A playful & immersive journey into the self as a vessel for ancient, ancestral sound, awakening through the resonance of the medicine drum.
Step into a sacred playspace where the resonance of the medicine drum meets the authentic voice within. This workshop is an invitation to honour the drum in its simplicity, in its elemental make-up, and in its deep ancestral lineage. As we connect with the heartbeat of the drum, we open ourselves to the wisdom it carries, allowing sound to move through us in spontaneous, uninhibited expression.
This is a journey of exploration, not expectation - a space where sound emerges naturally, free from pressure or performance. There will be absolutely no pressure placed within the space for singing or sounding alone.
Whether you are new to vocal expression and drum chanting or are already familiar with the power of your voice, this playshop offers a supportive container to connect with the unseen threads of ancestral sound that we are the carriers of.
This is a co-created gathering of spirituality, grounding and introspection accessed through the meditative, ritualistic, rhythmic trance state of chanting and shamanic/medicine drumming.
What to expect:
✨ Feeling the resonance of the medicine drum within your body and energy field
✨ Honoring the drum’s elemental makeup and ancestral history
✨ Playing with spontaneous, intuitive, free vocal expression
✨ Experimenting with basic drum rhythms and learning drum chants
✨ Experiencing yourself as a channel for sound
This is not an activity for the ego, it is one for the soul. It's a practice of reclaiming access to your voice, your sound, your expression your way, at your pace, at your volume. We gather as our bloodlines have throughout our ancestry known and unknown in community circle.
There is absolutely no need to know how to drum or chant. Join with an open heart and a playful spirit. You may be surprised by the sounds that live within you and how it feels to allow them the freedom of expression.
Bring your frame drum / medicine drum / shamanic drum if you have one. If not, come as you are - we have a variety of drums you can use at Centre of You.
About your facilitator - Grace Elizabeth - @centreofyou_chapelst
You will be guided through this experience by founder and director of Centre of You, Grace Elizabeth. Sharing song was instrumental to Grace's identity in her high school days as captain of her school choir, Stacella, an acappela choir centred around tribal, world and devotional music. During Shamanic Breathwork training in 2019, Grace found immediate resonance with the practice of shamanic/medicine drumming and chanting. Drum chants led into mantra chanting where she fell in deep alignment with kirtan (devotional call and response singing). Grace is continuing her journey towards reclaiming and regaining trust, acceptance and love for her voice through the devotional routes of kirtan and drum chanting after shutting it down for two decades. Upon Grace's personal vocal reclamation journey, she has come to the realisation that the desire to befriend one's voice, spoken or sung, is a collectively shared one. Grace adores catching divine-gifted chants when streamed through her own consciousness, of which she feels are an honour to share.
Things to note:
Centre of You has plenty of bolsters, blankets, and cushions for you to get cosy with. We recommend wearing comfortable, loose clothes to enable deep breathing and sitting/laying upon the floor with ease. A journal is recommended as are any familiar personal items that will aid you in feeling grounded (crystal, teddy, scarf, etc).
Personal responsibility: Please make an assessment on whether you are feeling stable and resourced enough to explore the practices on offer in this event.
No Photo/Video Content Will Be Captured: We recognise that being at an event where content is being captured can impact the personal comfort and nervous system regulation of our community. As such, it should be known upfront that this event is a photo and video free space. No content will be captured. We ask all participants to honour this agreement in respect of the shared experience by placing any recording devices away on arrival.
Arrival: Endeavour to arrive between 11:15am - 11:30am. To preserve the experience for all involved, doors will close at 11:45am. Truly, it breaks our heart to have to turn latecomers away yet the disruption to the whole group experience by virtue of lateness does require management. We ask that you find understanding and consideration for the timebound nature of the container and make every effort to arrive on time.
Driving: Centre of You is located upon Chapel Street and while you may get lucky with an untimed spot, particularly on a Sunday (try High Street) predominantly 1 and 2 hour parking is available (unmetered from 5pm). So you can fully settle into the practice, we suggest you avoid the need to move your car or risk a fine and park at the CARe multilevel carpark (8-14 King Street Prahran), a 140-metre walk from COY. 3 hours parking will be charged at $6.90.
Public transport - tram: Both the number 6 tram & 78 tram stop on the corner of High St/Chapel St. This is stop 31 on the number 6 tram (Moreland/Glen Iris) & stop 45 on the number 78 tram (North Richmond/Balaclava).
Public transport - train: Both Prahran & Windsor stations along the Sandringham Line will get you walking distance to Centre of You.
Finding Centre of You: Centre of You is nestled within the arcade that Chapel St Bazaar is in (217 Chapel St). It is up a flight of stairs with a wide landing at the half-way-point. Unfortunately, this current version of Centre of You does not have a wheelchair accessible lift. If you could use support in getting up the stairs or would like to discuss ways to make your experience at Centre of You more comfortable, please reach out via hello@centreofyou.com.au or via DM over on Centre of You Instagram.
Accessibility: At COY we aim to ensure our community and events are inclusive and accessible while alongside upholding the needs and responsibilities of our business and the businesses of our collaborating facilitators. Should you be in a time of financial challenge and unable to pay the full ticket price comfortably, please reach out via grace@centreofyou.com.au or via DM over on Centre of You Instagram
Ticketing T&Cs: We get it, life happens, therefore we will gladly refund you up until 24hrs before the event start time. After that, we have a strict no refund/no transfer to future events policy. If you are no longer able to attend and wish to pay forward your ticket to someone within the community, be in touch via grace@centreofyou.com.au or via DM over on Centre of You Instagram.
Questions? Email hello@centreofyou.com.au or reach out via Instagram DM.
Tickets: $45.00 early bird, $55.00 general exchange.