Healing Music - Testimonial
MUSIC THERAPY TESTIMONIAL
I have been most fortunate to have had several Music Therapy sessions with Dr Chandrakant Sardeshmukh and the experience has taken me on a journey of self discovery, a journey that I would not have missed for anything.
Like many people my age, I was dealing with some hurdles that life puts in our way for a good reason I'm sure. These things (ideally) shock us into taking some positive action and encourage us to take the necessary steps to changing our lives for the better.
However I felt that I was stuck and I just did not know how to extricate myself from the mess that I had to admit was of my own making.
I look back on my first session with amazement and a good deal of humour as I remember what trouble I had relaxing my body and trying to stop the incessant chatter of my overactive mind. I can remember thinking that the session would soon be over and the only thing that I had to show for it was a bundle of pathetic thoughts that seemed to stop me from feeling whatever it was that I was supposed to feel. Suddenly I began to feel waves of energy washing up and down my body and I had a distinct feeling that I was being divided in half-length ways. Dr. Chandrakant had done the impossible and managed to find a way to distract me so that the work could begin. I felt both sides of my body move in the opposite direction ever so slightly, and I think that this was an experience of mind - body realignment that has been the foundation on which further progress has been made.
I know now that I was very resistant to the music and my body language even showed this as I sometimes turned away when memories or thoughts, which disturbed me, surfaced during a session. It has been invaluable talking to Dr. Chandrakant and Juliette after each music therapy, and from this I have gained many insights into my experience. These exchanges have often been accompanied by bouts of laughter and sometimes with tears of joy or pain. However I have always felt very supported and have been given every opportunity to express my feelings and to unravel some of the confusion which has surfaced on occasions. I have also been given advice on diet and making some changes in this area seems to have enhanced the beneficial effects of music therapy.
Following the second session, I began to notice that I had more energy to cope with my increased workload and that my confidence had lifted considerably. I am now more focused and feel motivated to expand my own boundaries and attempt things that I never would have imagined doing before.
During subsequent sessions I began to fall in love with the music, sometimes my body would feel as if it was swaying or being rocked by the music. I have imagined that I was moving towards the sitar and that I was the sitar that Dr. Chandrakant was playing. Sometimes I have just listened to the music and disregarded my body. I have been delighted by the sweetness of the music and thrilled to such an extent that I have felt like dancing. Of course there have also been moments when I have not liked what I have felt and it has taken some time to accept these realisations.
More recently I have felt an even deeper passion for my work. I have surprised myself with the emergence of a creative streak that I did not know I had. My attitude to many things has changed. My emotional nature has settled and I am more detached but also more alert in various situations. I have moments of feeling love, joy and happiness and feel such gratitude to Dr. Chandrakant and Juliette for their guidance on my journey.
My first Music Therapy was in November, 1998 and I can hardly recognise the person I was two years ago. I would certainly like to have more music therapy sessions because I am very committed to this therapy as a means to increase my well being. However whether I do or not, I feel that the seeds have well and truly been sown and that I will continue to move forward.