One thing synonymous with December is music. While I'm always disappointed at the radio stations that begin their 24/7 Christmas music format in November, there is some wonderful music that we really only get to hear at this time of year. And what does this have to do with health? There is a lot of information out there about the healing power of music. And there is a growing body of information about the healing power of sound itself. This is an enormous subject - we're just going to scratch the surface of Sound in this December's Of the Month.
What is Sound? Really, you ask? Of course we all know what sound is, right? Well, we know it when we hear it anyway. (And, by the way, we are NOT going to have the discussion about the tree falling in the forest!) Sound begins with vibration. The vibration causes movement in neighboring molecules, creating a sound wave moving more neighboring molecules, traveling through some medium. Here on earth, it's usually air, but can be water too or some solid objects to varying extents. (So, sound cannot travel through a vacuum, as there are no neighboring molecules to move in a vacuum.) When that sound wave has moved through the air and reaches our eardrum, the eardrum is moved, which moves the tiny bones in our ears which stimulates special nerves that convert the sound wave into electrical impulses that go to our brain where we "hear" and interpret the original vibration as sound. It's not really important for our discussion to understand all the physics and physiology about sound and hearing. What IS important is to understand that all sound is originally vibration and it is a source of energy.
History of Sound and Healing. Sound has a long, proud and honored place in all civilizations. It plays a part in nearly all creation stories. Many Native American cultures, as well as Australian aborigines, have traditions that "sing" creation into being. Others, including our dominant Judeo-Christian traditions, have creation springing from the spoken word. Long before sound and music became primarily a commercial form of entertainment, chanting, harmony, singing and rhythm were used for physical and emotional healing and communication with a culture's vision of the sacred. Chanting and drumming has been a part of shamanic traditions and healing rituals for millennia.
Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher and mathematician who lived some hundreds of years before the birth of Christ and may be best remembered for his Pythagorean Theorem of high school geometry fame, is often credited as the first to use an organized approach to sound and healing. He believed, and modern science now knows, that every atom vibrates and, therefore, produces some sound. Pythagoras said, "All these sounds and vibrations form a universal harmony ... which contributes to the whole." In the 17th century, the Dutch scientist Christian Huygens noticed and studied entrainment and resonance - a tendency in the universe toward harmony. Today there are studies showing this tendency and definite physiological changes in the body when exposed to sound, music and vibration.
Hearing is actually the first sense to develop in a growing fetus and a newborn can identify and is generally soothed by her mother's voice shortly after birth. From an evolutionary standpoint then, hearing and sound we might assume are an important part of our development and survival.
How Does it Work? Sound is, obviously, not part of our mainstream medical tradition right now. I believe part of the reason is that we don't really know for sure how it works, and there are no gold standard studies showing that it does. People working with sound and healing have different theories, but most center around a belief that a healthy cell has a different vibration than a diseased one. Using sound vibrations to help a diseased cell come into a healthier resonance, then, can improve the health of that cell, that tissue, that organism.
There is some research ongoing, however, that give clues to the actual impact of vibration on the physical body. Some of these results include an increase of our own opiates that are pain-reducing and healing, an increase of the protective cells of our immune system and a direct influence on blood pressure, pulse rate and breathing rhythms.
The impact of sound - especially in the form of music - is perhaps even more difficult to explain in terms of our mental and emotional health. But who among us hasn't had the experience of being energized, uplifted, calmed or moved to tears by music?
We also know that vibration can create form. When specific frequencies are sent through water, or on a metal sheet with sand, consistent patterns are formed in the sand or water as long as the frequency is played. There is some speculation that changing a vibration in our cells can have a direct impact on the actual configuration of a cell. The field of cymatics considers this issue.
Sound as healing. Sound as vibrational energy. People as vibrational energy. The intersection of that energy and health seems a little too freaky for some, a little too "New Age." But it's been around since the beginning of time - it's hardly New! Our ancestors couldn't scientifically explain it either, but they accepted its power without question and used it to their benefit. Today, anecdotal accounts of healing with music and sound abound and cover nearly every physical malady known to mankind. We can feel its power, even if we can't explain it. Could we consider accepting this too?
Forms of Sound Medicine. The most common use of sound for health is music. Music therapy has gained enough in popularity and credibility to become an actual career field. Studies have shown that exposure to certain kinds of music enhance learning abilities, as well as elicit the physical reactions mentioned earlier.
Chanting, toning and mantras have been used for centuries as methods of healing and are still valid today. Advocates of this kind of healing work feel that the vibrations we create in our own bodies have significant power in creating health.
Tibetan singing bowls have a long history of use in healing and are even being used by some mainstream medical doctors. Dr. Mitchell L. Gaynor is an MD/oncologist in New York who uses them extensively in his practice and has written wonderfully about his experience.
Harp therapy can be used strictly as music therapy, or in therapeutic modes with specific tones to surround and bathe a patient in a particular vibration. Tuning forks are used in this same way. Some programs use recorded tones at specific frequencies.
Even listening to ordinary sounds of nature has been shown to improve and enhance health and wellbeing. Often our regular routines have us hearing traffic, television, radios, appliances, sirens and other man-made noise. Perhaps being immersed in the sound of wind, rain, birds and frogs takes us back to our natural rhythm of life and helps our cells vibrate again in an innately understood healthy way.
Contraindications. Are there situations where we shouldn't use sound? Probably not. However, there are some thoughts about what KIND of sound we use. In the context of entrainment, faster rhythms set our biological systems to faster paces. This isn't going to enhance relaxation or lowered blood pressure very much. Emotionally, music is best chosen to stimulate or enhance the mood you seek.
There are some controversial studies that show different kinds of music have different effects on the growth of plants. Some people reason that if acid rock or rap music hampers the growth of plants, it might also have a detrimental effect on humans. This is FAR from proven, but if you personally have an aversion to some type of music, no real reason to subject yourself to it!
Using Sound in Your Day. If you have a regular meditation or prayer practice, consider adding bowls, chants or mantras. If you don't have this type of practice, consider starting one! Get out in nature. Turn off the television and use music to support your activities. Learn to play an instrument - or get the one you used to play out of the closet and start making some Good Vibrations!
Resources. If you're interested in more information on sound and health, here are some websites you might find interesting. And Google is a wonderful thing!
Dr. Mitch Gaynor American Music Therapy Association The Mozart Effect Resource Center Sound Healing Network Sound Healers Association Chalice of Repose Project Choosing Music Resource Book Cymatics
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Sowing Circle Update. 
What is the Year 2012? Let's see - it's a Leap Year, it's an Olympic Year, it's an Election Year, it's the year the Mayan calendar ends and many other things. To WellSpring, it is a year of focus on all aspects of wellbeing and wellness. You'll see that beginning in January in a View of the Vis column. And you are invited to make 2012 be a year of wellness focus for YOU as well.