As a leader in healthcare, you use the power of music every day to help your clients. But have you ever considered the role of music in your own self-care?
The effects of music’s allure are real and powerful. Wander into a drum circle or a jam, and you’ll probably find yourself in a moving, inspiring “flow.” That freeing state of mind is more than just a feeling. In fact, it’s proof of the changing neurological activity in your brain.
Just consider research done on jazz improvisation and the brain, by surgeon and musician Charles Limb. In conclusion, he found it’s not just what improvisation does in our brain that matters, but what it undoes. During improvisation, areas of self-judgment and monitoring are deactivated. And this allows for a freee and creative state. Music affects you on a biological level!
What does that mean for self-care?
Grab a drum (or your favorite instrument) and improvise. Give your brain a break from its busy day of analyzing and thinking. Then allow your intuitive, creative self to have a moment to shine! Even better? Make music with friends and colleagues, and share that musical space together.
Music isn’t just for your clients; it’s also at the heart of nurturing and fueling yourself as a leader in healthcare! Watch the video below as Christine Stevens, MA, MSW, MT-BC, explains WHY music (especially improvisation!) is so good for our brains and spirits:
