| Search |
|---|
Thursday, 21 August 2008
Archives 2006 Therapeutic Effects of Drumming
| Therapeutic Effects of Drumming | | Print | |
| Written by Michael Drake | |
 Drum therapy is an ancient approach that uses rhythm to promote healing and self-expression.  © 2006 by Michael Drake From the shamans of Mongolia to the Minianka healers of West Africa, therapeutic rhythm techniques have been used for thousands of years to create and maintain physical, mental, and spiritual health. Recent research indicate that drumming accelerates physical healing, boosts the immune system and produces feelings of well-being, a release of emotional trauma, and reintegration of self. Other studies have demonstrated the calming, focusing, and healing effects of drumming on Alzheimer’s patients, autistic children, emotionally disturbed teens, recovering addicts, trauma patients, and prison and homeless populations. Study results demonstrate that drumming is a valuable treatment for stress, fatigue, asthma, chronic pain, arthritis, migraines, multiple sclerosis, stroke, emotional disorders, and a wide range of physical disabilities. Research studies mentioned below indicate that drumming: Reduces tension, anxiety, & stress: Drumming induces deep relaxation, lowers blood pressure, and reduces stress. Stress, according to current medical research, contributes to nearly all disease. A study found that a program of group drumming helped reduce stress and employee turnover in the long-term care industry and might help other high-stress occupations as well.1 Helps control chronic pain: Chronic pain has a progressively draining effect on the quality of life. Researchers suggest that drumming serves as a distraction from pain and grief––promoting the production of endorphins and endogenous opiates, the bodies own morphine-like painkillers, and can thereby help in the control of pain.2 Boosts the immune system: Led by renowned cancer expert Barry Bittman, MD, the study demonstrates that group drumming actually increases cancer-killing cells, which help the body combat cancer as well as other viruses, including AIDS. According to Dr. Bittman, “Group drumming tunes our biology, orchestrates our immunity, and enables healing to begin.”3 Produces deeper self-awareness by inducing synchronous brain activity: Rhythmic energy to the brain synchronizes the two cerebral hemispheres. When the logical left hemisphere and the intuitive right hemisphere begin to pulsate in harmony, the inner guidance of intuitive knowing can then flow unimpeded into conscious awareness. The ability to access unconscious information through symbols and imagery facilitates psychological integration and a reintegration of self. Drumming also synchronizes the frontal and lower areas of the brain, integrating nonverbal information from lower brain structures into the frontal cortex, producing “feelings of insight, understanding, integration, and truth, which surpass ordinary understandings and tend to persist long after the experience...”4 Accesses the entire brain: The sound of drumming generates dynamic neuronal connections in all parts of the brain even where there is significant damage or impairment such as in Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). According to Michael Thaut, director of Colorado State University’s Center for Biomedical Research in Music, “Rhythmic cues can help retrain the brain after a stroke or other neurological impairment...” The more connections that can be made within the brain, the more integrated our experiences become. Induces natural altered states of consciousness: A recent study by Barry Quinn, Ph.D. demonstrates that even a brief drumming session can double alpha brain wave activity, dramatically reducing stress.5 Alpha activity is associated with meditation and shamanic trance. This ease of induction contrasts significantly with the long periods of isolation and practice required by most meditative disciplines before inducing significant effects. Creates a sense of connectedness with self and others: Group drumming alleviates self-centeredness, isolation, and alienation. Music educator Ed Mikenas finds that drumming provides “an authentic experience of unity and physiological synchronicity. If we put people together who are out of sync with themselves (i.e., diseased, addicted) and help them experience the phenomenon of entrainment, it is possible for them to feel with and through others what it is like to be synchronous in a state of preverbal connectedness.”6 Helps us to experience being in resonance with the natural rhythms of life: It is a way of bringing the essential self into accord with the flow of a dynamic, interrelated universe, helping us feel connected rather than isolated and estranged.7 Releases negative feelings, blockages, and emotional trauma: Sound vibrations resonate through every cell in the body, stimulating the release of negative cellular memories. Drumming can also address the needs of addicted populations by helping them learn to deal with their emotions in a therapeutic way without the use of drugs. Provides a medium for individual self-realization: Each person can drum out their feelings without having to reveal their issues. Group drumming complements traditional talk therapy methods. The primitive drumming circle is emerging as a significant therapeutic tool in the modern technological age. References: 1. Bittman, M.D., Barry, Karl T. Bruhn, Christine Stevens, MSW, MT-BC, James Westengard, Paul O Umbach, MA, “Recreational Music-Making, A Cost-Effective Group Interdisciplinary Strategy for Reducing Burnout and Improving Mood States in Long-Term Care Workers,” Advances in Mind-Body Medicine, Fall/Winter 2003, Vol. 19 No. 3/4. 2. Winkelman, Michael, Shamanism: The Neural Ecology of Consciousness and Healing. Westport, Conn: Bergin & Garvey; 2000. 3. Bittman, M.D., Barry, “Composite Effects of Group Drumming...,” Alternative Therapies in Health & Medicine; Vol 7, No. 1, pp. 38-47; Jan 2001. 4. See #2 5. Friedman, Robert Lawrence, The Healing Power of the Drum. Reno, NV: White Cliffs; 2000. 6. Mikenas, Edward, “Drums, Not Drugs,” Percussive Notes. April 1999:62-63. 7. Diamond, John, The Way of the Pulse – Drumming with Spirit, Enhancement Books, Bloomingdale IL. 1999. MICHAEL DRAKE is a writer, rhythmist, and shamanist, author of The Shamanic Drum: A Guide to Sacred Drumming and I Ching: The Tao of Drumming. Michael’s journey into rhythm began under the tutelage of Mongolian shaman Jade Wah’oo Grigori. For the past 15 years he has been facilitating drum circles and workshops nationwide. To learn more, visit www.geocities.com/talkingdrumpub/ |
| Main Menu | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Login Here |
|---|
| Newsletter | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Copyright 2000 - 2005 Miro International Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.
Mambo is Free Software released under the GNU/GPL License.
