About The Facilitator
Facilitated drum and dance circles for health, personal growth, and community
Julian Douglas
Julian Douglas is a Remo Health Rhythms trained facilitator and a recipient of the Indiana Arts Commission On-Ramp Fellowship with 25 years of experience facilitating drum and dance circles, as well as a world percussion teacher and a performing percussionist. Raised by a jazz pianist Julian’s childhood was an immersive education in music with a strong emphasis on rhythm. His studies have included elements of the music and traditions of various cultures including those in the African diaspora, the Middle-East, Eastern Europe, and India.
As a composer and drum/dance circle facilitator, Julian’s focus has been to draw inspiration and knowledge from traditional music while holding a sustained value for the creative impulse of the present moment and the centrality of the individual as the source of living creativity.
Julian has performed and taught lessons and workshops throughout the Eastern United States. More information on his music can be found at JulianDouglas.com
Natalia
While his ability to express music is a high mastery, he makes music so accessible, allowing to understand, to feel it as something so innate to all of us! What i love the most, one does not need to be a musician to benefit from his ways of sharing musical experience! You will for sure discover the art of listening to music. — Natalia
Amy
I felt especially interested in joining because of the way he prepares and guides participants by pointing out what we should pay attention to in the process and also opening up for group feedback. By doing this and by offering a consistent weekly practice he shows lots of wisdom and experience to lead this kind of practice. — Amy
Let's explore opportunities for Shared Rhythm Experiences in your community
Publications and Articles On the Benefits of Drum and Dance Circles
Neuroscience reveals how rhythm helps us walk, talk — and even love
Neuroscience reveals how rhythm helps us walk, talk — and even love
From: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/neuroscience-reveals-how-rhythm-helps-us-walk-talk-and-even-love-1.5550722
Drumming program helping Vietnam veterans affected by PTSD
Drumming Program helping Vietnam veterans affected by PTSD
A groundbreaking study in suburban Melbourne is using simple drum beats to help Vietnam veterans heal the emotional scars of combat.
Social-emotional learning through drumming intervention
Social-emotional learning through drumming intervention
Scores on the seven social development domains ranged from 7.2 to 7.8, indicating positive change during the 10-week period for most students. Across all domains, teachers rated between 3% and 13% of students with no change. Using the total score, more than 93% of students were rated with some degree of positive change.in the module Advanced settings.
Source: http://approaches.gr/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Approaches_FirstView_a20181112-stgeorge.pdf
The traditional healing properties of the drum merge with the latest research from the fields of neuroscience and trauma informed care.
The traditional healing properties of the drum merge with the latest research from the fields of neuroscience and trauma informed care.
Group Drumming Bangs Away at Anxiety and Depression
Group Drumming Bangs Away at Anxiety and Depression
Study shows that making music can be a powerful tool for promoting mental health.
An “exploratory examination” found 10 weeks of group drumming provided significant benefits for a group of people who had sought help for mental-health issues. What’s more, the improvements persisted for at least three months after the sessions concluded.
https://psmag.com/social-justice/your-unemployed-friend-was-right-all-along
the Study: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/related?id=10.1371/journal.pone.
Recreational music-making modulates natural killer cell activity, cytokines, and mood states in corporate employees.
Recreational music-making modulates natural killer cell activity, cytokines, and mood states in corporate employees.
Transcendent Experiences
Transcendent Experiences
Reduce Emotional Distress
Reduce Emotional Distress
A powerful 2001 study published in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that low-income children who enrolled in a 12-week group drumming intervention saw multiple domains of social-emotional behavior improve significantly, from anxiety to attention, from oppositional to post-traumatic disorders.
Improves Our Immune System. Reduces Cortisol, and Boosts Two Types of Cancer Fighting Cells
Improves Our Immune System. Reduces Cortisol, and Boosts Two Types of Cancer Fighting Cells
A 2001 study published in Alternative Therapies and Health Medicine indicates that drumming circles boost the immune system. Led by renowned cancer expert Barry Bittman, MD, the study demonstrates that group drumming actually increases cancer-killing cells, which help…
Regrows Brain Matter
Regrows Brain Matter
A 2014 study published in the Journal of Huntington’s Disease found that two months of drumming intervention in Huntington’s patients (considered an irreversible, lethal neurodegenerative disease) resulted in “improvements in executive function and changes in white matter microstructure, notably in the genu of the corpus callosum that connects prefrontal cortices of both hemispheres.” The study authors concluded that the pilot study provided novel preliminary evidence that drumming (or related targeted behavioral stimulation) may result in “cognitive enhancement and improvements in callosal white matter microstructure.”
Reduce Blood Pressure, Anxiety/Stress
Reduce Blood Pressure, Anxiety/Stress
Making music for mental health: how group drumming mediates recovery
Making music for mental health: how group drumming mediates recovery
The findings provide support for the conceptual notion of ‘creative practice as mutual recovery’, demonstrating that group drumming provides a creative and mutual learning space in which mental health recovery can take place.
From: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13612-016-0048-0