Drumming
Drumming Experience
Most ceremonies and rituals were performed under the sacred tree or around the Medicine Wheel were most certainly accompanied by drumming. Drums are among the earth’s oldest instruments. Every culture has a history of drums and group drumming was used for dance, ritual and music.
For thousands of years, group drumming has been a part of almost every global culture far beyond the Native American lifestyle, to the Africans, the Australian Aborigines, and the Asiatic peoples. Solstice gatherings, harvest rituals, marriage ceremonies, war path dances, fertility and manhood rituals and all manner of celebration, involved group drumming. Drumming has been a human activity in most cultures throughout the world since the beginning of time.
Health Benefits of Group Drumming
Group drumming has been scientifically investigated and published scientific and professional journals have reported on its health benefits.
- Reduce Blood Pressure, Anxiety/Stress: 2014 study published in “Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine”
- Improve symptoms of Depression: see UK study below
- Help patients with Alzheimer’s Disease/Parkinson’s Disease and Stroke
- Increase Brain White Matter & Executive Cognitive Function: 2014 study published in the “Journal of Huntington’s Disease”
- Reduce Chronic Pain: 2001 study published in “Evolutionary Psychology”
- Increase Immunity: 2001 study published in “Alternative Therapies and Health Medicine”
- Socio-Emotional Disorders: 2001 study published in “Evidenced-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine”
- Transcendent (Re-creational) Experiences: 2004 study in “Multiple Sclerosis”
In the most widely quoted medical investigation, Dr. Barry Bittman and colleagues reported that group drumming increased cells known to kill cancer cells and it enhanced the immune system, “Composite Effects of Group Drumming Music Therapy on Modulation of Neuroendocrine – immune Parameters in Normal Subjects, Alternative Therapies,” January 2001, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp 38-47.
A new UK study published in PLoS, scientifically validates that group drumming produces significant changes in well-being, including improvements in depression, anxiety and social resilience. Drumming group also saw their immune profile shift from a pro-inflammatory towards an anti-inflammatory response. (“Effects of Group Drumming Interventions on Anxiety, Depression, Social Resilience and Inflammatory Immune Response among Mental Health Service Users.”