Music has been shown to create the relaxation response in the listener quickly and effectively. As a Healing Touch Practitioner, you are familiar with the relaxation your clients experience as a wonderful side effect of your healing treatments. Music can be an effective tool to get your client to relax quicker, so there is more time in the session to allow your work to go even deeper.
Here are some tips on what to look for in music you want to play during sessions.
1. A lot of deep healing happens when you gain access to the subconscious mind. Music is a great tool to open this door quickly and effectively. The door, however, is closely guarded by two areas of the brain called the Pons and the Reticular Activating System. These areas are located at the base of the brain and regulate the autonomic nervous system, like breathing, heartbeat, digestion, sleep, alertness, pain and so much more.
It is the reticular activating system that wakes you with a start in the middle of the night when you hear an unfamiliar noise in the house. These two areas of the brain don’t step down easily from their guarding post.
The Pons and Reticular Activating System also control your state of consciousness. It has been shown that the effect of the mind over the body is greatly enhanced in alpha and theta brainwave states. We naturally move into these brainwave states when we relax deeply.
It has been found that music with repetitive sounds and drones (a repetitive pattern of sounds) have the effect on the pons and RAS to change the state of consciousness to alter the brainwave state.
When that happens, you, as a healer, have access to the subconscious mind to create greater effectiveness with your treatment and make lasting change. This is the place where miracles happen!
2. Another aspect of choosing music to help your clients relax is to choose music with slower rhythms. One aspect of a human being’s response to music is that the heartbeat will match the rhythm of any music in the environment. A relaxed heartbeat is around 60 to 80 beats per minute, for most people.
When you are listening to music you are considering purchasing for sessions, check the rhythm. Slower rhythms will slow down your client’s heartbeat and help them get into a relaxed state more effectively.
3. Another kind of music to have in your collection for clients is recordings with nature sounds. Sounds like birdsong, gently bubbling water, ocean waves and wind are the healthiest sounds there are for the human being.
We evolved with these sounds surrounding us and our bodies are programmed to move into harmony with them when we are around them.
You will likely find that a particular music selection will not work for every client. The problem with choosing music for other people is that every person is wired to respond uniquely to music.
I recommend that you follow your intuition when choosing music for client sessions. I also encourage you to be aware of their response to the music during the first 5 or 10 minutes. If the music doesn’t seem to be having the effect you desire, choose another selection.
About Sharon Carne:
Sharon Carne, BMus, M.F.A. is an author, speaker, musician, recording artist, sound healer, Reiki master and consultant. Sharon is the founder of Sound Wellness, whose programs are at the forefront of education in how sound and music can be easily applied to your everyday life – to reduce stress, help you concentrate, energize you, inspire you, support your health and so much more.