275: The Healing Power of Music w/ Princess Fortier

This week on the Embracing Intensity podcast, host Aurora discusses the transformative power of music with guest Princess Fortier. Princess shares her personal journey of using singing to alleviate her chronic migraines, which began at the age of 13. Despite initially pursuing neuroscience to find a medical cure, she discovered that singing provided significant relief from her symptoms. Aurora and Princess delve into how music can relax, heal, and foster emotional well-being, particularly for those with neurodivergent traits like ADHD and autism. They also explore the importance of community in musical healing practices and offer practical advice for using music and singing as therapeutic tools. Tips for finding and creating musical communities are discussed, along with the benefits of engaging in sound baths and circle singing.

About Princess:

Princess Fortier is a dynamic musician, speaker, and advocate for mental health and neurodivergence. With a rich background in using music as a therapeutic tool, she has dedicated her career to helping others find healing and self-expression through creative outlets. Princess’s work emphasizes the emotional and psychological benefits of music, drawing from her personal experiences and professional expertise to inspire and empower her audience. She is known for her engaging and heartfelt presentations, making complex topics accessible and relatable to diverse audiences.

In this episode:

  • Princess shares how music has helped her understand and process emotions, learn about love, and find healing.
  • Aurora introduces the “Embracing Intensity” podcast, aimed at gifted, creative, twice-exceptional individuals.
  • Moving to a single monthly episode improved downloads.
  • Princess discusses her journey studying neuroscience to find a cure for her migraines.
  • Singing during a migraine attack unexpectedly relieved her symptoms.
  • Aurora opens up Q&A, asking Princess about factors contributing to music helping with migraines.
  • Princess explains the potential of music to relax and align with one’s purpose, influencing mental and physical well-being.
  • Community involvement in singing and music is encouraged for healing and creativity.
  • Practical suggestions for engaging in music, such as joining choirs or attending sound bowl classes.
  • Discussion on how specific songs and types of music can be personalized for therapeutic benefit.
  • Auroras’ philosophy: using her platform to allow others to share their voices.
  • Princess’s invitation to explore creating and experiencing music for personal therapy.
  • Closing remarks emphasize continuing conversation and participating in the Embracing Intensity community.
  • Aurora concludes with invitations to join the community for support and access to tools for self-regulation.

Transcript

* Rough Transcript *

Introduction to the Power of Music

I find that I’ve learned so much from songs. I’ve learned how to love, I’ve learned what love means, I’ve learned how to forgive I’ve learned about feelings that I didn’t know I had, didn’t have names for, music is just powerful.

Welcome to the Embracing Intensity podcast. I’ll be sharing interviews and tips for gifted, creative, twice exceptional, and outside the box thinkers who use their fire in a positive way.

My name is Aurora Remember Holtzman. After years of feeling too much, I finally realized that intensity is the source of my greatest power.

Now, instead of beating myself up about not measuring up to my own self imposed standards I’m on a mission to help people embrace their own intensity and befriend their brains so they can share their gifts with the world through the Embracing Intensity community, coaching, educational assessment, and other tools to help you use your fire without getting burned.

You can join us at embracingintensity. com.

Hello. I am super thrilled today to share an edited part of our conversation on. The healing power of music with Princess Fortier.

And as a fun, little coincidence as this recording comes out, I will actually be at the very camp where we met and I’ll be participating in a group with Princess, with her boyfriend leading us in circle, singing.

You might’ve noticed that I moved back to one episode a month instead of two, because I was finding that when I increased to two episodes a month, my downloads were actually not really. Going up and my per episode. Downloads went down. So I decided to stick with one episode per month, which means next year I’ll probably have six guest speakers and six interviews.

Guest Speaker: Princess Fortier

So I’m still wanting to continue with the interviews and hear fantastic stories like Princess shared on her interview episode and also continue these fantastic conversations. You can find the entire discussion in the guests call library along with, I think. 45 plus more conversations around topics related to neurodivergence giftedness outside the box thinking and all that fun stuff. So you can check it out on my website. It’s only two 50 for the first month to join.

