Healing Power of Drumming
Stress is basically a disconnection from the earth, a forgetting of the breath…It believes that everything is an emergency. Nothing is that important. -Natalie Goldberg
Drums are some of the oldest instruments known to humans. Drums and depiction of drums have been found as far back as 10,000 years. Drums have been used for entertainment, war, healing, and ritual. Today, we have tapped into that healing benefits of drumming through modern, scientific methods. While the foundations of wellness are unique to each of us, when it comes to our basic needs, we share much in common - physical, emotional and spiritual components of well-being are sacred and inseparable to each of us.
I have been hand drumming for several years, in drum circles, bands, ensembles and teaching classes. What I have discovered is how the incredible popularity of drum circles has grown astronomically across the globe!
Humans have the need to belong, to be part of a group of individuals who share interests, and who come together for a common purpose. Such needs are as important to children and teens as they are to people in mid-life and to senior adults. In fact, it is increasingly being understood that this need for connection with others may be the most important component contributing to quality of life.
Group drumming harnesses so many elements of wellness in one activity that anyone can enjoy. According to Karl Bruhn, Father of the Music-Making and Wellness Movement:
“Without the obstacle of a challenging learning curve, group drumming is an enjoyable, accessible and fulfilling activity from the start for young and old alike. From exercise, nurturing and social support, to intellectual stimulation, spirituality and stress reduction, group drumming stimulates creative expression that unites our minds, bodies and spirits!”
Group drumming can also serve as a rather effective means for restoring a sense of inner balance amidst the incredible challenges of life. Referring to a drum circle held for students and parents one year after a tragic high school event, Christine Stevens, MT/BC said:
“Parents and children came to our drum circle silent, apprehensive and disconnected. At first it was difficult to even maintain eye contact. Knowing words could never communicate what each of us felt that day, we slowly began drumming together. The sadness we shared was overwhelming at first, as tears dampened our hands and instruments. Yet as we drummed, renewed support for each other and a collective sense of hope for a better tomorrow gradually replaced our despair. Our experience was more than therapeutic– it connected us on many levels.”
How the Drum Can Heal
• Strengthens the Immune System
• Improves Mood States and Reduces Burnout
• Retains Students: Mood Improvement & Burnout Reduction
• Reverses Stress on the Genomic Level
Excerpts from “The Healing Power of the Drum”, by Robert Lawrence Friedman, published by White Cliffs Media, Inc., October 2000.
Some of the psychological applications in which hand drums are being used include assisting veterans to release the emotional pain of post-traumatic stress disorder, releasing the pent-up anger and negative emotions of “at-risk” adolescents, and promoting health in corporate executives through releasing their day-to-day stress, in addition to many other applications.
In the medical field, the hand drum is being used to help Alzheimer’s patients improve their short-term memory and increase social interaction and to help autistic children increase their attention spans. In some cases, it is not necessarily the hand drum that provides positive changes in an individual, but a rhythmic device such as a metronome or an audiotape which plays specific rhythms. Such tools are being used to aid Parkinson’s patients and stroke victims to regain the control of movement or increase their gaits.
Researchers have found that because rhythm is so intrinsic to our nature, Alzheimer’s patients, even in the latter stages of the disease, can copy simple rhythms played on a drum. This form of interaction takes on great significance when all other forms of communication have been diminished. Drumming seems to focus Alzheimer’s patients for a short time, and they seem momentarily coherent. These interludes, however brief, are priceless to loved ones.
Drumming and Stress Management
How does the drum help to relieve stress? There are numerous ways this occurs. When people drum, they are generally having fun. It is difficult to be in a playful mode and be stressed at the same time. Also, as described previously, the drum has the capacity to release negative feelings-of which stress is clearly one. When one hits the drum, he or she is placed squarely in the here and now. Some of our stress is created from past or future thoughts of fear, worry, or regret, but it is very difficult to be stressed and be in the present moment.
Drumming increases our Alpha brainwaves, those brainwaves associated with feelings of well-being and euphoria.
Why Drums and Drum Circles?
Excerpts from Karl T. Bruhn’s Article at HealthRhythms
We are drawn to drums. They are like a magnet and few can pass a drum without touching it. But, more than that, people with little or no musical background can participate in group percussion activities. And drumming events can bring the benefits of drumning to a broad segmeent of the population and these experiences tend to be enjoyable and positive for all involved. Participation in such events promotes relaxation, comunication, and a sense of belonging to the community. In her 1994 think DRUMS article, Barbara J. Crowe, RMT-BC pointed out that drum circle activities are based on several basic principles:
• Response to rhythm is basic to human functioning making percussion activities and techniques highly motivating to people of all ages and backgrounds.
• Pure percussion activities are interesting and enjoyable to all people regardless of ethnic and cultural background, musical preferences, or age range making these activities useful in creating groups that are fun and positive for a wide variety of people.
• Participation in active group percussion experiences has physical benefits including sustained physical activity, relaxation, and use of fine motor skills.
• A strong sense of group identity and a feeling of belonging is created because participants are actively making music together and because the sustained repetition of the steady beat acts to bring people together physically, emotionally, and mentally (rhythmic entrainment).
• Percussion activities can be done with little or no previous musical background or training making these experiences accessible to virtually all people.