Webster's
Dictionary uses a musical term as synonymous with healing; becoming SOUND, well
or healthy again.
Personally I feel at deep down
that singing has healing powers.
If I feel sad or angry, anxious or happy I want to “sing
it out of my body”. No matter what feeling I have to begin with I always feel
better in both body and soul after singing.
I am convinced
that illness or physical pain very often derrive from emotional trouble or trying to suppress
ones feelings. I’ve experienced this on my own body, ranging from neck tension
because of worries to emotional stress (rejection) causing tinnitus and instant, unprovoked pain in my left shoulder lasting weeks after the incident.
That's why I did a bit of research and found something about healing and singing on the net. I cut out the best bits for you, but feel free to read
the full entry here: http://singspirationsingers.com/home.cfm?id=709&sid=0
Quote: "The link between
deep breathing and good health is more than just theoretical. A
thirteen-year-long study in Australia showed that respiratory capacity was a
more significant factor than tobacco use, cholesterol levels, and insulin
metabolism for determining people's longevity.
Nobel prize
winner Otto Warburg published landmark studies in the 1960s that proved that
cancer cells thrive in an environment starved of oxygen. When we sing we use
deep abdominal breathing with the diaphragm moving forcefully downward which allows
room for the lungs to fill up with oxygen. The physical signs of stress -
cardiovascular, hormonal, immune, and muscular - are quieted and begin to
normalize.
"In a series of studies that examined how music
affects blood pressure, pulse rate, breathing, and other aspects of the
autonomic nervous system, participants' heart rates were found to respond to
both volume and rhythm of music", writes Mitchell L. Gaynor,
M.D A 1993 report by scientists at Michigan State
University showed that people who listened to or participated in music that
they liked showed a drop of 25% in their levels of cortisol, a stress hormone
that can depress the immune system when produced in excess.
Another study shows the same significant drop in
cortisol levels in babies of 6 months when their mothers sing to them.
Music can activate the flow of stored memory across
the corpus colossus helping the left and right hemispheres of the brain work in
harmony. This stimulates the immune system.
Music can also excite peptides in the brain and
stimulate the production of endorphins, which are natural opiates secreted by
the hypothalamus which produces a feeling of natural euphoria.
Recent study shows that when cats are purring, the sound helps them to recover from injuries. More about healing with sound: https://experiencelife.com/article/the-healing-power-of-sound
Paul Newham in his book Using Voice and Song in
Therapy says,
"When we give voice to parts of the self which have remained mute then we reclaim, refind and rediscover something that has been lost."
"When we give voice to parts of the self which have remained mute then we reclaim, refind and rediscover something that has been lost."
I see that when people have permission to
express their sorrow and their pain, they can also express all of their joy!
On the other hand, if they suppress emotions of anger
or pain in order to not let it show - “be
a man” or be strong - they also tend
to suppress their natural impulse to show happiness and tenderness as well. Because
it’s the same mechanism, and the mechanism doesn’t know the difference between
feelings we want, and feelings we don’t want! And that’s really bad, isn’t it?
That’s why if I was a doctor, I’d proscribe to everyone at least 30
minutes of singing every day, alone or in a group!