Hello and welcome to music for wellness and integrated approach. I'm Suzanne Hancer. Namaste, I'm an Annette Philip. We're happy to guide you through this course. I'm a music therapist. I chair the Music Therapy Department at Berklee College of Music. In that work, I have found the wonders of music. It's power in releasing emotion and changing mood. Also in helping people cope with whatever they're going through, whether it's pain or anxiety or just the little stresses that we all experience every day. So we'll introduce you to some of these techniques which have been researched and practiced. Some of which have been practiced for thousands of years. We'll introduce you to ancient approaches and some modern technology to enhance bringing out your inner creativity. I'm a vocalist from India. I'm also a composer, a producer, and an arranger. The thing that I love the most about music is experimenting with the human voice and working with large groups of people all over the world, especially with choirs. At Berklee, I am the artistic director of the Berklee India Exchange and the founder director of the Berklee Indian Ensemble, which now has musicians from over 42 countries. No matter where in the world the students come from or wherever I've been performing, touring, I found that music really is the connecting force. You don't really have to understand every single lyric or obviously we don't understand all the languages that we hear songs in, but we do get the vibe, whether it's joy, sorrow, pain, wonder, surprise, elation, we get that. We understand part of that human experience and we can relate to it. Essentially, what this course is helping us to do is find functional ways to use music to help us in our daily life. You know the music that's meaningful to you, but do you use it every day when you really need it? So in Lesson 1, we'll be singing, we'll be writing songs, and we'll give you tools to help you unlock that musician within you. In Lesson 2, we talk about music for comfort. Music that maybe you need before you go for an interview or a meeting, or when, let's say you're going to the doctor or you're preparing for a surgery. Anything that requires you to be calmer, to soothe your senses, to find your center, to find your balance. We'll also talk about ways to use breathing exercises, and we'll take you through a guided meditation as well as introduce you to the ancient technique in yoga called pranayama. Which is a breathing technique that allows us to channel our breath to help alter our emotional state. Lesson 3 is about awakening, awakening the senses, and the sensibilities through music. We'll talk about the ancient art of mantra. You'll hear and experience mantra. This forum that is designed to focus the attention and to really have you use the mantra in your life, we'll translate it to a contemporary personal jingle. Something to set an intention so that you can bring the meaning, the positivity of mantra. That brings us to Lesson 4, developing your personal playlist. Your very own customized go to music that you can apply in any situation that you face in your life. We'll talk about relaxing music to help you reduce anxiety, attention focusing music, that helps you manage pain. Sleep inducing, music that helps you get into deep relaxation and maybe helps you with meditation. Energizing music when you're feeling just a little bit low, and spiritual music that helps you get into the flow. Suzanne and I have been so blessed to have music be part of our lives at very pivotal points, very difficult situations and also in celebratory occasions. We find that we naturally just instinctively move towards music. We hope, that if you're looking for something to add to your creativity and to lead to more fulfillment in your life, you'll find some tips in this course. Ultimately, we hope that you find through music, balance, freedom, self-confidence, relaxation, and inspiration. Enjoy and unleash your creative self.
