Songs the Body Knows

About the Work-
SONGS OF THE ANIMAL BODY

The animals that our ancestors depended upon for food and clothing shared an intimate, finely tuned relationship with their environment. Every aspect of their being - from hunting behaviors to reproductive cycles to annual migrations – was harmoniously synchronized with the rhythms of the moon and the sun…with the changing of the seasons. Our ancestors celebrated this finely tuned relationship in their mythologies and their art. And through sound, movement and rhythm, they placed their own beings in accord with this relationship.

Through the process of domestication, the living conditions of our farm and companion animals have changed dramatically. Today, these conditions bear little resemblance to the animals’ original environments. For example, while we may still prefer to envision farm animals living contented lives in pastures of lush green grass, many dairy cattle, pigs, chickens and turkeys actually spend their whole lives in a barn – never even setting foot in a pasture.

Our animals have shown an amazing ability to tolerate such remarkable changes. However, the dramatic increase in veterinary and husbandry costs suggests that ‘civilized’ living conditions impose a chronic stress on many animals. In our livestock populations, the effect of this chronic stress is clearly evident in the form of abnormal behaviors, shorter lifespans, and reduced resistance to disease. Similar symptoms can be seen in our horses, our pets and our zoo animals. Unfortunately, the veterinary approach to stress-related disorders often deals only with the symptoms of stress – rather than the underlying cause. As a result, this approach seldom restores harmony to the animal’s biological systems that the stress has thrown out of tune.

In contrast to the veterinary approach, the people of many ‘less developed’ cultures of the world still retain the knowledge to place themselves in accord with their animals’ inner need for harmony. And by restoring this harmony, they actually relieve the stress itself. Often, these culture use music & song as vehicles to restore harmony¹. The ability of music to restore an animal’s inner harmony has been verified scientifically. For example, when classical music was played to dairy cattle, researchers found that the cattle were less stressed – and produced significantly more milk as a result; they also found that the stress of hearing heavy metal music caused cows to produce less. Other studies have shown that young chickens exposed to classical music have reduced mortality rates. Music has also been shown to stimulate growth in both carp and tilapia fish.

Fortunately, we do not have to rely on a Pavarotti or Beethoven to restore harmony to our animals. Our bodies still retain the ancestral wisdom to establish an accord between ourselves and our animals. When we surrender to this wisdom, our bodies spontaneously express patterns of sound and rhythm in which our animals find harmony and resonance.