Music is a soulful universal language that transcends boundaries, resonating deep within us. Harmony fuels self-reflection, regulation, and expression, fostering joy and bonds.
Janine Marie Flores, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde professor, underscores music’s therapeutic potency, easing stress, anxiety, and bolstering well-being. Clinical music therapy, guided by experts, enhances holistic health. Flores encourages three daily music-inspired wellness practices.
Create a playlist. Specific types of music bring out certain emotional responses. This may be similar or different from one person to the other. Some may feel calm listening to rock or pop music, others find solace in ballads or jazz.
Identify feelings brought by particular genres. Use these to manifest calmness, improve the mood, spark creativity or inspire movement. If you want to shift from being upset to feeling happy, start with sad songs. Then, add happy-themed songs to change the mood into a more positive one.
Sing. Singing releases endorphins and oxytocin, the “feel-good hormones”. It helps relieve pain, alleviate anxiety and stress, and boost mood. It also eases muscle tension, corrects posture, and refines breathing. It improves our lung capacity as we need to take deep breaths in order to sing properly. The act may even sharpen mental alertness, boost our confidence, increase our socialization skills, and develop more friendships.
Write songs . Interpreting difficult circumstances through music fosters self-expression, stress relief, and self-esteem. You can write music with or without words and improvise with various sounds and rhythmic patterns. This allows one to acknowledge, process, and regulate emotions. Substitute your own words for lyrics. Play an instrument with an unplanned melody. Create a new tune.