The healing power of music (& the breath)
- hannagillving
- Mar 15
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 16
Music has always been close to my heart. Or to be more precise, since I was 11 or 12 and began listening to britpop (my first love in terms of musical genres), started going to concerts and bought my first CD's – the record format of my youth, along with home-made, good ol' cassette mixtapes, which later came to consist of many different genres.
With age, I have come to realise just how important music, sounds, vibrations and all things related really are for the joy, health and wellbeing of us humans. Holistically.
Par example:
music brings healing on a cellular level (scroll down for science).
it increases the connection with ourselves and others. Especially when being an authentic, live and instrumental experience.
it stimulates the body's vagus nerve (this is a good thing).
and – when used properly – it is a fast lane to altered states of consciousness, if combined with breathwork (here I want to press the importance of being guided by a safe, experienced and knowledgeable facilitator, and always in a safe environment).
music (and breathwork) is also a bridge to living more in tune, and in touch with our hearts.
it's often joyous, cleansing and rejuvenating for both mood, productivity and spirit.
instruments, singing, lyrics, vibrations and live performances all help us connect with FEELING, and to be present, which these days is a challenge for many.
it has the power to effortlessly provide a break from what buddhists call The Monkey Mind, meaning our chattering, overthinking, self-absorbed or anxious heads.
Music and ancestral breathing – an elixir when combined
I've been guiding ancestral-based breathing sessions since the start of the pandemic back in 2019, and for me, music and breathwork go hand in hand when I'm facilitating breathwork experiences. The right music, rhythms and cadences (along with the voice guiding) will help enhance the experience for the breather, often with various lovely physical sensations.
Being guided with firm yet soft verbal guidance, while focusing solely on performing the breathing, can be a nurturing and heart-opening, uplifting, energy-inducing, and sometimes a cathartic thing, even. With restorative and very much meditative effects.
It is about coming home to yourself
The holistic aspect of it makes it very much possible to "peel the onion" and unlock or gently gain access to a wide spectrum of emotions. Which most people in modern time need, as the norm for many today is to carry heavy loads of suppressed emotions. It is not healthy, and will – in one way or another– result in not just emotional pain or negativity which is a sort of self-harm, but it will also express itself through aches and some sort of illness in the physical body. In a breathing session, anything from sadness, loss and grief, anger, frustration or anxiety, to positive feelings such as pure bliss, love, gratitude and euphoria can surface and be felt. Sometimes you may feel just a little or not much, sometimes you might feel a whole lot. Breathwork invariably leads to a gentle decluttering of the mind. And then suddenly, new solutions to old problems might appear from out of nowhere. Or an unexpected idea, a spark of creativity. And perhaps the sudden realisation of a heartfelt desire.
Most importantly, it'll increase the sense of connection. It will simultaneously;
awaken all senses and have you coming home to your body, being present in your skin, rather than stuck in the intellectual, anxious, workaholic or high-performing head.
rejuvenate, by opening up the brain's built-in pharmacy. And a zest for life.
re-wire the brain, creating new neural pathways while also improving the blood flow to the brain's prefrontal cortex, the decision-making center – and thereby increasing the ability of creating new habits and making new or better choices in life.
Better than any drug
There is something to be found for everyone in the power of music and the practice of breathwork, especially when the two are combined in a holistic experience and with safe, connecting guidance.
It's especially great for any individuals craving brain-related calmness, for workaholics in need of a bit of healing, or for those who crave a gentle decluttering of a racing mind.
And it's highly beneficial for addicts living in recovery or individuals with an addictive personality, or brain, whose biochemistry will always tend to seek the next dopamine hit, highs or various forms of instant gratification-outlets.
Because breathwork to many is a positive addiction, and the experience is often found to be better than any drug. Just through practicing certain breathing techniques, you can find yourself feeling strong sensations and highs, without any negative consequences. Instead, you're actually reaping positive rewards from it. In the present moment, and latterly (due to its ripple effects once it becomes a habit) in all areas of life.
And so it is a sustainable and trustworthy source of wellbeing, providing soothing-ness whilst also offering a deep well of health-promoting benefits. And it is timeless; you can safely return to it, as often as you want to. Just as any truly positive creative outlet or when being in one's truest element (or elements). It is a gorgeous thing, which brings healing.
Like an elixir-like cocktail. For your biochemistry, yet also for the soul.
To me, both the experience of authentic music crafted in spirit (meaning it stems from the heart) and breathwork sessions, can be to connect with a sacred space within; a place of pureness to return to over and over again.
Below, you will find a few selected musical favourites of mine which I'm currently listening to. But first, for the curious, a bit of science-related articles on the topic of music. Enjoy!
With love,
Hanna
Science-related articles
Effects of different music on HEK293T cell growth and mitochondrial functions Intensely pleasurable responses to music correlate with activity in brain regions implicated in reward and emotion Brain structures differ between musicians and non-musicians Healing through music – Harvard Health
Exposure to music alters cell viability and cell motility of human nonauditory cells in culture The Use of Music Therapy During the Treatment of Cancer Patients: A Collection of Evidence
A few selected musical favourites
Above: Overcome by Scott, a tune from my On Repeat playlist which I often play pre guiding breathwork sessions.
Below: Gorillaz in Glastonbury in 2010, & Damon Albarn live at The Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in 2021, two concerts I would have loved to experience live.
Below: Let you in by Anna feat. East Forest, with the message being... "What better excuse is there to celebrate, than to celebrate life itself? This track is a manifestation of joy, a call to dance across the landscape of your life, to acknowledge the events, experiences and relationships that nourish your soul. I love to celebrate everything, and music is a tool to go inward, to connect deeper to undiscovered parts of yourself. It is a vibrational gateway into a deep inner love that perhaps you didn’t know existed. Let love in. Let you in. Everything else will take care of itself."
And to sum it up, below; a visual from the sea along with a nice tune by Ludovico Einaudi. Strings, piano and a bit of nature. Those are key components for me.
P.S. One last musical tip; This sunset session with Mardeleva which was livestreamed during the lockdown-ish times of the pandemic, is a nice jam to listen to while doing focused work. D.S
#holistichealth #ancestralhealing #holistichealing #ketolicious #wayoflife #powerofbreath #breathwork #holisticmedicine #connection #flow
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