So. Check it out and explore all of the conversations we’ve had in the embracing intensity community.

In addition to our guests call conversations,

I’m really wanting to start getting more engagement in our online platform on mighty networks, which is at community dot, embracing intensity.com. So I’m starting to do daily posts with weekly themes.

And you can come add to the conversation or post something interesting, or a question or inquiry that you might have.

It’s always hard to get a lot of conversation going off major platforms like Facebook. But when I got feedback from my community, they feel very strongly that they would like to keep the platform off of a major social media network.

So in order for us to keep doing that, it would be great to pop in there on occasion and join in the conversation. Again, that’s community dot, embracing intensity.com.

Another thing I’ve been working on this summer is getting all of my digital workbooks into physical paper workbook format. And I just got my proofs. Of three workbooks that combine four of the guides into one. And once I get those proof-read and ready to go, I will have them available either on Amazon and I’m trying to get them on Tik TOK shop as well.

Enjoy.

So welcome everyone.

Healing Power of Music

I’m so excited to have Princess here, joining us to talk about the healing power of music. And for those of you who don’t know, I met Princess at a camp last. Summer where her boyfriend was teaching a circle singing group. And just when I talked to both of them, I could tell they were both gifted and probably otherwise neurodivergent.

I think I knew within a couple minutes of talking to Princess that I wanted to have her on my podcast. Cause she shared the story, her own story about the healing power of music. So I’m super excited to have her and I’m going to go ahead and let folks introduce themselves. So she knows who she’s talking to.

And then I’ll open up, the Q& A in the chat.

I gathered a couple of questions, I’m going to start out with one that we kind of talked about on my interview with Princess, but, some of you may or may not have heard that.

Princess’s Journey with Migraines

So, can you share a little bit about a pivotal moment when you realized music was a powerful tool for your own healing?

Yes, absolutely. So I went to UCLA for neuroscience. I wanted to find a cure for the migraines I was getting. I started getting migraines when I was 13.

 I went to I decided to study neuroscience because I wanted to find out why I was getting migraines. It wasn’t genetic. It wasn’t hormonal. And my neurologist was just kind of like, I don’t know why you’re I don’t know why you’re getting migraines.

Just take this new experimental drug or this one. I ended up taking this one drug called MagSalt 10 at the time and I happened to know that like We don’t have any neuronal senses or sensory neurons in our brain, like we can’t feel things on our brain. But when I took that Magzol, I felt a sensation of like frying eggs in the top of my head and I said, Oh, no, I’m not going to play this game.

I don’t know what’s happening here. I need to find out what’s going on in my body. So I decided to apply for a neuroscience program. I ended up applying for one at Emory and got a full ride, but was too scared to go across the country. I’m a California girl.

I’m ADHD. I’m definitely ADHD. I’m talking around the question right now, but, I remember seeing like a, an ad for, the housing at Emory and there was like a confederate flag in the corner that I don’t know that they noticed or but anyway, it turned me off.

I didn’t take my full ride. I went to UCLA instead. In that program, I ended up, there weren’t any professors studying specifically migraines and so I didn’t really get to study them directly, but I did learn about my brain.

Discovering Singing as a Cure

That was satisfying, however, the pivotal moment came for me when I was, studying an organic chemistry lab and started to getting a visual occlusion that usually comes before a migraine happens, like an aura.

I don’t know if anybody’s familiar with that, but after you look at lights for a long time, and then it obscures your vision. So that would be my introduction. Oh, I’m going to have a 24 to 48. Pain session right now, and I’m gonna have to just shut down and be quiet and stay cool and drink water hopefully and then wait until The signal that it’s almost over which was nausea and vomiting Terrible wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy But anyway, that was like the pattern from age 13 until and now at that time.

I was 21 in my third year of college and I asked my lab partner, Hey, can you drive me to my rehearsal? I had a rehearsal for a local band, that afternoon and I didn’t want to cancel, cause it’s really important for me to keep my word because my life, it’s crazy, it shifts all the time.

