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Music therapy is not just an art, it is also science… enjoy this clip.

It is true that one cannot run off from life’s everyday problems. But there are definitely ways and means by which we can change our own attitudes and tackle issues in ways that do not cause us any strain.  In this post, let me talk about ways to relief stress. Besides music, there are other ways that can help you to relief stress effectively.  

We face stress and stressful situations everyday in modern life. Stress can be dangerous, as it actually ends up impacting our health in a very negative way. One sees many people falling sick and even dying of stress and stress-related problems today. Therefore, if you want to live the full life and enjoy it to the fullest, you could do very well to follow some of the stress-reduction tips. So how do we go about managing them? 

In short, stress management is the ability to maintain control when situations, people, and events make excessive demands.  The art of stress management is to keep you at a level of stimulation that is healthy and enjoyable and to bring your mind and body back into balance. Some simple tips listed below can help you in managing stress.

Meditation
Meditation is known to induce a feeling of calm and dramatically reduce stress levels. Take time out for yourself every day, at least about a half hour or so, seat yourself comfortably in a silent place where you will be totally undisturbed, turn on soft music if you so wish and then start meditating. Learn to appreciate the silence around you and internalize your thoughts towards the peace that lies within you. You might find your mind running amuck initially, but by and by, you will feel the peace and the sense of quiet overtake your mind, finally soothing it and healing it from within.

Exercise
Exercise is one of the best ways to reduce stress and depression. Regular and moderate exercises enhance the immune system, improve blood circulation and generally bestow a feeling of energy and well-being. More advanced exercises such as dance or aerobics can literally get your whole system into gear, making you feel right at the top of the world, keeping you smiling all day long! You may also wish to consider having a holiday trip that needs a lot of leg worksJ. Visit to this website to download free E-book on exercise guide.

Music therapy

Not too surprise, music works wonders to relieve one of stress. In fact, it has been medically proven (refer to my earlier posts on this blog) that certain types of melodies can actually heal the mind, quiet it down and give the listener immense peace and calm. There are many musicians all over the world trying to do more research on this subject. The Internet is filled with many types of music, especially meant to relax the mind and free it of its immense stress.

Aromatherapy
Many people also believe that aromatherapy helps them reduce stress levels. Certain types of soothing smells trigger certain chemical reactions in the brain, which in turn, acts to ease the mind of its worries and cares. This method is not at all expensive and has the potential of helping you out immensely. Do give it a try.

The above are only some tips to reduce stress. There are many, many other ways you can think of to cut down the tensions in your life. The key to improving the quality of your life is to learn to take life with the proverbial pinch of salt and not get too upset with its day-to-day problems and issues.

Don’t worry, be happy!

A professional who specializes in autism can suggest different treatment for autistic’s that can have a significant positive effect on their behavior. One such treatment is Music therapy.

Music therapy is a controlled music experience that is used to facilitate positive change in human behavior. Each session of music therapy is carefully planned, carried out, and evaluated to suit the specific needs of each patient. Music therapy can include any of the following musical activities:

• Listening to music and/or musical creation

• Playing musical instruments (any instrument can be used)

• Moving to music

• Singing

As far as autism is concerned, studies have shown that music therapy has a significant, positive influence when used to treat autistic individuals. Participating in music therapy allows autistics the opportunity to experience non-threatening outside stimulation, as they don’t engage in direct human contact.

As was previously mentioned, music therapy is made specific to each individual. This is extremely important, because what may be positively received by one autistic may be negative to another. That being said, let’s take a look at the positive influence music therapy has had on autistic individuals.

Music therapy -

Improved socio-emotional development: In the first steps of a relationship, autistics tend to physically ignore or reject the attempts of social contact made by others. Music therapy helps to stop this social withdrawal by an initial object relation with a musical instrument. Instead of seeing the instrument as threatening, autistic children are usually fascinated by the shape, feel and sound of it. Therefore, the musical instrument provides an initial point of contact between the autistic and the other individual by acting as an intermediary.

Assisted in both verbal and non-verbal communication – When music therapy is used to aid in communication, its goal is to improve the production of vocalization and speech, as well as stimulate the mental process of comprehending, conceptualizing and symbolizing. A music therapist will attempt to establish a communicative relationship between the behavior of a child with autism and a specific sound. An autistic person may have an easier time recognizing or being more open to these sounds than they would to a verbal approach. This musical awareness, and the relationship between the autistics’ actions and the music, has potential to encourage communication.

Another form of music therapy that may help with communication is to play a wind instrument (IE flute). It is thought that by playing such an instrument, you become aware of the functioning of your teeth, jaws, lips and tongue. Thus, playing a wind instrument almost mirrors the functioning required in order to produce speech vocalizations.

