ICL Education Group - Early Childhood Studies - Research Seminar Series
ICL Education Group - Early Childhood Studies - Research Seminar Series
ICL Education Group - Early Childhood Studies - Research Seminar Series
September 2018
To chant or not to chant? Setting the tone in the classroom with chanting - are
there perceived benefits?
Introduction
Identification of topic
Less is understood about the spiritual values of our contemporary world and how in
the lack of such, social work intervention is needed to restore social health. Keefe
(cited by Wolf, 2012, p.27) focuses on Eastern-style meditative techniques as specific
applications in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse, and states
that meditation methods “are natural adjuncts to social work intervention” for the
benefit of a healthy social-cultural environment (ibid.). Deepening this direction
Canda (as cited by Wolf, 2012, p.27) states that spirituality is a basic component of
human experience and culturally constructed environments. Canda, says Wolf (2012)
“after overviewing Christian, Jewish, shamanist, and Zen perspectives on social
work, he concludes that professional helping may be significantly enhanced by the
introduction on meditative techniques”. Wolf (ibid.) also pinpoints a literature review
based on other types of meditation techniques including Buddhist approaches, mantra
meditation, mindfulness meditation, maha mantra japa, and other. For the purposes of
this study we will specifically address two types of meditation only – one involving
chanting, that is ‘kirtan’ meditation (Sanskrit Belgium, 2016), and another type of
meditation that involve chanting internally in a non-verbalised way , i.e., silent
meditation; these techniques will be referred to in the last section of the thematic
synthesis, i.e., in the perceptions of chanting benefits recorded by neuro-brain
research section.
In the last fifty years Body-Mind Centering (2017) offers therapeutic and artistic
training (ballet/dance/movement) that could be used equally as therapy or prevention
of stress, incorporated either in daily co-curricular activities or in the school curricula.
Programmes are accessible to parents and children during, before and after school.
The practice was initiated by psychologist and choreograph Bonnie Bainbridge
Cohen, and her practice led research connects conceptually to the anecdotal story of
artist Gillian Lynne, as recorded by Ken Robinson (SALT, 2011), in which the child
was presented to her doctor as it was assumed she suffers from ADHD (attention
deficit disorder); what doctor has found was a perfectly happy and healthy child that
was gifted for dancing, and so, at doctor’s recommendations the child trained for
ballet and dance, becoming a professional in the field for the rest of her life. The
moral of the story is that there is an internal chanting in each student, and if their
talent is brought forth by an intelligent programme and a dedicated teacher, each child
can develop the career of their dreams.
Chanting in the classroom as the music lesson in theory and performance practice
All over the globe music classrooms are filled with the sound of human voice or the
timbre of musical instruments (Kang, 2016; Lawry, 2012; Holtzman, 1995). Less is
known of the effect pitched sounds have upon visible matter. A whole field of study
called ‘cymatics’ is dedicated to the analysis of the visual patterns that vocalization
creates in solid, liquid matter and other media (Jenny, 2001, 1967; monoscop.org,
2001). It is shown in this field of study that chanted vowels create imprints as
described, and these patterns are also common patterns in the natural world – i.e.,
koru patterns in vegetal and mineral wolds, as they are also brought by modern arts,
i.e., Brancusi, 1918, retrieved from MoMa, 2012; Grey, 2017, retrieved from
www.alexgrey.com/art). These patterns are the same as in ancient Hindu mandalas,
Australian aboriginal art, and other geometric – based decoration in the clothing
traditions of the Pacific region, carving, and visual arts (AHTR, 2015). Same patterns
created in solid matter by chanting the syllable ‘om’ are the same patterns observed in
vegetal, mineral realms, and also in geometry inspired art artifacts. Does than
chanting resonates to ‘integration’ in oneness (Sanskrit Belgium, 2016)/ a unity of all
matter? The critiquing section of this study will discuss the issue.
