Several moments before the drum circle is about to begin, I am always so grateful if I have time to just be in the space before everyone is about to enter. There is a silence and and expectation of what is about to happen. I take these moments to slow down my heart rate and to say a silent intention to do the best I can and hope that everyone gets the most out of the drumming. This photo is taken a few moments before a very special group entered the room. In Cochrane there is a place called Seniors on the Bow. Once a week they have an activity planned to bring together students from the high school and the seniors! They do this activity together and it is a total win win! As the students and the seniors all filtered into the room, I felt the nervous energy from everyone. After about ten minutes of drumming everyone was smiling and relaxing. After about twenty minutes of drumming I asked, ‘has anyone been holding their breath at all?’ A lot of people nodded YES! Interestingly when we are experiencing something new, we may have a tendency to hold our breath. I got them to focus on breathing very deeply for the rest of the circle.
The drum circle is a great way to bring all ages together and demonstrate that we are all equal and can belong to something bigger than ourselves. What a perfect example of how drumming can bring us all together!
Written by Jamie Gore
