You may or may not have noticed our latest Instagram post, all about music in relation to self care but music is such a critical part of self care that one Instagram post couldn't even begin to touch on the impacts music has on people.
Music is incredible. I'm sure that at some point, you've heard a sad song and found a tear in your eye, or had a bad day and jammed to some tunes in the car to make yourself feel better? Or depending on your mood depends on what music you're listening to? This is because of the massive impact music has inside out brains. It has access to our emotions through the Temporal Lobe, it has access to the reward centre of our brain, though the Ventral Tegmental Area (or VTA) part of our brain, it has access to the language centres in the brain and even the areas that control movement (you know how you tap your feet to the beat....)! This is only the beginning of the list too. In fact, it's said that music stimulates more parts of the brain that any other stimulus! When you have the ability to play an instrument, your brain might start to look like a fireworks display because of all the parts of your brain that are engaged! Learning music uses different language skills (words etc. in music are usually written in Latin or Italian, as well as English), it uses different math skills (you get quite good at fractions!), and also uses other particular points in the brain for things like Ear Training, and other skill development.
In case you want to take a closer look, at the bottom of this blog there are a couple pictures for you to look at and compare!
Now that the more "nerdy" stuff is out of the way, let's talk about the impact music has on Self care. We already have established that self care is really what it sounds like; taking care of yourself. So what does music have to do with that? Because we know that music can change how we feel, being able to use tools like music to change how we feel, is very helpful. Some people find that their version of self care is going for a run with music playing through their headphones. Some people find that a copy-cat version of the Grey's Anatomy "30 second dance party" is what it takes and some people find that quiet time with music is all they need. Whatever your version of self care is, a lot of the times, most people will pair that activity with music.
One of my all-time favourite quotes about music, that I even had on the back of my phone case at one time, is
"When words fail, Music Speaks." and how true is that? Music is like a "heart hug" or even a love language for some. Personally, I find that music is an outlet and you can always tell what mood I'm in by the music I play, or listen to. Some might say "Say it with Flowers", but self care says "Say it with music". Often music will find the words we can't.
In light of all the other great things about music, it's influence is so profound that it's considered a therapy tool and more extensively so than even we realize. There are people in the world who rely on music to help them with fears, or overcome challenges, and there are a lot of people that find music helps control some of their disabilities.
I watched an incredible video about a young boy who had a very difficult speech impediment. A teacher somehow caught on to the fact that if the boy wore headphones and listened to music, the speech impediment basically disappeared. How jaw-dropping is that?
Now, music goes even farther beyond what we could ever discuss in a blog but the great thing is, that now you can experiment for yourself, all the ways that music can help you! When do you listen to music? How do you listen to it? Where? and What does it do for you?
We're always interested in feedback, so feel free to share you experiences with us! And remember to register for our program before you do anything else! You don't want to miss out!
Onwards and Upwards Always,
Kayla @ ISC
