You may not even realize that you are tapping your feet to the music. Have you ever felt a chill run down your spine when a song has a strong chorus? This is not a coincidence. It’s a sign of how deeply connected music is to our bodies. Music isn’t just an emotional experience; it also affects us physically.
The Body’s Natural Rhythm
Our bodies are filled with rhythm. We are rhythmic creatures, from our heartbeats to our breathing patterns. The rhythm of music can be synchronized with these patterns. Fast songs can increase your heart rate, and slow songs can calm your breathing.
It’s because babies are born with an instinctive bouncing motion to the music. Before we talk, we hear sound.
Why You Can’t Help But Dance
When a beat drops, we’re compelled to dance. Our brains send signals when we hear rhythmic songs to our motor cortex, the part of the brain that controls movement. Your body will react even if you are not dancing: your fingers tap, shoulders sway, and head nod.
The same brain areas that light up when you exercise are stimulated by music. This is why listening to or dancing to energetic music can improve your coordination and mood, as well as boost your energy.
Music and Exercise: a Natural Partnership
There is a good reason why workout playlists are created. Music can help athletes run longer and lift more weight. It’s not only motivation; it’s science. A strong, steady rhythm can:
- Increase endurance
- Reduce the perception of work
- Enhance coordination and timing
- How to push through fatigue
Even professional athletes use music before the competition to help them get in the right mental and physiological state.
Healing through Movement and Sound
Music is being used in physical therapy to help people recover their mobility, including stroke survivors, Parkinson’s patients and those with motor disorders. Beats are used in rhythmic auditory stimuli (RAS) to improve balance, coordination, and walking. This is because it uses the body’s natural sense of movement and rhythm.
Breathwork and Drumming: The Mind-Body Connection
Indigenous cultures have used drumming circles for healing and unification for thousands of years. Drumming’s repetitive and grounding nature helps to align the heartbeat and breath, which promotes relaxation, focus and emotional release.
Music with intentional, slow rhythms that guide your breath can also help reduce anxiety.
Final Thoughts: The Music Within
We think of music as something external to us—a tune we sing or a concert we attend. But music is also inside of us. It is in our breath, our heartbeat, and our steps. When we connect to rhythm, we connect to our humanity.
Next time you want to move, don’t be afraid. Your body knows exactly what it should do. It’s simply responding to the call of music.