Rhythm is Life, Life is Rhythm: Mental Health + Music Production with KYMÅ

DJ, music producer, meditation, and breathwork teacher KYMÅ joins us for the 1st installment of our 3-part series for Mental Health Month. During this presentation, KYMÅ dives into mental health, mindfulness, and rhythm while sharing: 

· what rhythm has to do with mental health and music production

· how we can identify our patterns with mindfulness

· how we can get in sync with our unique rhythms with meditation & 

· how we can create healthy habits 

Read below to learn about how music and sound can instrumentally affect our mental health and internal rhythms, and what you can do to emanate healthier rhythms.

What can rhythm tell us about our mental health?

It can tell us a lot! If you ever feel stuck or in a funk, you may be feeling creatively blocked. This often indicates that we are out of rhythm and not living fully in the present, and rather fixating on the past or the future.

The origin of the word rhythm actually means “flow.” But how do we get back into our flow?

• Sitting with ourselves. Allowing the time and space for ourselves, in order to be aware of unhealthy patterns that we might be repeating on a daily basis that can cause this stagnation of creative block.

• Explore mindfulness to identify personal patterns. A simple observation of yourself and the things that are constantly occurring subconsciously become realized. 

Check out this Box Breathing Exercise KYMÅ has shared to practice regulating your internal rhythms.

Music production tools allow you to see the music rather than just hear it. The ways it's impacting us, even when we can’t see it, is very valuable to understanding our rhythm. While words are audible, your thoughts are not. But research shows that these mental vibrations inaudibly have the ability to impact our mind and soul.

What is the visual representation of sound?

“Science is proving that thoughts and emotions emit subtle vibrations and influence ourselves just as the audible vibration does to semantics in water.” - KYMÅ

Why is it important to be aware of these thoughts?

Being aware that you are thinking all the time and that the thoughts and words you choose have a vibrational impact on your physical or emotional wellbeing. In order to get in touch with the rhythms and patterns, sit in stillness and pay attention to the way you are breathing. Your breath acts as the anchor. Notice the ebb and flow of your breath. Simply observing how you breathe is tremendously helpful in finding any rhythms within the body that are out of sync. 

Key Takeaways

• When in doubt, check in with your breath

• Utilize the Box Breathing Exercise (link provided above)