Host: Bob Sharits
Topic: Remo Drums
Guests: Karen Olsen & Alyssa Janney, Remo Drums
The Way Out Recovery Hour – July 24, 2017
“There are so many reasons for us to be grateful, and we just need to tap in to that.” – Bob Sharits
How does music and the feel of drums invoke healing in people? Find out on this episode of The Way Out Recovery Hour with Karen and Alyssa from Remo Drums.
“We are an instrument.” – Karen Olson
HealthRhythms
“Remo’s Health Rhythms Department is on the forefront of establishing a solid foundation for proving the biological benefits of drumming. Neurologist Barry Bittman, M.D. and his renowned research team discovered that a specific group drumming approach (HealthRHYTHMS protocol) significantly increased the disease fighting activity of circulating white blood cells (Natural Killer cells) that seek out and destroy cancer cells and virally-infected cells. Along with conventional medical strategies, Dr. Bittman includes HealthRHYTHMS group drumming in all of his disease-based programs at the Mind-Body Wellness Center in Pennsylvania.
According to Alicia Clair, Ph.D., MT-BC, Professor and the Director of Music Therapy at the University of Kansas, “Customarily people have interpreted good health as the absence of illness or disease, but more recently wellness has come to a new meaning, feeling as good as one can feel regardless of diagnosis. This new interpretation of wellness is reflected in a shift from medical professional control and management to individuals’ assumed responsibility for ‘feeling good.’ It is broadly understood that ‘being well’ results from engagement in activities that lead to and maintain health.”
HealthRHYTHMS can also serve as a rather effective means for restoring a sense of inner balance amidst the incredible challenges of life. Referring to a HealthRHYTHMS session held for students and parents one year after a tragic high school event, Christine Stevens, MT/BC said, “Parents and children came to our drum circle silent, apprehensive and disconnected. At first it was difficult to even maintain eye contact. Knowing words could never communicate what each of us felt that day, we slowly began drumming together. The sadness we shared was overwhelming at first, as tears dampened our hands and instruments. Yet as we drummed, renewed support for each other and a collective sense of hope for a better tomorrow gradually replaced our despair. Our experience was more than therapeutic– it connected us on many levels.”