beginning or end of meditations, yoga or mantra.

I dream that one day I can deepen myself more in the art of singing bowls and also learn to play gong. At Biskops Arnö Folkhögskola, this is possible. They describe it like this:

"All living has vibrations. We live in a universe of sounds and we can consider ourselves as beings of sound. All our feelings, thoughts and physical states can be described as vibration. When we are well-behaved and happy, symphonies are created. When we suffer of ill health and depression disharmonies are created."

Very beautifully described, we appreciate that. 🙏

I want to finish by sharing the sound of one of our singing bowls and our Steel Tongue Drum Handpan at a Sadhana with me and our youngest, only 5 months. I hope this short set can inspire you to create beautiful symphonies, alone or together with others.

With love,

Linda

Sources:

1. https://www.scienceofpeople.com/scientific-benefits-music/

2. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/may/16/the-science-of-songs-how-does-music-effect-your-body-chemistry

3. https://www.expressen.se/halsoliv/7-saker-du-behover-veta-om-hormoner/

4. http://www.biskopsarno.se/det-helande-ljudet-av-klangskalar/