Music Together and Engaging our three centers

This month, we talked to Ann Suda, an Integral Steps fellow and instructor, about a real-life experience of engaging our three centers: 
“In our classes we encourage families to make music in their everyday lives. Music engages all areas of the brain – vision, hearing, language, cognitive and emotional functions.”
In the past, we have discussed the positive impact on our brains that comes with using our mind, body, emotions and senses in a given experience. Also, we have considered the importance of learning in different ways, through varied learning modalities. The more senses involved equates to more brain connections, and richer experiences with more solid memories. 
Ann continues, “For example, my daughter Sophia’s high school choir teacher told the class they were going to learn a song in Hebrew, and that it might be a bit challenging to learn the words in the short time they had. Sophia came home surprised and said, “Mom! How did I already know ALL the words?” It was “Hine Ma Tov”, a Music Together song she had learned in class as a preschooler. When we talked about it, Sophia remembered dancing in a circle to that song in class when she was little.” 
When we learn something by experiencing it, it becomes deeply-rooted knowledge. As a parent, we can ask ourselves, what are the types of memories I would like my children to save in their brains? Sophia’s story makes us understand the importance of creating positive memories that may not show themselves on a daily basis but are, indeed, enlarging our understanding. Music is the key!