Most recent studies look specifically into the uses of chanting as alternative therapy to
restore adults’ holistic health in cases of leukemia, Alzheimer disease, and dementia;
What Lavretsky et al. (2013), Black et al. (2013) and Khalsa, Amen, Hanks, Money,
and Newberg (2009) observed, was that through the uses of chanting, various regions
in the brain that were obstructed before the activity of chanting, have become
reinvigorated and new synapses and neural pathways fire up and create new patterns
of action in the brain activity.
More over, Khalsa et al. (2009), demonstrated that Kirtan Kriya, i.e., a guided
meditation derived from Kundalini yoga, does lead to change in cerebral blood flow in
the brain during practice and supports long term positive clinical outcomes in active
participants. The technique of Kirtan Kriya is rhythmic and very specific in its
requirements. Performing Kirtan Kriya involves a twelve minutes sequence of
alternative loud chanting for two minutes, whispered chanting for another two
minutes, silence for four minutes, and symmetrically again, whispered and loud
chanting as described above. Small muscles activity is also required, and thus,
connection of fingers is added to the action of chanting. In this way with each stage of
the chanting thumb and index, thumb and middle finger, thumb and ring finger touch.
Rhythmically, when fingers touch syllables are also vocalized or silently whispered.
The order of syllables follows the pattern Sa, Ta, Na, and Ma – said to be primordial
sounds in this practice (ibid., p. 956).
In contrast, Tomasino, Fregona, Skrap and Fabbro (2012) used a mix of focused - i.e.,
internalized or volitional meditation, and also outward meditation – or guided mantra
meditation, as previously described. Here, different categories of words and syllables
were used by the experimental group and by the control group. The words and
syllables ‘sadnam’ and ‘om’ were used for the experimental group. The words and
syllables ‘chairs’ and ‘tables’ were used for the control group. Using an ALE meta-
analysis methodology, software, 275 subjects, and 26 experiments in the first stage of
the study, the researchers demonstrated that chanted meditation triggers changes in the
neural activity of the brain in both groups - irrespective of the syllables, words and
phrases used. Researchers concluded that these results are important to showcase
mind-body connections and the importance of mind-body training and research,
triggering individual results of iconic resonance, that is culturally embedded.
Other syllables have been used by other studies, with same results. Analysis of ‘om’
syllable chanting, for example, is used by Gurjar, Ladhake, and Thakare (2009) in a
study of ‘OM mantra’, the syllable being considered on the one hand in its empirical
connotation by Hindus ‘…is the very name of the Absolute’ (ibid., p.363), and on the
other hand by acoustic resonance, i.e., waveforms of frequency modulation of the
‘om’ chanting as a ten-minute recording has been scientifically analysed. The
diagrams represent the visualization of sound as used in chanting, or vocalised
recitation (ibid., p. 365).
Last but not least, research questions if silence is creating order in human mind in the
same way that cymatics presents its impact on matter with visual patterns. Special
attention is given to classroom findings that seem to indicate that teachers’
perceptions are positive in this regard. There is a perception that with silent
meditation also, the benefits for increased focus on task in student population, is
present (aish.com, 2017; Brown, 2014).
Critique of the connections across the themes and any gaps in the literature
For the purposes of this assignment the present literature review section only touches
upon the issues presented, and it will expand with enriched connections, contrasting
patterns and other aspects, as it develops.
Conclusion
The present study explores an extensive literature on the benefits of chanting for adult
and infant population – especially in connection to school age children year 1 to 13.
The study aims to connect findings from a range of disciplines belonging mostly to
creative arts domains such as music, poetry, dance, but also with deep reverberations
in the realms of spirituality and holistic well-being. While research demonstrates there
is a need for therapy and programmes based on the development of mind-body
connections (Wang, Seo, and Geib, 2017) to support student achievement, research
also shows positive results following chanting practices and meditation (Lavretzky et
al., 2013; Black et al., 2013; Horowitz, 2010; Khalsa, Amen, Hanks, Money, and
Newberg, 2019; catani et al., 2009). Research synthesis and elite interviews are
planned to further contribute to the data collection and expansion of the literature
review in the future.
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