healing rituals and art

Since time immemorial, art has been a part of our lives. Art can be a very powerful part of our lives because of its potential to empower us to truly express ourselves. Art as society has developed immensely over the years, owing primarily to technological advancements. Today, a modern medium of art history is being pursued on a regular basis, and the varied applications of art continue to expand. Healing is one place where art has yielded positive results. People may suffer from a variety of diseases, some of which are psychiatric or physical in nature, affecting them in a variety of ways. History has it that art often accompanied traditional healing rituals because of the benefits it offered the patient.
Historically, the most used form of art in healing rituals was music. Archibald et al (2012) explain that different communities all over the world and more so the Aboriginals used music and dance as a means of releasing energy and consequently healing. The same was observed in Africa where traditional herdsmen and hunters would dance to facilitate being able to be in a trance. They called this 'boiling energy' to reflect how powerful music and dance was during those times. This was something they did before going on a hunt to strengthen their bodies for the task ahead.
From music and dance, people started to embrace storytelling as a means of healing. Today, this is what we refer to as performing arts as seen in theaters (Archibald et al, 2012). The art today is used for entertainment purposes but historically, this was considered to be very sacred and only performed by the medicine men of that time. This would later influence how Christians and Buddhism would implement art in their healing practices. According to Archibald et al (2012), the religions would perform music, and use film to encourage one to enter into a state of trance which was a pure and holy state of mind. It was believed that in this state, the body would release all the negative energy and also connect to its every sense and this is how healing would take place.
For our forefather, they believed that art healed more than just the human being and the environment around would also benefit. People would sing and dance for rain or good weather to influence good harvest and at the same time, art was performed to cleanse the Earth and make it fertile for all to benefit from. In some communities, this worked as they believed that the native doctors had the powers to connect with nature and ask of it the desires as mentioned above.
In the modern world, most of what was traditionally incorporated into the healing processes of individuals have evolved with time; such that we still use music and dance and other forms of art but not as sacredly as before. Contemporary forms of medicine have allowed for doctors and other medical practitioners to incorporate various forms of art into the practice for healing specific illnesses. For instance, aromatherapy as a contemporary healing method can easily be used with music to relieve stress, anxiety, and depression.
Newcomer (2014) explains that aromatherapy is the use of essential oils that are either inhaled or rubbed into the skin for the added advantage of promoting healing. The oils are derived from the leaves, roots, and seeds of specific plants that are traditionally known for their healing elements. Therefore, when the oil promotes healing, music, on the other hand, can speed up the process because of its capabilities as well. Aromatherapy will mostly be used to treat infections and inflammation but it can also cause the mind to relax and this is when music as an art comes in handy. The more relaxed the human mind is the least stress, depression, and anxiety it can exercise.
Stress reduction is a need for most people today because of the environment we dwell in. We put too much pressure on ourselves to succeed in life but sometimes we do not have control over this as this is what the society expects of us. An individual has to be successful in their studies, family life and even more, economically. Truth is that the more civilized the human race gets, the more pressure there is on the population to succeed. Such pressures of life are what eventually lead to stress and depression, a mental state that can be physically damaging as well.
When music in incorporated into the healing process of stress through aromatherapy, it has several benefits that the individual can enjoy. Stuckey & Nobel (2010) explains that music has the ability to calm the neural activities of the brain. It is the work of this sensory system to ensure that the brain remains calm and as such the rest of the body. When an individual is stressed out, listening to their favorite music allows their brain to relax and without even sensing it, the anxiety they were feeling starts to fade away. The more relaxed the brain is, the more improved the immune system becomes thus effective functioning (Finnegan, 2009). Consequently, with the immune system work functioning as it should, stress reduction also takes place.
