We had a great crowd, filling the building to capacity. After a night of drumming I spent as few days doing HealingDrummer private sessions and then a multifaceted shamanic workshop investigating the Dagara cosmology and how our elemental construct effects our daily lives, the shamanic journey and of course lots of drumming.

Here is a photo of yours truly as we discuss  the benefits of being a FIRE person in the Dagara construct! Not everyone agreed with me that it is beneficial to travel 300 days a year, drink gallons of coffee a day and eat junk food. But we had a fun discussion.

We later moved into the Shamanic Journey portion of the day as I dawned the hoop drum. The shamanic Journey is one of if not the most powerful tool on ecan have to connect to great wisdom, direction and personal power. I have begun teaching it almost everywhere I go with profound results.

Last but not least a group photo of the gang who were brave enough to wander into the “other world” and claim their power. We did power animal retrievals this day so you may see some creatures lurking in the background. In addition to the non-ordinary beings we also had Smokey the cat and Sophie the shaman dog holding space in ordinary reality.

I am planning to visit Denver again soon so stay tuned!!

After we froze half to death, I got the gang to pose by the fire as we warmed up. This is a great bunch and I am grateful to be able to contribute to their lives. The thing that they have taught me most is when you have the courage to follow your passion, the opportunities come to nurture and support that choice and others with that same resolve find you and join you on your journey!!

Corrina Rasmussen – Founder/Dean/Shamanic Practitioner
corrina@worldunityshamanictraininginstitute.com
(403) 617-9956
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

As many of you have read on the blog, I reunited with some old friends this past year who I used to play music with.

This clip is a remix of track 1 of my Four Doors Open CD. Terry Kingen has laid some beautiful guitar over the drums to balance the intensity of the drum with the melodic flow of the guitar.

Please click the audio play button below:

The Drum Sent Out The Healing

New Workshop!! Drumming for Stress Relief

Stress is one of the biggest health issues facing our society and our modern workplaces. Group drumming offers a very powerful tool for combating the effects of cumulative stress. Research has shown that group drumming can lower levels of stress hormones in the blood like cortisol. Playing music ‘in the moment’ is a fun and engaging activity that naturally lends itself to joy and release – a perfect antidote to the stressful workplace. Toby Christensen and his staff offer this program as an intervention to combat cumulative workplace stress. Toby uses drums and other percussion instruments as tools for channeling stress energies into beautiful music. The program has two main components the one involves channeling and release of stress into some pulsing rhythms. This is a fun and exciting part of the program where participants get to release their stress on the drums and instruments. Another part of the program involves synchronization of breathing and rhythm, which induces a calm meditative state that slows the mind down and promotes relaxation. This engaging program delivers both stress release and stress relief in its two phased approach.

Through basic science research soon to be published, we’ve recently taken the first step toward scientifically documenting group drumming’s benefits on the cellular level. Our project, funded by Remo Drums, Inc. and designed by our research team that includes David Felten, MD, PhD and Lee Berk DrPH of the Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Department of Neuroimmunology demonstrates statistically significant boosts in cell-mediated immune function associated with group drumming facilitated by a music therapist.

Learning Objectives:
• Identify stress, stressors, and stress reactions.
• Develop basic skills of drumming to facilitate the release of stress, increase relaxation and the creation of new emotional patters for long-term resolution of stress related conditions.
• Achieve balance through rhythm of the body, mind, and spirit by understanding how stress effects an individual and how to implement simple exercises at the onset of stress symptoms to immediately detour unhelpful activity
• Integrate the exercises and information into their professional and personal lives to create a happier and healthier workplace and life.

Learning Process:
• Identify stress, stressors, and stress reactions.
As we begin the process we take an assessment from the participants as to their symptoms of stress for example, cognitive symptoms such as memory problems, inability to concentrate, poor judgment, seeing only the negative, anxious or racing thoughts, constant worry. Emotional symptoms including Moodiness, Irritability or short temper agitation, inability to relax, feeling overwhelmed, sense of loneliness and isolation, depression or general unhappiness. We also work with the awareness of physical symptoms like aches and pains, diarrhea or constipation, nausea, dizziness, chest pain, rapid heartbeat, loss of sex drive frequent colds. We also work with behavioral symptoms like eating more or less, sleeping too much or too little, isolating yourself from others, procrastinating or neglecting responsibilities, using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to relax, nervous, habits (e.g. nail biting, pacing)

As we become aware of the stressors and identify each participant’s own stressors we begin to create some helpful ways of addressing the stress and the stress reactions.

• Develop basic skills of drumming to facilitate the release of stress, increase relaxation and the creation of new emotional patters for long-term resolution of stress related conditions
During this part of the process, each participant will learn how to strike the drum properly, learn the three basic hand positions of hand drumming and four basic rhythms on the hand drums provided. One rhythm is designed for relaxation another to bring awareness of our body and mind connection and how these two energies can be brought into harmony. Other rhythms are to release tension and bring the mind back into focus. The techniques are simple and an instrument is not required to initiate these practices. Participants will be taught how to activate the stress relieving exercises to re-pattern emotional responses to stressors.

• Achieve balance through rhythm of the body, mind, and spirit by understanding how stress effects an individual and how to implement simple exercises at the onset of stress symptoms to immediately detour unhelpful activity
As the participants become familiar with the rhythms we take them through a series of exercises to retrain the body mind connection so that the natural response triggers are re-channeled. This transformative proactive process creates a powerful sense of accomplishment and support ingraining the tools of helpful action and response as the first line of action when stressors are present. Teaching the participant breath rhythm awareness as well as drum rhythm is one of the features in this part of the program.

