Exercise And Music: Why Do They Pair So Well Together?

Taking a look at how movement and music have intertwined cross culturally around the world, throughout time, and through the lens and understanding of current science.

“My phone is not charged and I just got to the gym!

How am I gonna have an intense workout without my “Iron Crushing Gym Playlist?”

You go into a gym and likely a majority of the people are wearing headphones or the group class is playing some kind of music.

Exercise is just not the same without music.

There’s something so profound about the connection between movement and music.

This topic has been examined by scientific research and some of the studies are showing that indeed music does improve exercise performance.

This isn’t too shocking to hear.

Many of us can relate to this concept.

If you want to motivate yourself during a workout put on some music.

One of the most iconic pop culture examples of this is probably Sylvester Stallone’s inspirational training montage in Rocky in which he trains and conditions his body into fighting shape to the song “Eye of the Tiger”.

Yet even more obvious of a connection between movement and music is dance!

You hear a great song and you can’t even help it, your body just starts to move.

What is going on here?

We can relate to it from an intuitive standpoint.

What is it about this fundamental and intimate relationship between music and movement?

Movement and Music Historically and Cross Culturally

For one, dance and music have played a central role in almost every culture around the world for thousands of years.

Music and movement have been paired with and have accompanied so many facets of life cross-culturally, encompassing story telling, sacred ritual, healing ceremonies, the giving of offerings and prayers, courting rituals, social dance, performative entertainment, and festivals and celebrations.

Consider the spiraling dance of the whirling Sufi dervishes, the story telling of the Hawaiian hula, the waltz as a courtship dance in the Regency Period in England, flamenco of the Romani people that reached refinement in the South of Spain, the haka warrior dance of the New Zealand Maori,the hava nagila of a Jewish bar mitzvah, the sacred rain dances practiced amongst indigenous tribes of North America, or the re-enactment of tales between Krishna and Radha in an Indian bharatanatyam dance.

These examples merely scratch the surface of cultural music and dance practices from around the world.

Dance traditions continue to live on and evolve in modern times. Dance today, particularly in large metropolitan cities, is commonly done in the form of exercise, social connection, artistic expression, and celebration, practiced in a variety of contexts ranging from a Zumba class at the gym, swing dancing at a night venue on the weekend, performing a classic ballet in a dance company, rave dancing at a warehouse space, merengue at a quinceañera, or

the iconic newly wed couples dance at a wedding.

Outside of dance and exercise, music seems to saturate so many aspects of life in cultures globally.

People listen to classical music to study and focus at work, we listen to blues music to carry us through a tough time, we wail along to an Elton John song driving to work, and we sarcastically sing a Disney song at a bar’s karaoke night. For many people, music and song accompany every activity of their waking life.

Why is this?

Knowledge Transference Through Oral Musical Traditions

Preceding the advent of writing and textural records, music was the way that culture, knowledge, history, and stories were passed down to the next generation through oral poetic song.

This was and is a global phenomenon.

You might ask “Why is it the case that information was passed down in the form of musical poetry?”

Studies show that by reciting information in the form of poetic song, there is stronger retention of the information in our memory.

Music relates and connects with the same parts of our brain that involve memory storage and retrieval.

Humans across the globe have likely been aware of this phenomenon for ages and for this reason the principle way that knowledge was taught and passed down to children was in the form of song and music.

And this continues to be the first and primary method we utilize to educate infants and toddlers.

In the field of neuroscience it is understood that music is related to the same parts of the brain that deals with language and communication.

One example that illustrates this is that musicians tend to have an easier time learning languages due to this connection.

Music in itself is a language and most profoundly it is the universal language of humanity.

A musician can go almost anywhere in the world and without speaking the local language could likely connect and play with other musicians.

Consider the improvised back and forth solos amongst musicians in a jazz concert, this example really hits home the idea of communication through the language of music.

On the converse, you can also see language as a form of music, if you listen beyond the formal meaning of someone speaking you will hear a range of inflections, pauses, pitches, and tones, all qualities shared with music.

Music enhances our utilization of language, the processing of information, and how we orchestrate behaviors.

Music also helps to integrate our mind and body.

Research shows that music helps to create coherence between our heart rhythm, our nervous system, and our brain waves.

For this reason, there is a huge market for meditation music, based on the premise that specific melodies, notes, and scales help to facilitate the relaxation response in the body helping it to unwind and decompress.

Corporate workplaces have experimented with this by playing certain music during the work day to enhance productivity on an individual level and also to help create better team work by creating a “hive” environment where the office is working more efficiently like a bee hive or an ant colony. The idea is that the music helps to synchronize everyone’s mind and body.

One of the ways music helps to sync the heart rhythm, nervous system, and brain waves is through the beat, specifically the drum beat. In music styles around the world the drum is considered the heart beat of the band, orchestra, ensemble, or group.

To return to the role music plays in exercise we can see that it amplifies and integrates the connection between our thoughts and our actions.

Listening to music proves to be a potent tool for exercise and working out. It helps to focus the mind and body, to summon increased vigor, and inspire the body to move and perform at levels beyond what might occur otherwise without the presence of music.

A lot of the music played during an intense exercise session usually has a fast tempo, and this helps to elevate and enhance many of the systems in the body.

In certain indigenous tribes of North America the drum is the heart beat of the dance ritual that helps to connect and unite everyone’s body, mind, and spirit during the event and experience.

The drum beat oftentimes mimics and replicates the syncopation of the heart beat. The sound of the drum beat and rhythm in a song is one of the principle ways in which our own heart rhythm and nervous system aligns with that of the song.

Conclusively music has played a central role in the many facets of life in cultures around the world.

We have evolved in such a way that music is hardwired into the parts of our brain that regulate our communication, language, thought patterns, and behavior.

Music seems to help focus and engage our body and mind toward our actions, experiences, and tasks at hand.

In particular, music and movement have historically merged in the various dance traditions around the world and perhaps it is for this reason that music continues to be so useful, important, and helpful when we are exercising and working out at the gym.

So embrace and make use of you workout playlist.

Maybe you like the tunes of Metallica, Eminem, Beyonce, James Brown, Madonna, Marc Anthony, or the Bee Gees.

What ever artist you have on your workout track, you know that it works, it draws you into the zone, it integrates your body and mind, and steps up your performance to the next level.

Get on those headphones, turn up the volume, and get that body moving!

For any questions or inquiries about starting out or stepping up your movement or exercise routine reach out to me at https://www.kaibodymindwellness.com/contact

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