And one thing I can count on is my work. Anyways, she drove me to my rehearsal. I started singing. And then my migraine disappeared and I said, wait a minute, like I went to school to find out how to cure my own migraines. And then I found out singing could possibly disappear my migraines. What’s happening?

Is this a fluke? What’s happening? This is crazy. It doesn’t make sense. Like I couldn’t conceptualize why that was happening, but I did. I did experience that and, after that point, I didn’t get migraines as frequently. I used to get them once a month, and then it started to be like once every six months because I had started singing.

And so yeah, that was a pivotal moment for me, recognizing the healing that can come from. singing music, to cure my migraines. And, so I rarely, rarely get them now. Singing is my cure. If I ever start to get one, I start singing and it goes away. So, ta da! That’s my big story. Big pivotal moment.

Awesome. So I’m curious, now in hindsight, and with the knowledge that you have through your school and all of that, what do you think are some factors that contributed to making that, help and cure your migraines?

Thank you.

The Science Behind Music and Relaxation

You know, I think music has a powerful ability to relax you. I know migraines sometimes can be a result of tension. If you have any anxiety at all, you might be someone that holds your shoulders up like this and tenses your neck or you might have a really hard neck. So, like, relaxing is really important.

Singing is something that definitely relaxes me. In school, I didn’t even realize I was singing just to get through some of my studies was humming all the time. People would be like, do you know that you’re singing? I’m like, what? No, I wasn’t singing, but no, also just playing music, listening to music.

You may find that it helps you study and someone said, listening to instrumentals was really important for them. I resonate with that growing up in school, you know, studying, just really being able to train my mind to focus. And relax, chill, hop, classical music, anything that kind of just lets you find that peace.

But yeah, one of the factors I think is relaxation. And then I think if you’re into Dharma, I think just doing the things that are aligned for you, I think that’s one thing that minimizes stress in your life. That’s another thing.

The Role of Vibration and Alignment

The vibration that comes out of your own body when you make a tone, even if it’s just, an old sound, it doesn’t have to be super beautiful or magical or melodious, like just the vibration of that.

There’s a lot of, research that’s coming back out about frequencies and tones. That have the power to move things to heal things to change things. So I think all of those things and then also I’ll say I recognize some of the patterning and what was causing my migraines, which was really high stress, because I was not aligned with my purpose.

Right. I was trying to cut open brains and search on rats. I was very emotional about, you know, when we had a brain to study and look at like what happened. It was fascinating to see what a stroke looked like, but I found myself looking at the name of the woman whose brain it was, how old she was, how sad it was that she died at that time.

Like I was in the emotional world of the, what I was supposed to be focusing on with like, okay, this is how they look when a stroke happens. No, I was too stuck on , like her story, you know, her name was Sandra, and how weird it was that I had her in. I say all that to say, you know, music is a powerful tool.

Emotional Connection to Music

Music is a powerful tool. That’s it. , I see a question.

Yeah, there’s a couple in the chat. First question is, is there a specific song that particularly helps you a hum or a tune?

That’s a great question. You know, I feel like, Anything by Sade, for me, is, very relaxing. But I would say your favorite song or your favorite music, it honestly could just be a, just one tone. Like if you’ve ever been to a sound bowl class, you know, I invite everyone to go to a sound bowl.

It’s just tones. There’s something about music that’s very magical and relaxing. Harmonies might do it for you. For me, Motown music does it for me too. Just very like, that warm hug feeling you feel when you hear certain harmonies. I don’t know if everyone if anybody knows that feeling but honestly.

It’s what it’s what resonates with you. What’s your favorite kind of music? Because listening to that can take you from high stress to like total calm and joy instantly. It’s magical. So that’s a great question.

Absolutely.

So sound baths are popular health practice in my area. Have you experienced that which you kind of shared about and if so, how do you think it compares to singing? For health.

Yeah, I think that they’re both powerful. I think singing. Let’s see. Let me say, singing, I think has a more direct healing effects on your own body because you can feel the vibrations and you can control

what’s happening with a sound bowl, you’re kind of just you’re in the room and you can feel the vibrations too, but you’re not necessarily having any agency around what’s coming out. I find that the singing bowl, it’s my chance to take a nap, a community nap.

