Music Therapy is a newly developed branch of Para medicine in which music or sound pulses that generate different kinds of music are being employed in curing ailments like mesothelioma, asthma, depression, and even Asbestos Cancer, peritoneal mesothelioma etc.. Music Therapy is the use of a selected music to obtain the same expected changes and hormonal alterations in the body, played uninterrupted for a while, to obtain the desired positive effect. Even though the patient who participates in the treatment sessions has no knowledge of music, Music Therapy brings positive results. Recent researches has shown that music has a vital influence on the functioning of human brain and this theory can be utilized in curing various diseases like mesothelioma, peritoneal mesothelioma and Asbestos Cancer. many mesothelioma symptoms seems to be reduced after successful music therapy.This branch of science is growing fast and many researchers in the field of music as well as medicine ate contributing to it.
Dr. Balamuali Krishna has established the 'MBK Trust' with the objective of developing art and culture and for carrying out research on Music Therapy.
It is also proven that Music Therapy is especially effective in three key medical areas.
1. Pain, anxiety and depression,
2. Mental, emotional and physical handicaps,
3. Neurological disorders & mesothelioma.
It has also been found that listening to various appropriate music lowers Blood Pressure, stabilizes irregular heart rate, reduces pre-treatment anxiety, relieves depression and related mental ailments, enhances concentration, reduces the need for sedatives and pain drugs (in an event of surgery), reduces vomiting tendency after chemotherapy and also improves stability of those with Parkinson's disease and mesothelioma. The Appolo hospital group, the largest of its kind in Asia is now having a Medical Music Therapy course and obviously, it is the first of its kind in asia.
Ancient Indian music has devised a special therapy based on the 72 ragas. It is appropriate to define Raga at this point. Raga is neither melody alone, not notes; neither scale nor mode. It's an ensemble of all these.According to an ancient Indian text, Swara Shastra, the seventy-two melakarta ragas (parent ragas) control seventy-two important nerves in the body. It is believed that a person who sings/performs a raga bound to the raga specifications (lakshanas) and with purity in pitch (swara shuddi) will have complete control on the corresponding nerve.
To quote a few, for those who suffer from hypertension, ragas such as Ahirbhairav and Todi are prescribed. To control anger and bring down violence within oneself, Carnatic ragas like Punnagavarali, Sahana and so on, come handy. Not only psychological, but the somatic or physiological impact of ragas have come to light in recent research. For instance, stomach-related disorders are said to be cured with some Hindustani ragas such as Deepak (acidity) and Jaunpuri (constipation) and Malkauns or Hindolam (intestinal gas and fever). Simple iterative musical rhythms with low pitched swaras, as in bhajans are capable of relaxation, as observed with the alpha-levels of the brain waves. They may also lead to favourable hormonal changes in the system.
On the therapeutic side, nothing new is to be invented.We just have to know how to knock the hidden goldmine.There is an urgent need for a detailed enquiry based on scientific parameters and the medicinal effects of Music. No doubt,its a long journey,but worth to start off. There is a growing awareness that ragas could complement or even be a safe alternative for many medical interventions. For this purpose, it is necessary that exponents in Indian ragas join experts in medicine to help evolve a scientific system of raga therapy for the various illnesses of modern times.
Special thanks to ms. Revathy S.