22 — OUT IN THE MOUNTAINS ~ SEPTEMBER 1998

 

ADULTS - ADOLESCENTS

MONTPELIER, VT
(802) 229-5071

MAGGIE F RAMPTON MSW ACSW
LICENSED CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER

PSYCHOTHERAPY - CONSULTATION

 

PROFESSIONAL
CONFIDENTIAL

802.660.8396

mediator

relationships
organizations

higher education

Diane M. Felicio, Ph.D.

constructive conflict resolution with
an emphasis on encouragement,
clarity, and support.

By appointment only

 

 

Sari K. Wolf, RN, CCRN, TMP, CAP, Reiki Ill

Release Fatigue and Pain

Massage/ Myofascial Therapy
Deep Tissue, Aromatherapy
Acu-Pressure

802-223-47l 5

 

KAISER PERMANENTE

9“ Eaazaaiwti

O</NSC-J1PUIhN\Nl;NTt
NORTHEAST DIVISION

 

Carol Thayer, M.D.

PO Box 1160, RD2 ° Fairfax, VT 05454

Phone: 802/524-9595
FAX: 802/524-2867

 

(M32) 25-al-8()32

Michael Gigante, Ph.D.

PS-_z/CII l7Sy11 thesi s
Cozmseling fr 'I'l1crap_:/

15 Myrtle Street, Brutllclroro VT 05301

If...

 

”health & wellbeing” is
what you know, you
should be advertising
with us.

OITM, your community forum
(302) 8%-9294 ’

really help you

Music to so

BY Joy D. GRIFFITH

When a member of
Golden Threads stated that she
believes ”Music Heals”, I be-
gan thinking about sound, vi-
brations and the influence on
the human body...sort of mu-
sic through your ears leading
to a healthy body not the blar-
ing disco music where rhyth-
mic decibel intensity incites
dance movement lead-
ing towards
physical exhaus-
tionl

Sound can

when applied the
right way, because it
can release energy and
help your body heal.
Music therapy is used in
dental offices to ease pain
and reduce stress (one of
my friends brings her own
classical CD to her dental
office) to the treatment of
Alzheimer's disease to im-
prove memory. Soft—tissue in-
juries can be healed through
ultra-sound and photographs
are taken of fetuses through
this high-tech device.

Most of us already use
music—sound therapy. Preven-
tion Magazine ran a ”music—
health” survey and found that
82 percent reported that music
eases tension and stress. I used
to play Mozart in my class-
room just for listening plea-
sure. Several years later, I read
about a study made at the Uni-
versity of California at Irvine
where that college found that
students listening to Mozart
for 10 minutes scored higher
on intelligence tests than they
did after listening to relaxation
tapes. (It pays to be selective!)

We can actually harness
the healing power of sound by
listening to music that quiets
our minds and relaxes our
bodies. Why do you suppose
recent CD’ S have the sounds of
ocean waves lapping up to
shore or gentle raindrops_fall—
ing or the sounds of the forest
with wind blowing through
the trees? We can listen to the
soothing strings of a Sym-
phony or learn toning...those
series of elongated vowel
sounds to ease tension and en-
ergize the body. The best part
of all of this is that we can learn
to do this for ourselves!

When I saw the movie
Winter Guest: Come in from the
Cold starring Emma Thompson
and her mother Phyllida Law,
I couldn't get the sound track
fast enough, in fact the CD
shops around Burlington
didn't even have it-listed on
their computers so I had‘ to or-
der it from London, England. I
used the entire sound track for
a closing ritual to a weekend

,‘

  

' \

lesbian gathering of nearly 200
women who needed that last
reassurance of bonding, cour-
age and strength for another
year. It was this same CD,
when placed into a car stereo,

that caused the driver to
cry 25 miles on
h e r
,”pr,"? _&\i*-t\
a..\\I-.\“""'K H

To
l
I

IIIIIB Illfl Beasts Ill "8

sion and commitment. "Win-
dows to the Sky” was waiting
to be born. The melody flowed
effortlessly and merged with
what I consider a window to
another reality, a stepping back
from daily routine.”

Whether I listen to ”Blos-

 
 
   
 
 
   
 

The brain interprets and sends
directions that help control
breathing", heart rate, blood
pressure, muscle tension and
even release painkilling

endorphins.

way to work. She hadn't real-
ized how much strain her body
had been harboring until she
arrived at work refreshed from
the release given by this "tonal
prescription”.

Pythagoras developed
’prescriptions’ of music for his
students 2,500 years ago. He
advised his students about the
sounds that would help them
in their work and aid them in
relaxing and sleeping. These
waves of energy have variables
creating special qualities. The
ear collects these waves and
sends the impulses to the
brain. The brain interprets and
sends directions that help con-
trol breathing, heart rate, blood
pressure, muscle tension and
even release painkilling endor-
phins. Perhaps when all of
these factors are combined, it
is then that the body begins to
heal itself?

I was very fortunate to
recently meet, Peggy Madden,
a Vermont musician, composer
and producer. In her very
words she states: ”Do I choose
to write music, or does the
music choose me as a vehicle
for its own self—expression? A
bass line, a melody, the timbre
of a particular sound, a dream
— any of these may be a wor-
thy basis for a new composi-
tion.  a relationship is formed
between myself and the com-
position. There develops pas-

soms of Eternal Moments" or
Peggy's "Moonbeam Chase”
on her ”Windows to the Sky”
CD, I've not only become re-
laxed but refreshed with a
smile coming from within. If
the theory that sound waves
can balance energy centers in
the body thereby promoting
health, then we need to be se-

a lective and ”enjoy" music-

healing.

Peggy’s magic should be .

shared with everyone: Sistrum
Records, P. O.‘ Box 355,
Randolph, VT 05060, email:
peggy@madtrax.com or http: /
/ www.together.net/ »-peggy.