Dancing to the Beat                     
of Your Own Drum,
Literally
by VisionPixie

On an icy, cold Saturday evening in January, VisionPixie anxiously made her way through the streets of Pitman to Yoga Inspired on Broadway, to experience something new, something different, something incredible. Tonight I would be inspired by Reverend Al Bennett at a Native American Drum Circle. Different yes, but not out of my comfort zone. I have always been fascinated by all things Native American, from their art and cultural to their respect for Mother Earth and for their ancestral history.

The evening began with a smudging ceremony, which took place outside, on the front steps of Yoga Inspired. Native Americans believe that for a person to be healed or heal another, they must be cleansed of bad spirits or negativity. Thus, the healing may come through clearly from the spirits who are to enter the sacred realm from which you reside at the time. This cleaning is called smudging, where by the smoke from herbs such as sage, cedar and sweetgrass are waved with a feather and brushed over the body. VisionPixie prefers the sage, just so you know.



There were about a dozen people in attendance and we all got smudged one-by-one, outside, in the cold, in front of God and everyone. It smelled and felt terrific. Sage has a lovely odor when being burned and with Revered Al being such a kind man, you couldn’t help but be spiritually moved. My anxiety about the evening vanished as I was very relaxed. Good to go.

Back indoors we hurried into the beautiful, newly renovated studio at Yoga Inspired. You can’t help but feel happy in this space. The colors are so calming and the atmosphere welcoming. There are wonderful windows, like pieces of art which flank either side of the studio.

We sat on comfy pillows on the floor in a large semicircle and listened to Reverend Al’s stories about his interesting life, what the drum circle was all about. He explained, that in a nut shell, the drum circle is all about shedding the bad stuff and to having fun. And we did. We had a lot of it.

Native American’s believe that the drum symbolizes the heart beat of many tribal nations and that it harmonizes with mother earth. Drums are used in special ceremonies and the accompanying songs and dances are forms of celebration. Ok, a celebration sounds great, right?

VisionPixie’s sister; Evie and good friend Delaya joined the drum circle.
They loved the evening, just as much as I did.



Everyone received their own drum and drum stick and we all began hitting our own drum and mixing up the tempo here are there. The vibrations moved up from your feet and through the top of your head. Well, they did so for me anyway! At times during the circle, several people would all bang the large communal drum together. Reverend Al knew that I was at the drum circle to report back to The Women of Gloucester County and invited me to the communal drum first. I felt honored.

We danced and drummed to our own rhythm. At times with Reverend Al’s friend; Ron Volkman who played the flute, which is said to create a vibration of love.



We ended with a beautiful meditation, where Reverend Al enabled us to take a mental journey to a different time in a different place, where we could think clearly, relax and imagine with endless effort.

I highly recommend that everyone experience at drum circle in your life. It was a great experience. Thank you Reverend Al and Yoga Inspired.

Check out Yoga Inspired at: http://www.yogainspiredstudio.com/Yoga-Class-Schedule.html

Antonia Anastasia
Time&aWord
1309 N. Main Street
Williamstown, NJ 08094
856.313.0733
http://timeandawordmarketing.blogspot.com