When you look at G. Eric Miles—his beaming ear-to-ear smile, his glowing skin, his lean and muscular physique—you would probably guess he’s around 40 years old.
“I’m 67,” he tells me while laughing during a recent chat, “But I feel like I can do anything I used to do in my 30s.” And with his serene and yet energetic presence, there’s no reason to doubt that assertion. As an author, a poet, a musician, a business owner, a teacher, a husband, a yogi, and more, one wonders how he has the time for such a full life. “I don’t even think about time in that way anymore,” he shares. “I have a whole different relationship with time now.”
It’s interesting to talk to Eric about health, but end up in a conversation about time. Yet with his positive outlook, healthy body, fulfilling career, and loving spirit, one does become curious about the connection.
As a young child growing up in Washington, D.C. during the tumultuous civil rights era, Eric’s early education focused not on his well-being, but rather his safety. “I was taught not to show any emotions,” he recalls, and for a highly emotional person as he, that began to take a toll on his mental and physical wellness. Then, as a young adult he began singing at a local church and noticed a transformation: A once dying institution was suddenly turning into a viable, celebratory place, all because of the choir. “That was the first time I realized how music affected people’s moods, attitudes, and state of mind.”
Though a seed had been planted, Eric kept on with his old habits and his health continued to spiral downward. More than 20 years later he found himself middle-aged, overweight, and in the emergency room being treated for a virus. “That was a pivotal moment for me,” he remembers.
A door opened which introduced Eric to yoga, meditation, and better nutrition. “Someone once told me: You get fit in the gym, but you get healthy in the kitchen.” And so, Eric began watching what he ate, cutting out meat, and engaging in regular yoga and meditation. Things began to shift, and Eric became very interested in the mind/body connection. Recalling his musical roots, he started working with a music therapist who treated children in the foster system. He became quickly convinced that music offered a deeper level of well-being than any fitness modality could ever achieve.
It wasn’t until Eric was 54 years old that he attended his first drum circle, and it all came together. “From the very first time I sat down behind a drum I knew it was something I would be doing for the rest of my life.” The seed planted in adolescence had finally sprouted, and Eric immediately immersed himself in the study of music therapy, vibrational therapy, and the history of drumming.
Drum circles date back thousands of years to various cultures across the globe, with roots deeply embedded in African tribal gatherings, Native American ceremonies, and other indigenous practices. “Every civilization that has ever existed has had some form of a drum,” Eric says. “That’s not a coincidence.”
Indigenous peoples widely utilized drums in sacred ceremonies, viewing the drumbeat as a representation of the heartbeat. “The reason music affects us the way it does, is because the drum simulates and stimulates what keeps us alive. That’s why the drum resonates with everyone.”
Drumming has reverberated—pun intended—into all areas of Eric’s life, creating a new sense of time (or a new beat) that he follows faithfully in each moment. It’s a rhythm that feeds his overall health and wellbeing, and that he’s committed to sharing with the world.
Nowadays, G. Eric Miles facilitates weekly drum circles for United Healthcare, where he touts their therapeutic benefits: stress relief, connection, and even neurological rehabilitation. “One of my motivations is I want to help mankind evolve,” states Eric. “And this is a way to do that.”
You can find a circle and learn more about his practice at miles2go.vegas.
"The drum simulates and stimulates what keeps us alive. It is the pulse of the universe. That’s why the drum resonates with everyone."
Try the Paradiddle: To stimulate the non-dominant side of your brain, and balance your mindset, tap a drum or hard surface in this cadence: Right, Left, Right, Right - Left, Right, Left, Left. Repeat for 5-minutes, twice per day for 30-days straight, and feel the magic.