In this century, when it seems we are moving further away from ourselves and our deeper needs, the simplicity of a drum provides us a link back to that which we knew before technology separated us from our soul. For ancient civilizations, drumming created a sense of community and belonging. Actually, it is no different today. Drum circles are quickly catching on throughout the world for the same reasons they flourished thou-sands of years ago. This fascinating activity engenders a sense of personal group-worth through self-expression, sharing and contributing to the whole. It is a living metaphor of our capacity as humans to join forces and work together effectively.

Requirements?
While music making in general emphasizes performance, group drumming does not. Drums are, in fact, “musician-proof” so that in just minutes, people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and abilities join together and achieve immediate success. Although most drum circle facilitators provide instruments for participants, most anything can be used as a drum including water bottles, pots and pans or plastic buckets. All one has to do is start beating. As a result, group drumming has an exceedingly high benefit to cost ratio that ensures affordability and satisfaction in practically any setting.

A Workout?
Drumming is good exercise. It provides an excellent upper body workout appropriate for almost everyone at every level regardless of health challenge or disability. Drumming is invigorating exercise for the body, and yet an almost effortless and creative way to work out the soul.

Stress Management
Group drumming has been shown to reverse key elements of the classical stress response. Dr. Barry Bittman, Neurologist and Medical Director of the Mind-Body Wellness Center in Meadville, Pennsylvania, discovered that stress levels measured by the hormone cortisol decreased in every one of the participants of a drumming study. Perhaps this is why corporations are beginning to use drumming as an activity to help employees manage stress.

“Drumming is innate within us because of our own inner rhythms: our heartbeats, our breathing, our brain waves,” says psychotherapist Robert Lawrence Friedman, author of The Healing Power of the Drum. Friedman practices a program with corporate employees called “Drumming Away Stress”. In addition to its value in stress management, drumming is also being used in corporations, such as Kaiser Permanente, Toyota and IBM, for team building and developing problem-solving skills.

Music Therapy
Barbara Reuer, Ph.D. music therapist and past president of the American Music Therapy Association, often uses drums and drum circles in her work with cancer patients throughout the Scripps Health Care System in San Diego. “One important benefit of drumming,” she says, “is pain relief.” It is believed that the drum's vibrations and the act of music making can interrupt the pain cycle, at least for a short time.
At Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, music therapist Rachel Jacobson uses drums to help cancer patients control nausea, reduce stress and pain, and sometimes to serve as a form of exercise to improve upper body strength. “Drum circles,” she says, “are great mood boosters and community builders. In the circles, the patients have a lot of fun. They laugh. A lot of supportive relationships develop.”

Dr. Bernie Siegel, author of the international bestsellers: Love, Medicine & Miracles and Peace, Love & Healing, uses drum circles with his Exceptional Cancer Patients (ECaP). Drum circles are also being used with AIDS patients, Alzheimer's patients, autistic individuals, and Vietnam Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Immune Boosting?
Empowerment drumming is believed to be a comprehensive, whole-person, evidence-supported approach to wellness. Dr. Bittman's research reports the following results: group drumming with normal subjects was shown to enhance the activity of cellular immune components, Natural Killer cells and Cytokines. Natural Killer cells are the specialized white blood cells of our innate immune system responsible for seeking out and destroying cancer cells and virally infected cells. Cytokines are orchestrators or modulators of the immune system.

The study conducted in 2001 by Bittman and colleagues (Berk, Fleten, Westengard, Simonton, Pappas, & Ninehouser), is the first known group drumming intervention that demonstrated immunoenhancing neuorendocrine and immunologic alterations in normal subjects. Natural Killer cell activity, stimulated by Cytokines, was boosted in subjects who drummed compared to control groups. These findings provide justifiable scientific rationale to consider group drumming for treatment protocols of individuals facing the challenges of ongoing illnesses. While more studies are needed to further assess this process,the study opens new doors in a highly promising field.

Complementary Medicine
Empowerment drumming is not a substitute for conventional medical care. It can be a complementary strategy incorporated into an individual's whole person approach for maintaining or re-establishing the gift of a healthy life. Dr. Barry Bittman states that patient-centered approaches are gaining ground in the context of conventional medical treatment. “Despite the benefits of multiple decades of pharmacological and technological advances, it is now well established that taking an active and meaningful role in one's health/wellness process is essential for preserving and re-establishing quality of life.”
More and more, people are turning to wellness activities as a way of maintaining a healthy, balanced life. Drum circles remind us of our greatest synergistic potential. Participation can show the world who you are, affirm that you can make a difference, and add your unique sound to the celebration of life. Drumming gets through where words do not pass, when barriers separate us, and when the odds are against us. It uplifts us in the midst of darkness, when we yearn for common ground, and when we need each other the most. If you feel like drumming up some good health, the circle is always open! You may arrive tired of body and mind, but you depart spiritually and physically energized, alert and awake.

Barbara J. Clugh, MA, C.Ht. is the co-founder of a company called Inner Harmony. Along with her partner Corky Larsen, Barb facilitates Group Empowerment Drumming™ and open community drum circles throughout the greater Cleveland/Akron area. Check out their website at www.spiritwise.info.