6 Easy Steps for Incorporating Healing Music into Your Life

Step 1 Keep a collection of a variety genres of music and classify each selection according to the mood, memory and emotion they draw out from you. If you are feeling blue, upbeat rock and roll may help. If you're feeling a bit sorry for yourself, try one of those sillier golden oldies. If you are having problems sleeping, mellow Baroque music should help you drift away. Step 2 Spend a few minutes at the end of every day tuning into your emotions by playing one of your favorite instrumentals, preferably classical or acoustic guitar. Minimize outside distractions and let yourself be carried away with the melody. Close your eyes and imagine being in a place you've always wanted to visit, or a place you once visited where you'd like to return, and feel your stress dissolve. Step 3 Banish mild depression with nature sounds, the natural music of life. The soft chirping of birds, the rippling of a stream, the swoosh of the waves splashing on to the shore can help our more positive energies start flowing within us. Step 4 Stop thinking when feelings of irritation surface and start singing. There are rules to this: the song must be cheerful; the singer can be off key; and the singer can be loud. Performed with energy and passion, the singing becomes a mild physical and emotional exertion and a great way to blow off some steam. Step 5 Reduce pain after surgery, during a dental procedure, while in labor or when a headache pops into your day - all with music. There is some evidence that when used with conventional medical treatment, music therapy can also relieve nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy. Step 6 Start teaching music appreciation to children early. Research has proven infants react most to music and their mother's voice. A lullaby, sung by mom or just played from a CD, can help premature or low-weight babies thrive. Older children with autism, attention deficit disorder or various learning disorders can also be helped with music therapy activities.

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Is there such as thing as "perfect" healing music?

When I go out to speak to large groups of people, someone eventually asks me what the "perfect" healing music is. Well, unfortunately, there is no one such piece of music. When choosing healing music, you want to consider: The purpose for the music: calming, energizing, comforting? The type of music the person normally likes: classical, jazz, Big Band, oldies The situation and place the music will have: home, hospital room, car? Those are just a few of the many parameters to consider. I include here an example of a piece of music I have always loved and still find very calming, soothing, and comforting. Tell me what you think!

Diabetes and Music in the Golden Years

Until tonight, I was not aware that music could have any effect on the illness of diabetes. After all, diabetes is a disorder that affects the way your body uses food for energy. Normally, the sugar you take in is digested and broken down to a simple sugar, known as glucose. Music healing interventions can be designed promote wellness; manage stress; alleviate pain; express feelings; enhance memory; improve communication; promote physical rehabilitation. Combining music and science to promote healing is really at the heart of how music healing works. Now, it seems that medical research has been conducted about music and guided imagery and several people have created CD and MP3's specifically for diabetes!

If diabetes affects you or your loved ones, just put "Music and diabetes" into the Google search engine on this page, an you'll find all kinds of interesting leads!

Dancing in the Golden Years

What is one of the most fun and most beneficial things that golden agers can do?? Take up dancing! Not only is dancing great exercise, learning the steps and coordinating mind and body is great for a trip to the Fountain of Youth. Then, there's the benefit of getting on the dance floor with someone you really care about and remembering those beautiful songs while waltzing around the floor in his or her arms. What fun! Get out there and dance!

Healing Music in the Golden Years

Noted neurologist Oliver Sacks has found common ground with the pastor of Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church: Both men believe in the healing power of music. Sacks, the best-selling author of "Awakenings" and "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat," was to share the church stage Saturday with the famed gospel choir as part of the inaugural World Science Festival, a five-day celebration of science taking place in New York this week. "It should be an exciting and unusual event," Sacks said in an interview this week. "I will talk about the therapeutic and beneficent power of music as a physician, and then their wonderful choir will perform. ... And the audience will make what they can of it." "Even with advanced dementia, when powers of memory and language are lost, people will respond to music," he said. But the central role of music in church makes Abyssinian a good place to discuss the myriad ways that music affects the human brain, said Sacks, who was played by Robin Williams in the movie version of "Awakenings." Abyssinian's pastor, the Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, said the choir is looking forward to performing with Sacks. He noted that music plays a central role in the healing power of prayer. "What we have been studying ... is that when you pray, there's actually a physiological change in the body," he said. "Music is very much a part of this. There are certain notes that generate in the human body a kind of peacefulness."

Let's Celebrate Nurses!

As we move into the "golden years" we seem to see more and more of the nursing profession. Nurses are the ones that often offer us a dose of love along with taking our temperature and blood pressure. Nurses often have to do the less pleasant tasks and they do it with love and care, making each person feel important and valuable. Recently, the Kentucky Holistic Nurses Association asked me to speak to their chapter meeting and the upcoming convention on May 12 at Indiana University Southeast. I will be leading groups in toning, chanting and drumming. Do join us if you can!