Another way through which music helps to heal stress is by stimulating the auditory system. Listening was a powerful element in the traditional healing process. Today, it is explained that when one listens to calming music, it potentially decreases any pain that the person might be going through. This could be a physical or psychological pain. There is also the added advantage of giving the person the power to control that pain as Stuckey & Nobel (2010) explains that music changes the mood of people. When stressed out, inspirational music helps to deal with the pain that is the cause of the stress and encourages one to think in a positive and happy manner. As a result, the music not only helps to relax but puts one in a change of their mood and state of mind.
Music often goes hand in hand with dance, which is yet another form of art that is used in healing. Stressed people who go for aromatherapy can engage in simple dance routines to release their minds into thinking of other things. Music that is accompanied by dancing steps also helps to encourage self-reflection and awareness as a healing process Stuckey & Nobel (2010). The more self-aware one becomes, the more accepting they are of their life and the situation they are facing. As such, they get to understand their limits and what they can do to achieve what they desire out of life.
The successful use of art in healing ritual depends on a number of factors including the frequency. With respect to the latter, aspects such as age, gender and the illness matter a lot in determining how long the art will be in use. According to Uttley, Scope & Stevenson et al (2015), when it is age related, young people and more so children respond very easily and quickly to the use of art in healing various illnesses. This is because their minds are still developing and they adapt easily to situations. The same is not the case with an adult's mind. Firstly, they have so much going on to relax and let the art take its effect on their mind. Thus, they may require frequent art sessions than the younger generations.
As for gender, given that women are more prone to stress than men because of the various life demands that they have to battle with (Uttley, Scope & Stevenson et al, 2015), they tend to require frequent art therapy than men. The same goes for how severe the illness is. In worse cases, medicine is usually given more priority but at the same time, patients will need frequent art sessions than those with a milder form of the illness. For instance, someone who is stressed only needs music for a short period of time to make them feel better. However, someone with depression, a severe form of stress, might require music as an art therapy frequently because depression is not healed as easily as stress.
From the above, there are indications that music can help in stress reduction. Research also shows the same in line to the effectiveness of music. Archibald et al (2012) express that this is the one form of art whose acceptance into modern medicine is growing and more so in healing patients with mental problems. An array of research done in light to this shows that music is recognized for its effect on human emotions and brain activity thus the acceptance in modern medicine. In addition to the acceptance, it is also the most research form of art in the healing processes for philosophical and anecdotal discussions (Finnegan, 2009). The healing benefits are what most people interested in the field would want to expound on and thus to explore its effectiveness even further.
As the research looks at social change and behavior design as affected through music, its effectiveness can be measured. For instance, Finnegan (2009) writes that music has been used for over hundred years in the healing process and it is the continual adaptation into the form of art that makes research work determine truly how it relates to stress and depression reduction and other related illnesses. In conclusion, it can be said that music is one of the oldest forms of art therapy that continues to shape our understanding of mental illnesses. Its effectiveness is well documented in historical findings as well as modern research. As such, even though there is still so much to learn about this relationship, music can continue being implemented with different contemporary forms of medicine in the United States. This is due to the fact that as we evolve, we make new discoveries as well as improve on the traditional ones. Aromatherapy together with music can do great wonders for individuals looking to reduce stress. There is so much to discover about art in healing rituals that modern research is yet to fully tap into thus room for more work to be done in order to improve our healing rituals.














References
Archibald, L. et al (2012). Dancing, Singing, Painting and Speaking through Creative Arts. Retrieved from www.ahf.ca/downloads/healing-through-creative-arts.pdf
Finnegan, J.M. (2009). The Effect of Art Therapy on Depression. Retrieved from http://alfredadler.edu/sites/default/files/Finnegan%20MP%202009.pdf
Newcomer, L. (2014). 11 Alternative Medicines Explained. Retrieved from http://greatist.com/health/alternative-medicine-therapies-explained
Stuckey, H. & Nobel, J. (2010). "The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public Health: A Review of Current Literature." AMJ Public Health 100(2) 254-263. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804629/
Uttley, L., Scope, A. Stevenson, M. et al (2015). Systematic Review and Economic Modeling of the Clinical Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Art Therapy among People with Nonpsychotic Mental Health Disorders. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25739466


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