Let the Music Move You

We can’t imagine a dance class or an exercise class without music. I can’t imagine my spin class on my stationary bike or my life without my playlist. Each song drives me to spin – – and live.

Want to know what music I spin to? Here’s a favorite: “More Than a Feeling” by Boston

We get chills down our spine and goosebumps on our neck. Why? Music stimulates all limbic brain regions that are the core of emotional responses. And the reward network includes the dopamine centers—critical for the pleasure derived from music. The feedback loop stimulated by music skips the thought part of the brain. So we don’t need to think about it! Composer Franz Liszt said, “Music embodies feeling without forcing it to contend and combine with thought.”

Research shows that listening to (or making) music increases blood flow to brain regions that generate and control emotions. The limbic system, which is involved in processing emotions and controlling memory, “lights” up when our ears perceive music.

We say, “Music moves me.” Well, it does, and not just emotionally. Science says music can alter your brain chemistry, which may produce cardiovascular benefits. Studies have found that listening to music may enable people to exercise longer during cardiac stress testing done on a treadmill or stationary bike!

I’m not surprised. The concept is called “entrainment.” Wikipedia: “The synchronization (e.g. foot tapping) of organisms to an external perceived rhythm. Humans are the only species for which all individuals experience entrainment.”

So, let yourself let go. Listen to the music and don’t think.

And when you speak about your business or your hobby or the people you love, let yourself FEEL the emotions and be moved. Create the words you say to promote your business. Then read them aloud. Listen to the words you say, and let them move you—like music moves you.

I always say, “Your audience will not be more excited about (or moved by) your speech than you are.”

If you want help with this, please call me for a 30-minute complimentary clarity call. You get clarity and value, and we discover if we are a match to work together.