Report on Healing Music
Lecture Demonstration,(A group therapy)
Held in Tokyo on Nov.8,
2000
By Yamagata Izumi
Chandrakant's Introduction
Of Music Therapy
Music has the power to
heal people. It has the power to strike a balance between
the mind and the body. I feel that the music therapy that
I want to propagate is for the benefit of all and I feel
happy that I can contribute in making my clients happy.
I am thankful to my father Maharajji, my siblings and my
Guru (teacher) Ravi Shankarji
Music therapy removes the
various blockages in the system of our body and is especially
very helpful for the proper circulation of blood in our
body.
As the music therapy progresses,
the music reaches the affected part, relaxes it and restores
it to its previous level of activity. Action too is reinstated
naturally due to this therapy. The course of the music therapy
depends on the kind of response that the client gives during
the therapy, like, wide opening of the mouth, stretching
the body to the fullest etc.
During this particular
session, he played the Sitar for 30 minutes. He usually
plays the sitar individually taking into consideration the
needs and wants of each of the clients. But this session
was an exception, as there were 20 participants and so he
had to play, taking into consideration their needs, both,
individually and as a group. As he constantly needs to register
the responses of the clients, and thus make changes in his
music accordingly, the clients were made to lie down in
a circle on the Tatamimats. They were asked to relax, keeping their hands
by their sides and closing their eyes.
My experience:
He played the thirteen
lower strings twice and then I felt a wave wash over me.
That sound was really similar to that of a wave. As the
therapy progressed, I could actually feel my body getting
numb, heavy and being pulled towards the tatami mat on which
I was lying. I felt that this experience was similar to
that of meditation except for the breathing, which continued
at normal pace throughout. I noticed all the sounds around
me very clearly, even the most miniscule ones. I had shut
my eyes very tightly and with a lot of effort in the beginning,
however, as time went by and the music started taking effect
on me, I began relaxing my eyes and that helped me relax
my body better. During the therapy, I remembered many of
my past experiences and then they just seemed to vanish
into thin air one after the other. The music had such an
effect on me, that after he finished playing, I had forgotten
all the experiences that had kept haunting me. The man next
to me had become very restless and I could hear the sound
of him moving constantly; however, I could hardly move because
my body felt as though it had become as heavy as lead and
seemed stick to the tatami mat. I kept wondering as to what
was happening to the man lying next to me. My throat felt
so soothed. I told Chandrakant after the therapy that there
was a block in my throat before the therapy that was removed
after hearing the music; thus clearing and soothing my throat.
I felt really happy, contented and at peace and hence I
want to continue music therapy for a long time.
"A lady of around 40...she
said she felt the entire left side of her body go numb for
the time being and increase in temperature of body indicating
a beginning of increase in blood
circulation".
Another lady of around
30 years felt her entire left body become as light as a
bird and felt that she could actually soar high up into
the sky.
Another client lost control
of his movements i.e.: he could no longer be the master
of his movement of his hands and legs while listening to
the music. The music was flowing through the body, making
his hands and legs' muscles twitch.
One more person felt as
though an electric current was passing through his body.
When Chandrakant
asked a client afterwards about the tearing feeling in his
chest (he was massaging his chest while listening to music)
and the movement of his neck (there was a strong movement
of neck muscles) during the therapy, the client said
that he remembered nothing about it. Just the feeling of
relaxation.
An elementary school student,
felt like stretching her body to the utmost limit during
the therapy. Chandrakant said that due to the continuous
stress, body muscles become tight, and this stretch indicates
that her muscles are now relaxed.
Many clients said that
their pain disappeared and that the body balance and the
mental feeling were enhanced after undergoing the therapy.
Dr.
Sadanand says: The striking of a balance between the
mind and the body is the basis of the Ayurveda School of
medicine. A person becomes sick when there is confusion
in the functions of the brain and the nervous system and
the rift between the nerves and the brain increases. As
this cleft goes on increasing, the person starts becoming
ill, not only psychologically, but physically too. To become
fit, one has to resolve this conflict. This conflict is
resolved very well by the music therapy and the nervous
system once more starts taking orders directly from the
brain, which gives an impetus to good health, not only mental,
but physical too, and brings out the essence of the symbiotic
relationship between the two i.e.: the brain and the nervous
system. Removal of blockages enhances the circulation of
blood in the blood stream. The same reason follows for forgetting
the individual responses during the therapy. Dr. Sadanand
says that if the client has some dynamic experiences during
the therapy like those of spontaneous crying due to some
past shocks and traumas or spontaneous laughter on account
of some happy memories, that person should discuss those
responses with Chandrakant for further guidance.
