Tea, the Body, and the First Drum™

*This course can also be joined ONLINE with lifetime-access recordings provided after each session.

**Two (2) partial scholarship spots available for those needing support/in challenging situations.

*** Open to all genders

Dates:

Sunday, August 31

Sat, Sun September 6 & 7

Sunday, September 14

Sat, Sun September 20 & 21

If you register for the ONLINE course, you will be guided to note this on the payment page. You will be sent weekly links via email. Please check your email whether you are in-person or line.

Tea, the Body, and the First Drum™ (taught under the guidance of master frame drummer River Guerguerian of Asheville Rhythm)

is a 6-class mystery school course inspiring devotion through traditional tea ceremony, body arts, and the ancient frame drum. 

How can we inspire more devotion in our lives through consistent study and the arts? This is a question the three of us discussed when meeting to create this very course.

I think, as a society, we have somewhat lost what it means to study–to root in, take pause, and devote oneself to learning in a way that seeds change in our bones and lineage. 

So how can shift from passivity and sleep experiencing to FULLY ALIVE engagement and active experiencing?

(*hint: think Hogwarts with ancient roots and modern applications)

Hi. We are Katie Berns Lee of Drum Temple, Bibi Borja of Davie Tea Hut, and Michelle Reyna of Hands on Earth. We believe the return to devotion is through ancient wisdom and sacred arts. And for the three of us, that looks like tea, the body, and the sacred frame drum.

And it is through these specific arts that we can listen and receive (tea), ground in to feel (the body), and integrate and express as oracles of the ancients (the frame drum).

Let us cultivate full body excitement through discipline, creative expression, and deep listening.

Join us for 6 classes beginning Sunday September 31 from 1-4pm at the Primal Power House to drop into intentional study, ancestral activation, and wisdom embodiment.

This course will be comprised of three portions each week:

Tea: 1 hour of traditional tea study, zen principles, and ceremonial immersion

The Body: 1 hour of somatic study and body attunement practice

The First Drum: 1 hour of frame drum historical study, traditional technique and rhythms, & active engagement with the first drum as used by the oracles

Course Description

Tea:

The way of tea as a living practice is one that anchors us in presence, softens our perspective, and opens the heart. We’ll explore the Zen mind, a calm and steady presence that’s always there beneath it all. The more we sit with tea, the deeper our relationship becomes.

Through the ceremonial form we will strengthen our devotion and remember how to listen. How to slow down. And how to pour these teachings into our everyday lives.

This is not about performance, but presence, not just with tea but in every aspect of our lives. Tea is the teacher. Showing us without words, guiding without force, and brings us into quiet communion with something greater. 

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The Body:

The body is a messenger.

It speaks in sensations, in rhythmic patterns, in stillness - if we choose to listen.

In this portion of the journey, we’ll turn inward and attune to the language of the body. So much of modern life teaches us to override or ignore our felt sense, but beneath the noise, the body holds memory, intuition and ancestral wisdom. Before we had language, we had hands. Touch is one of our oldest medicines, used to soothe, to connect, to pray, to remember.

This journey is about reclaiming that intimacy with ourselves through presence, conscious self-touch and somatic devotion.

Michelle will guide you through gentle practices that reawaken your relationship with the body: through breath, stillness, movement, rhythm and hands-on listening. This is a return to the body not as something to fix, but as something to befriend... and this remembering is not only for ourselves.

It is an act of reverence, for those who came before us, whose touch may have been interrupted or silenced… and for those who come after us, who will inherit the way we tend to our bodies today. To listen to the body is to honor a lineage. To touch the body with care is to restore a rhythm that belongs to all of us.

Your body is a drum, a compass, a living altar and it is worthy of your deepest attention.

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The First Drum (Frame Drum):

*this portion will be taught by Katie under the guidance of master frame drummer River Guerguerian of Asheville Rhythm

The frame drum was the first drum as documented in ancient Magdalenian caves, inside the womb of the mother herself. It derives from Ancient Sumer, Mesopotamia, Egypt and surrounding areas, as well as Ancient Rome, Greece, and beyond. This drum crossed borders as a gift from above.

For me, Katie, the frame drum comes to me as an ancient, grounding, and essential energy. It asks for persistence, dedication, and deep listening. Frame drumming is subtle medicine and sound healing in peak form. Listen to the drone it produces and the way you heal when you are behind it.

The frame drum was the way the ancient priestesses communed with the spirit world and received essential messages for their people. We can do the same...for ourselves...for our hearts and communities.

We will be learning proper technique, traditional rhythms, how to use the drum to enhance the voice, drumming for trance and meditation, traditional song, and sacred history and story surrounding the first drum as used by Miriam, Inanna, Hathor, and so many other ancients.