Celebrate National Nurses Week, May 6th through 12th! Visit www.healthecareers.com/nursing to find out more information about this appreciation week and special giveaways. In this edition of the Healthcare Job Market eNewsletter, you will find interesting articles on: Advice for Healthcare New Grads – If you have recently graduated, or are preparing to graduate, read some helpful tips on how to look for a job and do well in years to come. Florence Nightingale – National Nurses Week is dedicated to Florence Nightingale, known as the founder of modern nursing. She established nursing as a respected profession, trained a generation of nurses, and emphasized the importance of proper hygiene and personalized care. Nursing’s OTJ Hazards – Nursing has its hazards, especially in hospitals, nursing care facilities, and clinics, where nurses may care for individuals with infectious diseases. But these risks carry a wide range and can include biological, chemical, ergonomic, physical, safety, and psychological dangers.

Why Does Music Have so Much Power in the Golden Years?

Speaking as an almost 60 y.o., I am increasingly aware on a daily basis that music makes me happy and encouraged when I'm feeling down, it calms me when I'm feeling anxious and it brings back loads of happy memories when life seems dull and uninteresting! Why? Well, obviously a lot of it has to do with brain chemistry, memory function and the power of association! Just think back for a minute:

• do you remember your first kiss?
• your first school dance?
• your first real love?
• your first child?

All of these famous firsts usually have music associated with them. Songs I remember from that part of my life include:

• "And they called it puppy love"
• "Cupid"
• "Sealed with a kiss"
• "Can't help falling in love with you"

All I have to do is remember the tune and I'm zapped back to the sixties and all the memories I can squeeze into a few hours! The older we get, the more memories of people, places, events, movies, vacations, etc, etc. Keep track of the soundtrack to YOUR life and enjoy it often!

Celtic Woman Comes to Louisville!

Tonight I went to the most fantastic concert! I've been seeing the advertisement on TV for several months. When I heard that the group was coming back to Louisville this year I knew I had to go. I waited until almost a week ago and when I checked the ticket prices I gasped…they were $88 and $102.00 I will tell you that tonight I was able to get a better price than that and even though I was up in balcony 4 I could see very well. The energy and beauty of this program was unmatched by any concert show I’ve ever been to and you know that I’ve been to a lot. The young woman that dances around with her violin, playing all the while, is simply amazing! I’m thinking seriously of going back again tomorrow night. At the end of the concert tonight they actually did 4 encores!!! Each one was better than the one before. If you have a chance to see this brilliant group of singer and instrumentalists, do NOT miss it!!

New Research on Music with Stroke patients

Demonstration of activity in separate auditory regions for processing phonetic information (red), speech intelligibility (yellow), and voice pitch and intonation (white). a, left hemisphere. b, right hemisphere.

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This week a very important study of the benefits of music with stroke patients. The study reports the findings of a Finnish study published Wednesday that showed the benefits of music for stroke victims. “Patients who listened to a few hours of music each day soon after a stroke also improved their verbal memory and were in a better mood compared to patients who did not listen to music or used audio books, the researchers said. Music therapy has long been used in a range of treatments but the study published in the journal Brain is the first to show the effect in people, they added. … The study involved 60 people who recently had a stroke of the middle cerebral artery in the left or right side of the brain. This is the most common stroke and can affect motor control, speech and a range of other cognitive functions. One group listened to their favorite music every day or used audio books while another did not listen to any music. All volunteers received standard rehabilitation treatment. Three months after stroke music listeners showed a 60 percent improvement in verbal memory compared to an 18 percent benefit for those using audio books and 29 percent for people who did not listen to either.”

Please share this information with friends and family. It can make a big difference in recovery and quality of life!

Classical Music Helps People to Sell

Speaking as a long-time consumer, I've noticed that the music that advertisers on TV use to sell, dramatically influences my willingness even to consider their product. Have you noticed this?

For example, several years ago, a variety of products were using classical music, specifically the Pachelbel Canon in D to seel everything from luxury cars to fine wine to hospital services. What do these things have in common? Well, first thing that pops into my head is that these are all things that cost a lot of money. Fo whatever reason, classical music in our Western world is considered with "the finer things in life." Can you imagine selling gutters or tires or lawyers services with a beautiful classical piece? Of course not!

Interestingly though, there are other classical pieces that might sell:

• Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" makes us feel uplifted
• Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" creates a "man on a mission" feel
• Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" brings on a frenzied feeling
• Copland's arrangement of "The Gift to be Simple" brings on a dependable and virtuous image.

Just notice this when you're watching a commercial. Let me know if you hear some more good ones! Happy shopping!