Meet Carol Rosenstein | Founder and Executive Director of Music Mends Minds

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carol Rosenstein and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carol, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I’m from South Africa. I came to the United States in 1962 to study a chiropractic form of natural medicine which evolved into psychology and mind body medicine. I educated people for 25 years about mind body medicine using clinical nutrition and the philosophy that the body seeks to heal itself given the right opportunity.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I was already engaged in helping patients with sports medicine injuries as the youngest graduate from the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic in 1966 before earning a Masters in Psychology, which led to my career in the field of mind-body medicine. My post-Masters degree in Clinical Nutrition aided in my holistic approach to medicine and allowed me to support patients who were unable to be healed by traditional methods. I continued to use my professional experience in natural prophylaxis by promoting music as a modality after my husband, Irwin, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2006 and later dementia.
While the journey was not easy, I used tools of tenacity and fortitude, believing there are no doors that cannot be opened in life. Together with compassion and love, I believe with an open heart and open hands, I am able to assist people who are immobilized to move forward with a song in their heart and a spring in their step. Life is an opportunity for your personal journey to be as colorful and happy as you wish it to be. I love to use the metaphor of a rainbow with colors of all shades, depicting our highs and lows, joys and sorrows, all needing to be nurtured and loved as the color wheel of life turns. We have the tools to be able to turn the tide and may need a teacher to help you do that, and I’ve been blessed to be that kind of teacher. Life is a gift and that gift sometimes comes in different packages than we had expected. Regardless of the package, there are tools to help us achieve our full potential and become an inspiration to those around us.
I am a born teacher with a philosophy that supports my own growth, knowing that every day is an opportunity to learn, and the more challenging the lesson, the more gifts are unlocked to keep us keeping on. My life partner, Irwin Rosenstein, was given a diagnosis of Parkinson’s to include dementia towards the end of his 15-year journey. As his rock and life partner, I was able to support him and myself after coming upon the gift of music along the way. After 10 years of Parkinson’s medication, the side effects of the medicine incurred frank hallucinations and extreme agitation for Irwin. The miracle of music impacts our own pharmacies in our brains, pushing natural chemicals called neurotransmitters into our bloodstream and giving us a high of happiness and joy. In the moment of music making, our entire community of seniors and their caregivers experience the same revitalization, to include increased brain function, akin to a dose of medication.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’d take an out of town visitor to see a classical concert at The Walt Disney Concert Hall or The Hollywood Bowl. Music, music, music was a thread for Irwin and me ever since our first date when we went to an orchestral concert at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. We also volunteered with the LA Phil for 25 years selling tickets and working the phone banks. We welcomed concert goers and helped them locate their seats at the opening of The Disney Concert Hall. It’s such a magical place and LA has a thriving music community. I love sharing it with my guests.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My late husband and soulmate, Irwin Rosenstein, was my key supporter throughout 38 years of marriage, encouraging me to continue to explore the opportunities of natural healing, while enjoying mentorship from those around me. My mentors in my life have been prolific, those in my personal growth have been Sandy Gooch, pioneer of the natural food markets, and Trudy Goodman, founder of InsightLA mindfulness practice, and those in my professional life with Music Mends Minds have been Dr. Jeff Bronstein, Director of the Movement Disorders Program at UCLA, Dr. Zaldy Tan, Director of the Cedars-Sinai Health System / Memory; Aging Program, and Dr. Mary Mittelman, Research Professor, Department of Psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, who represent a pivotal point in the development of Music Mends Minds by teaching me that music changes brain chemistry with its attendant benefits.

Website: www.musicmendsminds.org

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