You are listening to the radio and you hear one of your favorite songs; what do you do? Do you turn the radio up or do you sing along with the song? Do you feel yourself smiling or tapping to the beat? One or all of these reactions to the song are normal. When we hear music we enjoy, we feel uplifted. It makes listening to annoying sounds such as traffic, office machinery, or hearing a crying baby become much more tolerable to us. It all relates to how our bodies interpret the sound as either being pleasant or awful.
When we listen to sounds or music that is pleasant, the body relaxes and releases various hormones. One of the happy hormones is oxytocin. It is also associated with feelings of love; that warm gooey feeling. Hearing our favorite song or listening to mellow music, releases this oxytocin and increases our joyfulness. The other happy hormone involved when listening to music is dopamine, a neurotransmitter that drives our brain’s reward system. When we activate dopamine in our bodies, it improves our overall well-being.
Music also changes our nervous system. When we hear pleasant music, the brain motivates and rewards neurological pathways with positive emotions mentally linked to that music. Why is this important? Medical research shows this pattern results in the body leaving the sympathetic mode and entering parasympathetic mode. In other words, our bodies escape fight or flight mode and relax from life’s stresses. So how does this research factor into Vibrational Sound session or a Sound Bath experience?
The key to both of these modalities is the vibrations of sounds that are either heard or felt by our bodies. In a Vibrational Sound session, the vibrations of the Himalayan bowls work on the bodies muscular and nervous systems. They physically reduce tension held in muscles and often mentally calm our brain. During a sound bath, everyone listens to the different sounds from the instruments and some people also feel the vibrations. Most people feel rested after the experience and some people feel physical changes to their bodies too.
Serenity Holistic Touch
To schedule an appointment call/text Lisa Westrick at 520-226-5953 or email lisa@serenityholistictouch.com