Encouraged emotional fulfillment – Most autistics lack the ability to affectively respond to stimuli that would otherwise allow them to enjoy an appropriate emotional charge. Thus, since most autistics respond well to music stimuli, music therapy has been able to provide autistics with an environment that is free of fear, stimuli considered threatening, etc.

During a music therapy session, an autistic individual has the freedom to behave in specific ways that allow them to discover and express themselves when they want and choose. They can make noise, bang instruments, shout and express and experience the pleasure of emotional satisfaction.

Musical therapy has also helped autistic individuals by:

• Teaching social skills

• Improving language comprehension • Encouraging the desire to communicate

• Making creative-self expression possible

• Reducing non-communicative speech

• Decreasing echolalia (uncontrolled and instant repetition of the words spoken by another)

Keep in mind that although music therapy can have positive effects on autistic individuals, it is vital that an autistic receives such treatment from a trained and experienced musical therapist.

Recommended reading Essential Guide To Autism By Rachel Evans

Listen to what the experts said…

Research has shown that music has a profound effect on your body and psyche. In fact, there’s a growing field of health care known as Music Therapy, which uses music to heal. Those who practice music therapy are finding a benefit in using music to help cancer patients, children with ADD, and others, and even hospitals are beginning to use music and music therapy to help with pain management, to help ward off depression, to promote movement, to calm patients, to ease muscle tension, and for many other benefits that music and music therapy can bring. This is not surprising, as music affects the body and mind in many powerful ways. The following are some of effects of music, which help to explain the effectiveness of music therapy:

• Brain Waves: Research has shown that music with a strong beat can stimulate brainwaves to resonate in sync with the beat, with faster beats bringing sharper concentration and more alert thinking, and a slower tempo promoting a calm, meditative state. Also, research has found that the change in brainwave activity levels that music can bring can also enable the brain to shift speeds more easily on its own as needed, which means that music can bring lasting benefits to your state of mind, even after you’ve stopped listening.
• Breathing and Heart Rate: With alterations in brainwaves comes changes in other bodily functions. Those governed by the autonomic nervous system, such as breathing and heart rate can also be altered by the changes music can bring. This can mean slower breathing, slower heart rate, and an activation of the relaxation response, among other things. This is why music and music therapy can help counteract or prevent the damaging effects of chronic stress, greatly promoting not only relaxation, but health.
• State of Mind: Music can also be used to bring a more positive state of mind, helping to keep depression and anxiety at bay. This can help prevent the stress response from wreaking havoc on the body, and can help keep creativity and optimism levels higher, bringing many other benefits.
• Other Benefits: Music has also been found to bring many other benefits, such as lowering blood pressure (which can also reduce the risk of stroke and other health problems over time), boost immunity, ease muscle tension, and more. With so many benefits and such profound physical effects, it’s no surprise that so many are seeing music as an important tool to help the body in staying (or becoming) healthy.

Using Music Therapy:

With all these benefits that music can carry, it’s no surprise that music therapy is growing in popularity. For more information on music therapy, visit the American Music Therapy Association’s website.

Using Music On Your Own:

While music therapy is an important discipline, you can also achieve benefits from music on your own. This article on music, relaxation and stress management can explain more of how music can be an especially effective tool for stress management, and can be used in daily life.

Wishing all mothers out there a happy mother’s day. Let’s sing for our mothers…

Music therapy cannot cure diseases, but can speed the healing process…

A visiting foreign national, who claimed to be a music therapist, recently sold CDs in Singapore priced between S$400 and S$1,000. He claimed the music on them could “cure” diseases and ailments. Members of the newly formed Singapore Association of Music Therapy were quick to denounce him as a “mercenary charlatan”.

Music therapists pooh-pooh the notion that ills can be cured by putting on a generic CD of soothing music. “This person is not a qualified music therapist,” said the association in a statement to the press. “While passive listening to music is one of the many ways in which music is used, more often than not, active interventions are used, like playing instruments, singing, improvising, and composing.” Trained music therapists take pains to find out about their patient’s history, make a diagnosis of what would help the patient and then make a musical prescription.

In Singapore, there are few bona fide music therapists as music as a form of clinical therapy is not viewed seriously. But the practice is gaining a foothold. The association, with 11 members, aims to increase public awareness and to serve as a contact point for local music therapists.

In January, the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) – where music therapist Dr Patsy Tan is based – started a music therapy programme for hearing-impaired children called Music To The Ears. Apart from SGH, the small music therapy community here mostly operates outside hospitals and is centred on treating special-needs children in the special schools or at-risk youth.

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