Now is the time for us to learn, to commune, and to fill ourselves so we can embody this information for the collective and for the future generations to then receive from us. 

Curriculum Overview

*content is subject to minor changes and adjustments

Week 1

Tea: Presence as Prayer

Theme: Arriving in the body, arriving at the bowl.

• Teaching: Introduction to tea as a living, spiritual ally. Slowing down. The sacredness of simplicity.

• Practice: Guided silent bowl tea ceremony.

• Reflection Prompt: “What does it mean to be present with devotion?”

Takeaway: Creating sacred space within and without.

The Body:

Theme: Visibility, identity and softening the outer layer 

• Teaching: The mask we didn’t know we were wearing 

• Practice: Self touch and softening the face 

• Reflection Prompt: What parts of myself do i show, and what do i hide, through my face?

Takeaway: Soften the face, let yourself be seen.

Frame Drum: Why play the frame drum?

Theme: What was/is the significance of doing so in ancient and modern times?

• Practice: Tuning and preparing the drum. Historical study.

• Practice: Internalizing rhythm, proper technique, basic strokes, time.

• Reflection: The importance of the pause in practice.

Takeaway: We are all connected to our internal rhythm. Listen for it.

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Week 2

Tea: Listening to the Leaves

Theme: Intimacy with Nature.

• Teaching: Energetics of tea, honoring origin, lineage, and plant spirit.

• Practice: Bowl tea with a single-origin tea + guided tea listening meditation.

• Reflection Prompt: “What is this tea teaching me?”

Takeaway: Begin a personal tea journal.

The Body:

Theme: Expression, suppression and sacred listening 

• Teaching: Where the body was silenced 

• Practice: Self touch and somatic listening (throat)

• Reflection Prompt: Where in my life have I gone silent and where do I long to speak, even if only to myself?

Takeaway: Notice where silence lives 

Frame Drum: Voice and the Drum

Theme: Songs of the ancients

• Practice: Toning and singing into the drum (feel the resonance and response).

• Practice: Traditional Saidi rhythm and variations.

• Practice: Healing with the voice.

• Practice: Traditional Ladino song study.

• Reflection Prompt: How can I heal through the voice?

Takeaway: Cultivate deep listening and a devotional/intuitive song practice.

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Week 3

Tea: Gesture as OfferingTheme: Moving with reverence.

• Teaching: The importance of intention behind every movement — preparing, serving, receiving.

• Practice: Basic tea preparation forms as a moving meditation.

• Reflection Prompt: “How can I embody devotion in my actions?”

Takeaway: Mini at-home tea altar practice.

The Body:

Theme: Inner knowing, emotional digestion and inner power 

• Teaching: The center that carries what we can’t 

• Practice: Self touch and listening to the belly 

• Reflection Prompt: What is my belly holding that I’ve ignored?

Takeaway: Pause, soften and trust your gut. 

Frame Drum: Sanity Through Insanity

Theme: Ancient priestesses, the Cult of Dionysus, & using the drum to safely explore insanity

• Practice: Circle time & practicing moving from safe insanity to sanity.

• Practice: Traditional Baladi rhythm and variations.

• Reflection Prompt: How can we use the drum to ground as we explore edge realms?

Takeaway: Cultivate a sacred insanity practice.

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Week 4

Tea: The Empty CupTheme: Surrender and receptivity.

• Teaching: Embracing not-knowing. Making space for the mystery. Tea as mirror.

• Practice: Silent group tea sit + minimal talking circle.

• Reflection Prompt: “What am I making space for?”

Takeaway: Practice letting the tea speak.

The Body:

Theme: Action, support and moving through the world 

• Teaching: The parts that carry us forward 

• Practice: Self touch to legs and hands 

• Reflection Prompt: What direction have my legs been carrying me and is that where I want to go?

Takeaway: Even roots need rest. 

Frame Drum: Opening Expression Portals Through the Frame Drum

Theme: How can we create a safe space for expression of the unknown through the use of the drum?

• Practice: Ancient expression ceremony.

• Practice: Traditional Maqsoum rhythm and variations.

• Reflection Prompt: How can I create a safe space for expression with the drum?

Takeaway: Cultivate an expression ritual practice.

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Week 5

Tea: Living Tea, Living Devotion

• Theme: Integration + everyday sacredness.

• Teaching: Carrying the spirit of ceremony into daily life.

• Practice: Closing tea ceremony, shared intentions.

• Reflection Prompt: “How will I continue to walk with devotion?”

Takeaway: Personalized devotional tea ritual to continue at home.

