Music Therapy and Sound Healing as a Form of Alternative Therapy

Music Therapy and Sound Healing go hand in hand as a complete alternative treatment method. Sound and music have been used in other cultures across the world for thousands of years. Music therapy and sound healing promotes healing within the body, mind, and spirit. Music therapy, which is conducted by certified music therapists, uses classical music and live performances to bring about psychological, physical, mental, and social changes. This type of alternative therapy will not work listening to hip-hop or rock and roll. Sound healing relies on rhythm drums, chanting, and recording to bring about a higher level of balance and self-healing.

Music therapy and sound healing works by using the sound of music and the sounds within music as a method of alternative therapy. These methods use certain sounds to stimulate a state of deep relaxation and promote what is called the relaxation response. While in the relaxation response mode, breathing becomes deeper and slower, your heartbeat slows, your brain waves fluctuate from one frequency to the next, your muscles become relaxed, and your circulation is improved. What music therapy and sound healing do is to produce in your body the opposite effects of what stress causes in your body.

Certain sounds and types of music stimulate the relaxation process within your body. Your heart responds in sequence to the rhythm of the music. In other words, if your heart is working over time due to stress related factors, listening to the calm, serene sounds of certain types of music will cause your heart to slow down in sequence or harmony with the flow of the music you are listening to. This is why hip-hop or rock and roll music wouldn’t work it gives you an upbeat feeling causing adrenaline to increase. If you are suffering from stress related problems, listening to the fast rhythms of certain music will not help you to relax.

Some sounds don’t necessarily have a rhythmic pattern. Due to the lack of the rhythmic patterns, the analytical part of your mind shuts down, which creates a sense of relaxation because you are enjoying the music without trying to figure out the rhythm patterns of the music. Music therapy and sound healing is great for those who suffer from stress related conditions, including muscle tension and pain, tension headaches, high blood pressure, hypertension, insomnia, depression, anxiety, and fatigue. Although music therapy and sound healing therapy is great for certain health problems it has not been proven to work for serious illnesses.

Music therapy and sound healing as an alternative therapy is completely safe when the right music is used. Classical music, new age, and some opera or live performance music is best to help this form of alternative therapy be effective. However, one should avoid listening to heavy metal, rock, hip-hop, or other types of upbeat music that will not contribute to bringing out the relaxation response within your body.