And it’s very magical. Oh my gosh. Like, singing bowl experiences, they’re super grounding, meditating and musicians. Almost dreaming in almost a state of sleep. I don’t know if it’s a theta state or what, but it’s very powerful. But I find that with singing, I can control it whenever I want.

If I’m feeling any kind of anxiety about anything. And I kind of also want to make a note about certain songs. Like you can use songs as therapy. If you’re going through any kind of loss, it helps to listen to a sad song. To feel what you’re feeling, right? So that it’s not running you so much anymore.

You can kind of get it out, and then move forward, you know, if you run away from your feelings, then you’re stuck in them. So, I find that I’ve learned so much from songs. I’ve learned how to love, I’ve learned what love means, I’ve learned how to forgive myself and others. I’ve learned about feelings that I didn’t know I had, didn’t have names for, music is just powerful.

Music and Neurodivergence

And I’m sure you’ve also seen how powerful music is for, People that are experiencing Alzheimer’s and dementia, you’ve probably seen things on social media about someone’s total affect being gone and just memory gone. But once they hear a song that they heard when they were little, it’s like being come alive again.

There are people that have had injuries, brain injuries that can no longer talk, but they can sing though. So it’s just a different neural pathway that’s just so powerful.

Exploring Functional Motion MRI

Have you considered functional or motion MRI to aid in assessment of function?

Functional motion MRI, you know, I’m not familiar with that.

It sounds like a biofeedback tool assessment of function. Oh, wow.

Oh, this is from the same person in regards to vibrational radiation towards vocalization and pain relief patterns.

Wow. Yeah. That is an advanced question. If I knew what functional motion MRI was, it sounds like it’s a tool that you can use to, like, measure biofeedback with your voice. Oh, wow. It’s a great research question for me. To actually look at what’s happening. I love that. Look at what’s happening when I’m singing. What happens to my brain in that moment. Oh my gosh. I’m gonna do it.

There’s a place, in L. A. I have to find the name of it for you guys, but there’s a biofeedback machine. You put these, all these things on your head and do brain exercises too, but I would love to ask them to collaborate on that.

That’s a great question

yeah.

Singing and the Vagus Nerve

So another question does, singing stimulate the vagus nerve, sort of like the breathing with longer exhales than inhales.

Absolutely. Stimulates the vagus nerve and the vagus nerve, as you know, puts you into a parasympathetic state.

Like, it helps you relax. It helps your nervous system just get back to homeostasis. So any sort of anxiety, any sort of trauma can be treated by singing. I’m a believer now. I haven’t done the research to prove it, but maybe I need to, because I know how powerful it is. In my own world, and, I’ve seen it be powerful for others as well.

Music’s Impact on Emotional Intelligence

Does music and singing help heal the brain, boost optimism, problem solving, and emotional intelligence?

I would say yes. I’ve seen that happen. And, I have a nephew who has autism

I’ve seen him develop and grow so much in those specific areas.

Boosting optimism, he used to be really cranky because his communications weren’t totally understood at first, but, as he’s gotten into music and, singing I’ve just seen him transform. Similarly, yes, I would say absolutely yes.

How do we introduce ourselves and others to heal with, through good music?

You know, I think trying it on yourself and then kind of getting that biofeedback of how powerful it is for you, it comes up naturally.

For me that’s the way it is. Because when something works for you, you’re excited about and you want to tell people, right? But I think. Yeah, just having a conversation is the way to go, word of mouth. I hope that answers the question.

Absolutely.

And that ties into a question I have here in my notes.

Creating Healing Music Communities

What role does community play in the healing power of music and how can one find or create such communities?

Ooh, I love that question. There are, you know, there’s something called circle singing.

If you Google circle singing, there’s likely someone in your area that does it. Circle singing is really cool because you can create songs with community on the fly, it’s a cool neutral environment. It’s not super, religious or anything. So it’s just a moment to create and express yourself and breathe music in a group. And it’s just amazing what can happen.

