Spirit Sky Drum
The banging of drums was heard all throughout Hope For Youth on September 20th as staff and youth gathered for a drumming class led by George Schultze’s school, Spirit Sky Drum. The particular class being held was called “Recovery Rhythms”, which is designed to help people with emotional trauma find their true self, access a higher power, alleviate isolation, get connected with others and achieve a different outlook on life. Spirit Sky Drum is all about honing in on everyone’s natural rhythm and utilizing it through drumming techniques.
Positioned in a circle, each youth was given their own hand drum, which they were taught to appreciate for all its parts that came from nature. With this understood appreciation, the teacher moved on to demonstrating basic hand techniques, and different types of hits and rhythms. As the group began practicing such, George encouraged them to clear their mind and put their emotion and energy into the drum with every hit.
George said the mission of his work is “To provide children and adults with the resource to learn the powerful lessons that drumming can teach us”. This truly holistic healing approach was aimed to teach our youth to deal with their emotions and stress in a healthy way. “I set the group up in a close circle for a reason, in order to provide them with a sense of connectedness and interpersonal support”, said George, “The physical stimulation of drumming alone removes blockages and produces emotional release.” George has taught this class at Hope For Youth before and was happy to be back, you could feel his true passion for drumming and all the wonderful benefits that can come with such.