Therapeutic Bach

Isaac (and "friend") at Theatrikos' "You Can't Take it With You".  

 

 

Jody Cody sings the blues at Kickstand Kafe.

  I have to admit I let myself become a victim of stress last Friday.  It may have been a mixture of the 25th "Anniversary" of the Challenger explosion, or a longer-than-12-hour work day, or just the accumulation of an over-scheduled life.  But by the end of the day, when I arrived at the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra's performance of Bach's Mass in B Minor, my neck was in knots.  I was kind of wondering why I wasn't at home, curled up on the couch.

  As I sat there through the performance, though, the strangest thing began to happen.  I slowly began to relax into the music.  I realized that it didn't "need" anything from me (like most of the rest of my life) and lost the strange hunch on my back that I had begun to carry in self-defense.  By the end of the first half, I realized that Bach had healed my back!

Me and Kerry "Birthday Girl" at Theatrikos.

  I was talking to FSO's Executive Director Laura Kelly about this, and found out that she had taken the musical experience even further--she had been laying down behind stage, letting the music wash over her.  Her whole body was reverberating with the music.  It must have been like a full-body massage.

  We were both kind of wide-eyed and wondering after that show.

  Afterwards, I told my son about the symphony.  "You know how crabby I was today?  Well this was just what I needed to feel better!"  And then he told me about his night, listening to music at the KickStand Kafe, where our family friend Jody Cody was playing, along with her entourage of young musical mentees (see her new online mentoring community at boldmoonmusic.org/).  He told me how beautifully Jody had played and sang and he was inspired--to practice his trumpet! 

  I've said before that music is good for your mental and emotional state of mind, but now I'm going to say that music is good for you physical state of mind!