How Music and Movies Carry Our Memories and Ease Our Minds
There are certain songs that do more than just play in the background. They transport you. Within the first few notes, you are no longer folding laundry, driving your kids to practice, or running errands. You are back in a moment that is tucked away in your memory. A version of yourself that still lives in your heart. Music has that kind of power. So do movies. They become the backdrop to our lives, holding space for who we were and who we are still becoming.
Music is more than entertainment. It is therapy. It is healing. It helps us feel when we do not have the words. It helps us cry when we are holding it all in. It helps us smile when we are overwhelmed. It brings us back to ourselves when we feel scattered or disconnected.
There is research to support all of this. Music reduces stress by lowering cortisol levels. It increases dopamine, which boosts mood. It activates nearly every part of the brain and helps with emotional regulation, memory, and nervous system reset. When we listen to music that moves us, we feel more centered. More grounded. More like ourselves.
I have always had a photographic memory. Music triggers it instantly. I do not just hear a song. I feel it. I see the room I was in. I can smell what we were cooking. I remember what I was wearing. I can sense the emotion of that day. Music unlocks layers of memory in a way nothing else does.
Every time I hear Money for Nothing by Dire Straits, I am a kid again. My dad has music playing outside or in his car with the top down on a Saturday morning. That song was probably coming through the speakers of 98.5 or another local station. He always had music on. That gritty guitar riff, that classic 80s energy, it takes me right back to childhood. It brings a sense of calm and nostalgia that is hard to describe. It reminds me of a time when everything felt safe and simple.
A local radio station, Magic 105.7, reminds me so much of my aunt. She used to babysit me and she always had it on. It was the soundtrack to time spent with her. It is funny how a station, not just a song, can hold so many memories. That station will always remind me of her presence.
Some songs are tied to very specific seasons of life. Crazy Game of Poker by O.A.R. brings me right back to college. Specifically visiting friends at a neighboring college, Ohio University and Palmer Fest before the band got big. That song captures the spirit of long spring days and even longer nights. College houses packed with friends and music. The energy of that time still lives in the rhythm of that song.
For the Longest Time by Billy Joel brings up a college cookout. One of those unexpectedly perfect afternoons people came to our condo and we grilled out on this tiny little grill on our tiny front porch, with lots of laughter, and music. A skunk also decided to join us and I remember everyone running back inside only to be the last one and getting the door shut in my face and pounding to open up!
Lean on Me will always be tied to my 21st birthday. A group of my closest friends flew to Los Angeles to visit me. That song played during one of our nights out, driving around in a limo and we sang it at the top of our lungs like no one else was around. It was one of those moments when you realize just how lucky you are to be surrounded by real friendship.
Now as a mom, I have a new collection of songs that live in my heart. Anything by Taylor Swift or Selena Gomez instantly reminds me of my daughters. Their little voices singing in the backseat. Then going to both of their concerts respectfully. Their dance routines in the living room. The Lemonade Mouth and Descendants soundtracks especially brings me back to movie nights when they were little. I can still recite the lyrics because it played so often during their early childhood.
These songs and movies are not just entertainment. They are time capsules. Emotional bookmarks. They help us remember who we were during the moments we did not know would matter so much. Sometimes a single lyric can bring back a whole season of life. A single chorus can flood your heart with emotion.
If you are anything like me, you probably have your own soundtrack. A collection of songs that bring back memories of family, friends, laughter, healing, and change. And every time one of them plays, you pause. You feel it. You smile. Sometimes you cry. But mostly you remember that music does not just fill the silence. It fills the soul. It carries us through the hardest parts and celebrates with us during the sweetest ones.
So the next time a song makes you stop in your tracks, let it. Let it take you back. Let it comfort you. Let it heal you. Music is not just something we hear. It is something we carry. And something that carries us.
Nikki Lanigan
Nikki Lanigan is a yoga, HIIT, and Barre instructor, she is also a Holistic Health Coach through Institute of Integrative Nutrition. Nikki is trained in Yoga Shred, Yoga Psychology, meditation, chakra balancing, and EFT/Tapping. She has done trainings with Sadie Nardini and Ashley Turner. She got her 200 hour yoga teacher training in 2017 at the Carrie Treister School Of Yoga. Nikki takes a holistic view of health, helping her students and clients reach a place of self-love not just through movement, but with mindset and lifestyle guidance as well. Nikki is also show prep writer for The McVay Media Show Prep and host of the podcast Fit, Fun, and Frazzled. Connect with Nikki on Instagram. www.instagram.com/nikkilanigan.yogaandwellness www.instagram.com/fitfunandfrazzledpodcast