The Body:

Theme: Body-lead wisdom and trusting what arises 

• Teaching: The body knows where to go 

• Practice: Intuitive self touch 

• Reflection Prompt: What part of me needed attention today - what story did it share with me?

Takeaway: Let your hands follow what the mind doesn’t understand 

Frame Drum: The Drum as Daily Medicine

Theme: How can we apply the teachings of the drum in our everyday lives?

• Practice: Choreography and the drum.

• Practice: Rhythm review.

• Practice: Rudimentary practice in trance (discipline as meditation).

• Reflection Prompt: How can we access trance & magic in our more ordinary moments?

Takeaway: Cultivate a disciplined rhythmic practice.

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Week 6

Tea:

Theme: Devotion in motion.

• Teaching: Presence as service. Becoming the ceremony through everyday gestures.

• Practice: Guided tea sit with silent reflection and closing meditation.

• Reflection Prompt: “How do I offer myself to the world through presence?”

Takeaway: Devotion is lived. In stillness, in movement, in the way we pour ourselves into life.

The Body:

Theme: Grounding, integration and belonging to the earth 

• Teaching: Walking forward withholds the body behind you 

• Practice: Feet, grounding and intuitive movement 

• Reflection Prompt: What am I ready to step into now - and what am I choosing to leave behind?

Takeaway: Movement is a remembering 

Frame Drum: The Drum and I

Theme: How do I play the drum (through my own channel)?

• Practice: Higher self embodiment and expression. Sharing circle.

• Practice: Creating your own rhythms and freedom through the frame drum.

• Reflection Prompt: Who am I through this medium.

Takeaway: Cultivate a self-awareness practice anchored by the drum.

School Supplies List

1. Notebook for note-taking

2. Extra cushion for additional comfort

3. Healthy snacks to stimulate the mind

4. Class guidebook (provided by us)

5. Colored pencils or markers to engage the mind while learning

6. Frame drum (required):

*Recommended to be no smaller than 14 inches across the head with a deep shell (wider wood portion) if possible.

In general, the bigger the drum, the deeper bass sound it will have. I love a good bass!

This is the drum Katie will be using. It ships in 3 days:

salamuzik.com

Buy a Deep Tunable Bendir and other Turkish and Persian music instruments and accessories at Sala Muzik. Free worldwide shipping. Shop now!

This is the beautiful frame drum series created by Cooperman Drums in Vermont and Katie's teacher River Guerguerian of Asheville Rhythm:

www.coopermanframedrums.com

Offered in a full range of diameters from 12" to 22", the AR series drums include custom staining and selected inlay, deep shells with a hybrid bearing edge, and TWO thumb holes (facilitates holding the drum in the "soft position". like a riq).  The wave patterned inlay is chosen to represent a mesmerizing rhythmic flo

If you need a different or more affordable option, here are some other choices:

Meinl Frame Drum:

https://tinyurl.com/bp5fcc4d

Remo Fiberskyn Drum:

https://tinyurl.com/mhtbcvwc

This drum can be used as an Irish Bodhran as well:

https://tinyurl.com/yckbxh76

7. Additional Online Frame Drum Resource:

   River Guerguerian’s online frame drum course, “Share the Drum:”

   https://www.guerguerian.com/shop

8. Recommended reading for frame drum study:

   When the Drummers Were Women by Layne Redmond

9. Recommended reading for tea study:

   Tea Medicine by Wu De

    https://globalteahut.org/products/tea-medicine

   
   

10. 1 Forest Tea Bowl for each student

    https://globalteahut.org/products/forest-bowls?variant=43804952330461

    
    

 Meet Your Instructors:

Katie Berns Lee of Drum Temple

Katie Berns Lee is the founder of Drum Temple LLC, where she helps people open their hearts, ground in, and get in touch with their “truest and most primal selves” through deep activation, ancestral remembrance, and reconnection to the primordial heartbeat. Through her music, Katie connects deeply to indigenous and ancient cultures from West Africa, Latin America, Mongolia, the Middle East, and folk America, and her mission encourages a return to original ways of feeling, expressing, and being as stewards of this Earth.

Katie believes that rhythm activates vibrational messages from our body and soul—so let us use it to communicate the messages coming through us during times of great responsibility and transformation.

Bibi Borja of Davie Tea Hut

Bibi Borja is a ceremonialist, sound healer, and tea student who guides others into stillness through the way of tea. Her work is rooted in nature, ancestral wisdom, and the quiet magic in each moment.

Michelle Reyna of Hands on Earth

Michelle is a bodyworker and somatic guide who supports others in reconnecting with their bodies through breath, touch and presence. With a background in therapeutic massage and nervous system work, she creates spaces where people feel safe to listen inward + remember that the body is its own kind of medicine.