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What Role Does Music Play in Wellness?

…and how can we attune ourselves to its healing power?

Let's begin with a simple truth:


We all know the feeling. One melody shifts our mood. Another brings tears. A third fills us with energy. But what’s really happening when music moves us?


Let’s explore this through both the science of sound and the soul of silence.


"Where words fail, music speaks.”


This quote, often attributed to Hans Christian Andersen, touches something yogis have long known:

Sound bypasses the mind and reaches the subtle layers of our being.


In Sanskrit, the term Nada means both sound and flow. Nada Yoga is the ancient science of using sound vibrations to access altered states of consciousness. But even without mantras or instruments, our body is already listening. Our heart, our breath, our brainwaves  they all dance to rhythms.


The Science of Sound: What Does Music Do to the Body?

Modern research now confirms what sages intuited centuries ago.


Let’s look at a few key discoveries:

  • Music regulates the nervous system. Studies show that calming music lowers cortisol (our stress hormone) and activates the parasympathetic nervous system our rest-and-digest mode.
  • Rhythm and Heart Coherence. When we listen to slow, rhythmic music, our heart rate variability improves  just like when we breathe at 6 breaths per minute. It's as if the body begins to “entrain” to a healthier rhythm.
  • Brainwave Synchronization. Certain music (especially at 432Hz or 528Hz frequencies) supports brainwave shifts into alpha and theta states associated with meditation, creativity and healing.
  • Endorphins and Emotion. Music releases feel-good chemicals like dopamine and endorphins. This explains why singing together, dancing, or even humming can be deeply uplifting.


Sound as Medicine: What the Yogis Say

Yogic wisdom has long used music and mantra not just for joy — but for healing.


  • Mantra (Sacred Sound): Each syllable of a mantra carries vibration. When chanted mindfully, mantras are believed to activate subtle energy centers (chakras) and purify the mind.
  • Bhakti Yoga (Devotional Singing): Kirtan, or call-and-response chanting, dissolves the sense of separateness. It brings us from the head to the heart.
  • Nada Yoga (Yoga of Sound): Advanced practitioners use inner sound the subtle vibration heard in deep states of meditation as a path to transcendence.


In these practices, music is not entertainment. It’s alignment.


How Can We Use Music for Wellness?

Here are a few simple and powerful ways to integrate music into your everyday wellness practice:

  • Morning Ragas or Nature Sounds: Start your day with instrumental music tuned to the rhythms of nature.
  • Chanting or Humming: Just five minutes of gentle humming activates the vagus nerve and boosts relaxation.
  • Ecstatic Dance or Free Movement: Allow music to move you  especially when words fail. Your body becomes the instrument.
  • Curate a Personal Wellness Playlist: One for focus. One for emotional release. One for sleep. Let your playlist be your medicine cabinet.
  • Practice Silence After Sound: After listening or chanting, sit in stillness. Let the vibrations settle. This is where integration happens.


Rana Abihayla


Final Notes from the Heart

Music is more than background noise.


It is a bridge, from the outer to the inner world, from the chaos of the day to the silence of the soul. Whether through breath, beat, or bhakti music connects.


So next time you feel out of rhythm…


Put on a track that speaks to your spirit. Close your eyes. Breathe. Let your heart remember its own song.


Until we meet next, Keep listening. Keep moving. And let the music lead you back to yourself.


What Role Does Music Play in Wellness?
Rana Abihayla 17 July 2025
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