What a great and emotional time of healing with a very expressive support group at the North Central Texas Alzheimer’s Association Chapter on 2-15-2019!
We a had large and ready to drum group in attendance, both caregivers and their loved ones who are experiencing dementia.
The room was filled with great energy in anticipation of drumming, I could feel it.
Before we started, I met a kind, caring and excited dementia patient at the front door. He had not come to the support group in some time, but heard there was going to be drumming and he said he was not going to miss it. He helped me bring in my gear and I could see the excitement in his eyes and from his energy. He was ready to get drumming, he told me so.
More people began to come in the door as we waited for the staff meeting to end so we could rearrange the room and set up to get our drum on. There was a wonderful and caring woman I met; her name was Martha. She and I connected immediately and she was there as a volunteer to help the support group sign in and get name tags. She shared with me what she knew about the healing properties of rhythm and movement and could not wait for us to get started. Overall, we had about 28 people of which 25 were participating. There were couples there, husband and wife, and one of them was experiencing the signs and symptoms of dementia.
We started the session with short discussion regarding the origin of the djembe and then a little about how to play. We warmed up our hands and our hearts with a waltz beat. You know, 1,2,3…1,2,3… It took off and we adlibbed to the rhythm.
I knew at that moment we were going to have a lot of fun and we were going to have it happen fast!
I was able to play my new re-headed Ashiko drum. Had not tuned it yet, but the sound was still awesome. We quickly fell in synch and we were all able to play together. The room was vibrating at a high frequency and everyone was experiencing the positive effects of rhythm and movement.
I was able to move the energy up and down with each element of the session. One part of the session focused on the heartbeat. We started with 3 deep breaths and then placed our hands on our hearts to feel the pulse and rhythm of our own heartbeat. It seemed as time stood still as we all became entranced and in touch with our personal heartbeats. Magic was happening and we could all feel a sense of ease and grace from within. The room became silent for ninety seconds and then I struck my shaman’s drum. Boom Boom to the beat of my heart.
The room was filled with its soothing vibration.
Everyone felt it and as we all struck our drums to our own heartbeats we finally synchronized. Everyone in the room was playing together and our heartbeats became one. It was a magical experience, one that does not come along often and for them it was calming and soothing and produced a sense of inner stillness and serenity in the moment.
There was a caregiver in attendance and he had brought his wife. His name was Fred and he told the story of how he and his wife spent 5 years on a music mission in Africa. He stood up and sang gospel hymns in the native tongue of the region where he served. It was trancing and the he laid down the beats for us to follow. Thank you for sharing your grace, Fred.
We sang songs like Hello Dolly to You are My Sunshine. Lisa Buck, the great woman who invited us to come play, found a person on the staff who was having a birthday. And guess what we got to do for her?
We drummed Happy Birthday to Judy. She was smiling ear to ear. Her day was going to be filled with awesome feelings of being loved and wanted, and that my friends make for a great day.
Loved the time with all my new found friends and we will be coming back to get our drum on again.
Love and Joy to all. Let us take some time out of our day to say a prayer for those in need. I am always grateful and filled with joy to be able to serve others in a very special way.
Peace be with All
Until We Meet Again