What exactly is a drum circle?
The circle really is a metaphor for community. It makes the individual feel as though they’re being supported in the worst times—but also in their good times. We’re all on a different cycle and sometimes it takes people who are emotionally strong to help people who are feeling like the world is bearing down on them. That’s really where the drum circle is so powerful. I’m sure it started out as body slaps and sort of an [ancient] form of communication and then it probably developed into a form of dance and then ritual. We can’t deny the fact that we’re all tribal. We all sat around a fire. We were there with the family group and then with the extended tribe. We were together because we helped each other out. That’s really what the drum circle is all about. The first rhythm you ever heard was your mother’s heartbeat, so in every way we’re such rhythmic beings. We have cycles. Our skin changes throughout the year, our hair. Life is change. What happens in a drum circle? We’ll normally use
