Question 1

How is a URC WORKSHOP STRUCTURED?

Accepted Answer

A workshop is made up of two sessions per day. Each session runs for 3 hours and includes...

·       A drum opening (played by the workshop leaders)
 
·       A primary induction (knowledge and preparation)

·       Rhythm Journey 1 -

·       Resting/meditation

·       Reintegration (feedback) 
 
·       Rhythm journey 2

·       Resting/Meditation

·       Final Reintegration (feedback)

Question 2

What is a DRUM OPENING?

Accepted Answer

Each session starts with a drum opening (approximately 7-10 mins).
Workshop leaders use a specific type of drumming and singing that is not a performance but door into an altered state, transporting leaders and participants from the normal state to a ‘heightened’ or  ‘alert’ non-linear state of being.

Question 3

What is a RHYTHM JOURNEY?

Accepted Answer

A ‘Rhythm Journey’ is where the main process unfolds. In a circle, participants are led by two leaders into a direct experience of rhythm archetypes using the body as the main instrument. There are three layers from where rhythm is expressed within the body, all playing a different role within the URC process:

·       ‘The steps’ - representing how we allow ourselves to be carried by the subconscious 
·       ‘The claps’ - representing the conscious will, or intention
·       ‘The voice’ - a bridge between inner listening and outer action

Beginning with the leaders in the centre, the rhythm syllables (spoken vocalisations) are introduced, the group joins the rhythmic flow while the supportive resonant pulse of a Brazilian Surdo drum begins to sound. 
The leaders build up the rhythm structure one element at a time, first in the steps then in the claps, participants are led skilfully into the ‘simultaneity’ of two or more rhythmic perceptions at the same time. This marks an entry point for what will become a profound journey of using rhythm to trigger profound emergent changes within the psychological /emotional/physical self.

Each Journey takes approx. 40mins. A URC Rhythm Journey ends with a resting/meditation phase and group reintegration (feedback).

Question 4

What is the name of the leaders INSTRUMENTS  ?

Accepted Answer

There are two Brazilian instruments used by the leaders in a URC Rhythm Journey. A Surdo drum and a Berimbau. The Surdo provides stability for the group’s step layer and the Berimbau provides tonal support and groove. Together these instruments establish a beautiful musical foundation for the call and response singing that unfolds between the leaders and the group.

Question 5

WHY USE CHAOS, I thought chaos was a bad thing?

Accepted Answer

While chaos in everyday language signifies destructive disorder and a complete lack of control, chaos in science(and URC) refers to complex, unpredictable systems that, despite apparent randomness, possess underlying patterns and can be a source of novel and creative emergent behaviour. Through self-organisation, spontaneous order arises, we see this in the syncronisation of a flock of birds, a perfect musical performance, faultless movement in dance and sport or even the unexplained intuitive impulse that leads to profound life change, all these experiences rely on chaordic principles to emerge from simple underlying rules.

Question 6

HOW IS CHAOS USED in a URC Rhythm Journey?

Accepted Answer

In URC, you quickly discover that paradoxically the only way deeper into rhythm is by allowing yourself to fall out of rhythm. The journey is guided by facilitators who skilfully balance two primal forces—chaos and order—to generate deep synchronization within the collective.

This ‘chaos’ - or the moment of falling out of rhythm - is a necessary and inevitable destabilisation. It naturally occurs when multiple rhythmic perceptions meet in the same field of awareness (known as simultaneity). As you learn to trust and allow chaos to unfold, something powerful happens - you fall back into rhythm - not by 'Will',  but with accessing your bodies innate rhythmic intelligence. Each time this happens, it’s on a deeper, more refined level.

In URC, your relationship with unpredictability and uncertainty transforms. What once felt like losing control becomes an opening to go deeper.

Question 7

Is URC safe, IS TRANCE SAFE?

Accepted Answer

Yes, URC is very safe. In fact, we already live in some version of trance - often its one that contracts awareness rather than expands our perception. The kind of trance URC invites is one that expands awareness.

Additionally URC never overwhelms the conscious mind with more than it can handle. The deep flow states generated are integrative - they gently connect conscious and unconscious processes, and this happens with a natural built-in safety mechanism.
When someone ‘falls out of rhythm,’ it simply means that their system has reached its limit for processing input whether rhythmic or otherwise in that moment. This is part of the process, not a problem. That’s why participants are encouraged to lie down or step out of the circle anytime, giving the body and mind time to integrate if necessary. Re-entry back into the polyrhythmic movement may take minutes or hours or days either way, honouring this process leads to deep transformation.

Question 8

I HAVE NO RHYTHM, I don’t think I could do it!

Accepted Answer

Believe it or not, rhythm is already inside you. If you’re breathing, walking, talking, or even just feeling your heartbeat, you’re connected to an incredible innate rhythmic intelligence. URC isn’t about learning rhythm it is about awakening what is already within you!  By using the power of chaos and self-organisation, primal rhythmic knowledge emerges. Because URC operates as a non-linear complex system emergent properties within the group and the individual appear. Many people experience huge breakthroughs - discovering new rhythmic/ musical abilities, expanded awareness, intuition and inner calm they never knew was within them.

Question 9

Do I need MUSICAL EXPERIENCE to participate in URC Workshops?

Accepted Answer

No, URC is a multi layered, non-linear process where musicians and non-musicians can choose their own level of challenge, thus allowing them to learn together within a shared learning field. The effectiveness of the process is not dependent on technical skills but on the ability to find one’s own edge of what is rhythmically possible and not possible in any given moment. This zone of proximal development can trigger powerful insight, awaken the rhythmic body and provide a door to enter flow states.

Question 10

WILL I PLAY A DRUM or an instrument?

Accepted Answer

No, you won’t be playing a drum. Yes, you will be playing an instrument—and that instrument is your body. The body is the perfect instrument for awakening rhythm consciousness.

In URC, bilateral rhythmic movements generate simultaneity, perceptual flexibility, and the capacity to let go. Lateral step patterns synchronise vestibular and vocal impulses at the brain stem, powerfully triggering the body’s innate rhythmic intelligence. Using the body as an instrument is one of the key elements of the URC process.

Question 11

If I have a PHYSICAL DISABILITY or INJURY, can I still participate?

Accepted Answer

Yes! You can simply sit and focus on one of the rhythmic layers that is accessible for you, like clapping, stepping, or using your voice. You can also take part just by listening and gently syncing subtle vestibular movements in your head and neck. While stepping and clapping will intensify the experience, URC still even works on a perceptual level to activate the nervous system because of the powerful inaudible rhythmic wave energy created in a rhythm process. Some participants have spent an entire workshop lying down and listening while still experiencing profound transformation.

Frequently asked questions