At the end of the program we have Q and A time and have the participants engage in an in-depth evaluation of the course allowing time for input and feedback.

The standard format for this workshop is six hours for optimal impact but has also been utilized in a short 3 hour version and expanded to a 2 day weekend residential workshop

OK, here it is! I promised at the International Sound Healers Conference that I would post this so here we go!

It was my pleasure this winter to escape to sunny Santa Fe New Mexico to present at the International Sound Healers Conference. In addition to being exposed to some great healing modalities and a wonderful sponsoring organization I had the opportunity  to jam with a group of vendors in the booth area. I played with Flutes, Gongs, a Pipe Organ and even a Harp! It was a wild time. Here is a little clip of what would spontaneously erupt through out the day!

The guy playing flute was so cool. He and his mother make the most amazing bamboo flutes. I of course had to have one. So when I get good enough to play in public, I’ll lay some licks down for you! Don’t hold your breath. The harp player is out of the frame but he had beautiful harps of all kinds and played brilliantly.

I also had the pleasure of hanging with some of the sound healing greats like Don Campbell, author of “The Mozart Effect”, David Hykes, Tom Kenyon and Siberian Shaman, Nikolay Oorzhak.

I also got to jam with Christine Stevenson and Kim Atkinson. We were able to commandeer a room at the hotel and turn it into a chamber of sacred rhythm!! What a blast.

When I get the video from my presentation I will post some of the highlights. It was an honor to be included with so many amazing people who are bringing healing transformation  to the planet with sound.

The release of World Unity has really created a stir and has opened doors for us to be involved in an international program to promote peaceful and powerful leaders from the youth of our planet. UNITY is the key. I was facilitating with Dr. Shelly Stelzer. As we were merging healing techniques from various cultures someone in the class asked about mixing modalities from different races of people and cultures.

I thought her response was profound. “There is only one race and that is the human race. There is only one true color an that is red, it is the color of the blood that runs through the veins of each and every person on the planet.” In my work with cross-cultural organizations I remember this as we begin to discuss the events in the world. We must think and act globally. The issues we face are not confined to only one race or nation. I love the words of a Michael Franti song:

Please tell me the reason for the colors that you fly. Love just one nation and the whole world we divide. We can chase sown all our enemies, bring them to their knees. We can bomb the world to pieces, but we can’t bomb it into peace.

My intention for the remainder of the year and 2009 is to bring the healing drum to as many countries as possible and drum in unity with as many tribal and cultural people as I can.

At the World Unity CD release party in Cincinnati I was blessed to have a great jam session with a cool cat from Nigeria. Another awesome synchronicity that has happened is a connection to a great ritual master and shaman of plant spirit medicine. His name is Fabaku and he is guiding me into some powerful indigenous teaching and the use of powerful medicine from Africa, South America and Mexico. As the world unifies to bring healing to the planet our own personal lives become richer as well.

I am very excited as well to be working with Flaco, a powerful brother from DC who is mentoring youth and guiding them through powerful initiations and rites of passage. We were fortunate to have him at an event I facilitated in Alexandria Virginia. As you can imagine, the drumming was fierce!!! Thank you my brother for blessing us all with your magic!!!

Here Flaco and I get ready to rock a group in Alexandria VA.

I am off to Canada next and am looking forward to connecting with our neighbors to the north, spreading the power and unity of the drum with all I meet. Stay tuned for a report from Calgary.

Peace and Blessings to you all!

Well I am back from the islands; my tan is fading, and its time to get back on the road. I have had such a blast here in Park City the month of August. I have been mountain biking everyday and enjoying the mountains. I have had the pleasure of working people from all over the world attending training with The Four Winds Society. Tanks to Linda Fitch, Karen, Jillian, and of course the new addition to the hHealingDrummer crew Corrina Rasmussen. I am so honored to share the power of healing and unity to such wonderful groups of people training to bring healing to the world. Here are a few shots from one of our events!

Here we have a group learning to enhance their drumming skills learning the 5 element rhythms. Many had never played a drum and left the event with great skill!! 

In this shot I am having a jam session with one of the seasoned drummers. We traded licks while the group healed the steady rhythm. Lots of fun.

In this photo the healing energy was strong and a man from Taiwan grabbed my hoop drum and we drummed for world peace!!! It is all about world unity, and we had people from all over the world at this event. 

Another very exciting event has been the privilege of working with recording artist Rich Wyman and his wife Lisa Needham. Rich has worked with some of the greatest musicians throughout Europe and here in the states has worked extensively with Eddie Van Halen.  Rich and Lisa are collaborating on Lisa’s first major CD and I have the honor of playing the role of engineer, drummer, percussionist and guitar player for the preliminary recording!!! What a blast!!!

this is Lisa and Rich working together on some background vocals. Above, Rich hammers out some key board tracks. Below Lisa, Rich and I lay it down live at a local club

As you can imagine, with all of this going on, sleep is a rare occurrence but I have been blessed to have some incredible support from some great healers and Portland Roasting Coffee Company. I’m going through a bit of java these days!!  My coffee cup reads, “You can sleep when you are dead!” I’m hoping it is true cause I’ll need it. I’ll be posting snippets of the new music on this blog so check back regularly. 

For those of you who have not purchased your copy of World Unity, the feedback from those who have been listening is GREAT!!! I am happy to say. I am working on a new word music CD for holiday so you will have something exciting and uplifting for holiday gifts. So start with World Unity and get ready for another creation end of November!

Live loud and with energetic intention! Enjoy the rhythm of life and spend a moment to be grateful for something you may take for granted.

Peace,

t

Enjoy