Body Awareness through Movement and Music What’s so special about MUSIC?

1. Body Awareness through Movement and MusicWhat’s so special about MUSIC?

2. Ways Music Affects the BodyAccording to Science, it can: • Repair Brain Damage • Kick an Addiction • Boost Your Immune System • Prevent Seizures • Return Lost Memories • Increase Spatial Reasoning • Cure Parkinson's

3. Interesting & useful to have a look at some of the ways we react to music without even realizing Left brain  Rhythm & pitch Right brain  Timbre & melody Both hemispheres Meter

5. 1. Repairs Brain Damage • Kenny Rogers Effect - lightens the effects of visual neglect, the inability to recognize half of what they see • Those who can no longer speak , due to left-side brain damage can often find they are able to sing words…then speak simple sentences with practice How Does it Work? • Left brain Language functions Right brain Music • Brain can be trained to move broken down language functions to the other side by associating music with language. • Pleasurable music releases dopamine that makes certain parts of your brain function better . • Gives your brain a massage and fills it with “happy” chemicals

6. 2. Helps Kick Addictions • Relaxing • Creates a distraction from withdrawal symptoms • If applied frequently, can cut down on amount of pain-killers needed. How Does it Work? • Directly affects chemicals called neurotransmitters which relay information in our head. • Can increase levels of dopamine& norepinephrine • Lowers heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension

7. 3. Boosts Your Immune System How Does it Work? • Reduces stress by reducing cortisol • Brain releases healing hormones & endorphins, natural painkiller • Raises immune markers in your system, creating more antibodies to fight disease. • Increases recovery from conditions such as heart disease, lung ailments, even the common cold. • This field of study is still young compared to fancy "real medicine”.

8. 4. Prevents Seizures • Mozart on the piano reduces seizure-causing activity in the brain within five minutes of exposure. • There appears to be a connection between our brains and piano music. • More experiments are needed with other forms. How does it work? • Theory: somehow, the architecture of the music resonates with the organization of the cerebral cortex. • Scientists are still shrugging their shoulders over the findings.

9. 5. Returns Lost Memories • Can help Alzheimer’s patients remember parts & pieces of their past, especially those memories associated with music. • Humming a familiar tune can help you find your car keys. How Does it Work? • Listening to music engages both hemispheres, creating brain activity that other things can’t. • Engages the hippocampus, which handles long-term memory storage. • Feelings, and sometimes memoriesassociated with a known song are returned by the hippocampus. • Enough emotions and attitudesare returned , allowing people to laugh and sing along

10. 6. Increases Spatial Reasoning • Mozart music, especially piano music, can temporarily raise spatial reasoning the average of 9 IQpoints. How Does it Work? • Some claim that it helps you focus • Others say it increases activity in crucial regions of the brain

11. 7. Help Quieten Parkinson Symptoms • Can instantly resolve the physical issues, such as muscle spasms, locking muscles, balance problems • Parkinson patient, Rande Gedalia, had muscle spams, balance problems and difficulty walking. When listening to music, she discovered she was able to move with much more ease. How Does it Work? • Portions of the brain which deal with rhythm and movement are so automated that it requires no conscious effort to move to a beat. The brain goes behind your back to get your toe tapping. Watch babies. • Patients with bradykinesia--an inability to initiate movement--can move as their brain tricks their legs by sending movements signals to them.

12. Happy/sadmusic affects how we see neutral faces, matching the tone of the music. • Ambient noise at a moderate level makes it just hard enough to process things as we normally would, making us resort to more creative approaches, raising creativity. Same with temperature & lighting. Too much of any of these, and we struggle too much. • Either unfamiliar, or uninteresting music is best for safe driving; we are distracted with our music choice • Classical music can improve visual attention; white noise &silence do the opposite. • Music helps us move when we may not want to; competes for our brain’s attention, & override negative signals; it can actually help us to use our energy more efficiently (cyclists use 7% less oxygen w/music)

13. Music helps keep you energized & motivated; or can calm & soothe you. Research has shown that music generally improves mood. Music can be an effective therapeutic or mood-altering tool. Music is the universal language. Music can be used every day to enhance your life experience.

14. Movement teaches students body awareness and orientation. Musicsupports the movements and adds the vocabulary through relevant lyrics. Motivating and FUN!