Healing through song
Healing circles traditionally center around talking, but did you know that singing can reduce stress, stimulate the immune system, increase pain tolerance, foster a sense of belonging, enhance memory in people with dementia, ease grief, and improve mental health?
Musician Canda Lambert knows how impactful music can be and hosts a monthly song circle because of it. The circle is structured in much the same way that other healing circles are, except that, in addition to talking, people also sing.
Canda begins by reading the agreements and inviting people to check in. Then she screen-shares lyrics, opens her mic, plays her guitar, and leads circle members in song. With their microphones muted, circle members sing along and, because no one hears them, being able to carry a tune is not required.
To prepare for each circle, Canda spends a day deciding on a theme, choosing and learning songs, and creating the slides that contain each song’s lyrics.
“I usually pick a topic like lovingkindness or soul nourishment,” she says, “Or I choose a theme like Celtic songs, or songs from the seventies. The songs are healing, positive, and have a good message to them. I’ve had circle members from Australia, France, the Middle East, and England, and I try to pick songs that people are at least somewhat familiar with.”
A fast song at the beginning of the circle brings up people’s energy and gets them smiling, then the pace slows down to more heartfelt songs and ends with a verse or chorus that sometimes serves as the prompt for people’s heart-share and harvest.
“When people come together, their brain waves are initially out of sync, but singing together causes their brain waves to synchronize,” says Canda.
“The purpose of the songs is to form a whole,” she continues. “You can see everybody singing, and the music helps form the group. We feel that entrainment on Zoom, and at the end of five songs, we come into coherence.”
After singing together for a while, circle members step away from their screens and engage in writing, drawing, movement, or another form of self-expression for 10 or 15 minutes. Then they come back together and share.
In a recent circle, Canda used quotes from poet John O’Donohue’s book, Beauty, the Invisible Embrace, as a prompt for reflection, including:
“When we experience the Beautiful, there is a sense of homecoming.”
Canda says, “Our relationship with music begins as embryos, when our cells begin to beat in unison. This unifying beat continues throughout our lives. Humans are instinctively drawn to music, rhythm, and dancing.”
In the song circle, music brings participants home to their bodies and helps them find a sense of belonging in a group.
Sing along to Canda’s song about healing circles below!
The Gift of Healing Circle
Come and sit around the campfire,
respite from our daily lives.
Together we step out of time.
In safety open heart and mind.
To find our path to healing,
find our path to whole new ways of seeing.
Come and sit around the campfire,
everyone is welcome here.
New friends, old friends glad to be
in each other’s company.
The gift of healing circle,
each of us a spark in healing circle.
Oooo-oooo-ooooo
Come and sit around the campfire,
insights for our daily lives.
We add our richness to the whole.
We feel, we know, we learn, we grow.
The gift of healing circle.
The living, breathing gift of healing circle.
© Canda Lee Lambert 2023