Like entire songs can come out of it and you don’t have to be an amazing singer. You don’t even have to have any training at all. You can still make sounds with your body, with your hands, you’d just be amazed. So that circle thing, I would say, look that up. Also, if you want, to sing in community, join a local choir, join a church, you can just make a joyful noise. You don’t have to be a super amazing singer. Singing, karaoke, karaoke events are powerful too. I see some nodding happening. Yeah. It’s really, really just helps you kind of break out of that fear that you might have.

I know we can be afraid of our own voice, afraid of sounding bad and afraid of, you know, singing something wrong. I love what you said, Casey, about breaking away from perfectionism because it doesn’t matter how you sound. It’s about letting the vibration come through you. That’s so healing.

It doesn’t even matter how it sounds.

Awesome. We have a couple more questions in the chat and then I’m happy to open things for discussion.

 Let’s see, last question in the chat. I also have mild autism and ADHD and music helps me relax and takes me into a beautifully, Emotionally complex world understanding the human experience.

I’m still working on increasing my emotional intelligence through workbooks and trauma therapy.

Yes, that’s it. That’s exactly it.

Personal Reflections on ADHD and Music

Music is definitely Oh, so I have ADHD officially, I’m officially, yeah, I’m proud to say I’m like, proud of it. I finally found someone who could assess me and not say, Oh, you don’t have ADHD because you went to UCLA, you know, you’re able to function.

So there’s no way you had it. You’re too high functioning, like, Yeah. Yeah, but I’m struggling. Everything is hard. I get time blinded. It’s like, what, this can’t be normal. I hate that word. Anyways, Music has been super, educational for me emotionally and also just helping me to focus and find homeostasis.

And one of the things, you know, talking about using your voice, like one of my philosophies when it comes to my podcast and stuff is letting other people share their voice. Like it’s not my place to speak for others, but I have a platform that I can let others speak

for themselves, which is important to me. And you shared a lot about that in our interview too. So if you guys haven’t heard the interview part, you can go back and listen to that.

Final Thoughts and Invitations

So, Princess, do you have any final thoughts you’d like to share with the community?

Yeah, I’m just really grateful. We had this moment to talk. I had no idea that, coming together with brilliant minds, you always gain so much and I’m really, just grateful and excited at all the possibilities that are going to come out of me asking my friend, Chris, if there’s a real time biofeedback thing that I can see with a brain, it’s what happens when I’m singing to my brain, you know, and, some of the cool research that can come out of that.

I’m reminded of how powerful using my voice is and it makes me want to figure out a way that I can sing today, you know, finding time to be my own therapist, you know? So yeah, that’s my invitation to everyone, continue to find ways that resonate with you to, make yourself feel good around sound, find a group to sing with, make sounds in your kitchen, make sounds on your walk, ride a little diddy that you can treat, any kind of issue you’re having. Yeah. Sing y’all.

That’s my invitation.

Absolutely.

Closing and Community Engagement

And, I’ll be sharing this conversation in the, guest call library, but I’ll also share a link in the Embracing Intensity community.

The library, I just made it as kind of a separate thing to keep it, a little bit more intimate. But feel free if you have comments, to comment on the link, Or the event and we can continue the discussion and also feel free. If you just have random thoughts you want to share on the mighty networks community, I’m trying to work on getting that engagement up again.

And that’s one of my goals this next month as I’m recovering from my summer and everything like that. So, thank you guys for joining. This is a great conversation.

Thank you everybody.

Looking for ways to embrace your own intensity. Join our embracing intensity community@embracingintensity.com where you’ll meet a growing group of like-minded people who get what it’s like to be gifted and intense and are committed to creating a supportive community as well as access to our courses and tools to help you use your fire without getting burned.

There’s also a pay what you can option through our Patreon where you can increase your pledge to help sustain the podcast or. Or join us at a rate that better fits your needs. You can also sign up for my free Harnessing the Power of Your Intensity, a self regulation workbook for gifted, creative, and twice exceptional adults and teens.

All links can be found in the show notes or on EmbracingIntensity. com.

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