Moving to your own beat

Drums have been used for centuries across many cultures to cultivate wellbeing. Their beats are ancient; remnants of wooden cylinders and small pottery drums dating back to 700 CE have been found in Mesoamerica. Virtually every culture has used the drum in some form, whether in religious rituals, sporting events or feasts, to forge courage before battles, to communicate over distance or for rhythmic rowing across the ocean, to spur exploration into lands unknown.

Following a drum’s resonance can be a journey into the unseen territory of the subconscious. A pounding drum recalls a primal pulse, the natural syncopation of the Earth’s heartbeat.

The drum-making process is both healing and confrontational. Mine brought up an unprocessed childhood memory. I was taken back to primary school and a craft activity where I accidentally stapled my thumb. Rather than tell the teacher, I hid my bleeding digit and sat with the pain for the entire lesson. It was only when the teacher noticed my thumb had turned purple that action was taken and the staple removed.

My drum came to represent speaking up and having no fear of being heard, of expression without self-judgment.

Playing my drum has opened me up to parts of myself I never knew I could express. It’s like hearing and feeling the essence of my root chakra. The reverberations connect me to Earth and clear stagnant energy.

I’ve used my drum to hone into pentup areas of my body and release tension;