I recently had a conversation with a few of my friends, and we realized that we all had something in common that we previously didn’t know of: we all felt that music was one of the most important facets of ours lives; in its power to lift our mood, create a sense of focus or purpose, and to connect us to other humans.

Our parents, even before we were born, shared music by humming or singing to us, in-utero. At birth, babies are constantly having songs wallpaper their existence. As children, cartoons had a soundtrack that would seep into our subconscious, and, for some (like me) influence their genre preferences for a lifetime.

I’ve always had a personal connection to music, as do most humans. I seem to have had an internal soundtrack to my life, some of which I wrote about in a previous post. But music is so much more that background noise. It also has the power to influence moods.

One of my friends told me that, when she was feeling a bit down, she will pop on whatever soundtrack has become her current favorite, face a bank of windows in her house, and dance literally like no one is watching. Except, that is, for herself. She enjoys watching herself in the reflection of the windows, or in the mirrors in the furniture across the room. I find that image lovely, and also relatable.

With the quarantine going into its fourth month, there is very little opportunity for cardiovascular activity, and I am feeling the pounds (and age) creep on. And, while I have made great strides in establishing a daily meditation and chair yoga practice, I also believe it is important to get the heart pumping as well. So, I have been trying to maintain a certain number of steps every day, simply by going up and down my stairs in my house, and literally pacing in my office. But what’s so heart-pumping about that?

So, I started adding a few high intensity “dance sessions” by asking Alexa to play certain joyful songs, such as Bobby McFerrin’s cover of the Beatles song “From Me To You”, and do an old lady shuffle dance around the room, swing my arms and singing. (A full playlist of these “shuffle songs” can be found at the bottom of this post.)

Another friend told me about how he has carefully crafted a playlist for his daily bike rides, which provide both escape and motivation to continue just a little bit longer. I use to do something similar on my bike rides (although my playlist was much more serene that his choices) and a completely different one for swimming laps in the pool at the gym (which, sadly, is still closed).

In all cases, it’s amazing how just the act of listening to a song can not only lighten your mood, but physically feel better.

Music is also a great human connection. I remember attending a Sting concert with some friends, and at one point, the entire venue was on their feet, clapping and swaying and singing and smiling. I remember feeling my heart so full, and, looking around, understanding that I was part of a collective experience of love and happiness and, connection with thousands of other people, and how one person and his music was able to create that connection.

And, in a time when we all are still so physically far apart, and with so much illness still looming in our lives, how marvelous to have a gift of music to connect us, but also to heal our psyches.

Quarantine Dance Playlist:

• From Me To You – Bobby McFerrin
• Shake and Fingerpop – Junoir Walker and the All Stars
• Boom Boom Pow– Black Eyed Peas
• Imposteur– Cirque du Soleil
• Should I Stay or Should I Go– The Clash
• Death By Blonde – Devotchka
• September – Earth, Wind and Fire
• Mr. Blue Sky – ELO
• This Ain’t a Scene It’s An Arms Race – Fall Out Boy
• Low – Flo Rida
• Start Wearing Purple – Gorgol Bordello
• No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature – The Guess Who
• Run To The Hills – Iron Maiden
• Uptown Funk – Bruno Mars
• La Gallina – Ozomatli
• Donde Estas Yolanda – Pink Martini
• So Lonely – The Police
• Give It Away – Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Don’t Stop Me Now – Queen
• Feeling Good – Michael Buble