Following a 7-month period of regular listening to the Music-Assisted Relaxation and Imagery CD, a cardiac rehabilitation patient improved his physical and mental health. Through the voice and music, he enjoyed relaxation and pleasurable images.
by Susan E. Mandel, Ph.D., MT-BC Edward’s Story
By the end of the MARI CD, you feel very, very calm and relaxed. This was Edward’s reaction to listening to the Music-Assisted Relaxation and Imagery (MARI) compact disc recording, Harmony of Mind & Body: A MARI Experience.
Edward underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery prior to his enrollment in cardiac rehabilitation at a local hospital. He also suffered from anxiety. When he first met with the music therapist, Edward seemed to be fearful. At this time he experienced difficulty sitting silently for the 5 minutes required for his blood pressure measurement.
The music therapist gave Edward a copy of the MARI CD and instructed him to listen daily in his home. Edward preferred to experience the MARI CD in the morning, but allowed himself flexibility to accommodate his other daily activities.
During a 7-month period of regular listening to the MARI CD, Edward described his enjoyment of the words and music, and his experience of relaxation and pleasurable imagery. He seemed to have a total mind-body relaxation response to the MARI CD, which he described as:
Relaxes physical body. Slows down thinking too.
Edward had not previously experienced this sense of complete relaxation. After 7 months, standardized tests indicated Edward’s improved health-related quality of life, decreased depression and anxiety, as well as decreased systolic and diastolic blood pressure, with no reported change in his medications. Edward no longer felt anxious. He commented:
Getting a chance to just stay in one spot and listen to something that’s slower and wants you to relax, tries to help you to relax, makes a big difference…sometimes you think of things…you hadn’t thought of for years.
Mandel, Susan E. (2007) Effects of music-assisted relaxation and imagery (MARI) on health-related outcomes in cardiac rehabilitation: Follow-up study.(Doctoral dissertation, Union Institute and University, 2007. Dissertation Abstracts International (UMI No. 3280283).About the MARI CD
Daniel Kobialka and Dr. Susan E. Mandel announce the release of a new 2-CD set, Harmony of Mind & Body: A MARI Experience.
The MARI compact disc recording, which research study has found to be effective in improving health, is designed to teach you to relax. It is suggested that you listen to the first CD, The MARI Experience: Music-Assisted Relaxation and Imagery, daily for approximately four months, or until you feel very familiar with the relaxation experience, before relaxing with the second CD, The MARI Experience: Music Only CD.
Continue to enjoy the Music-Assisted Relaxation and Imagery CD regularly or when you feel the need for verbal assistance. The Instructions track is intended to provide directions for initial listening.
We hope that, like Edward, you enjoy a renewed sense of well-being of body and mind.
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