Drumming as a Mental and Physical Reset

Monday Mindset: (Drumming as a Mental & Physical Reset)

“When faced with odds that cannot be dealt with, warriors retreat for a moment. They let their minds meander. They occupy their time with something else. Anything would do.”

How do you press reset?

I commonly hear people say that, “They need a vacation.” We all do. But I will never forget the words of Thich Nhat Hanh, “There is no enlightenment outside of everyday life.”

Adaptable people are fluid in their thoughts and fluid in their movement. We tend to make a distinction here of the artist and the athlete. The artist needs creativity in thought, whereas the well-balanced athlete (Ido Portal comes to mind) needs variety in their movement.

How can we avoid getting stuck in rigid patterns of thought (mentally) and movement (physically)?

Drumming is just one type of reset.

Sound Healing: How Drumming Improves Mental And Physical Health

PRI talks about alternating and reciprocal movement that involves a transition between the left and right sides of our body. It is when we lose this ability to alternate that our movement stagnates and we then depend on a rigid pattern of stabilization (right side dominance being a major compensation pattern).

While the notion of left brain and right brain function is a flawed concept we can use those distinctions as a metaphor for adaptable thinking – the ability to transition from logical thinking to more intuitive and creative problem solving. This ensures that we are not ‘stuck’ mental in a rigid pattern of thinking.

“A warrior lives by acting, not by thinking about acting, nor by thinking about what he will think when he has finished acting.” – Carlos Casteneda

“In a human body, support is not something solid. Support is relationship. Support is a balance of elements that aren’t solid at all, elements that are incapable of withstanding the weight that presses down on them except as they are balanced.” – Ida Rolf

Drumming requires alternating and reciprocal movement of our brain and body. It is a way of resetting our nervous system.

In a forum, online I found the following reply to a drummer that was having trouble with coordination, “You are missing independent coordination between your limbs. Your brain has not yet developed neurological connections that supports such kinesthetic interdependence as it is something that takes time to do.”

Kinesthetic awareness is a big part of movement.

In her book, “Smart Moves: Why Learning is Not All in Your Head” Carla Hannaford talks about how children that do not engage in regular movement have greater trouble learning and concentrating.

https://www.amazon.com/Smart-Moves-Learning-Your-Second/dp/0915556278/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=TBS8V0KFXHH2VQ6RRPV0

She talks about how contralateral movement stimulates the brain and learning. Crawling and other movements like Tim Anderson talks about in his book, “Original Strength” are not only a reset for the body but for the brain.

HOME

What’s your reset?

– Kevin J. Kula, “The Flexibility Coach”