Why Yoga helped me to become a better Musician

I am two weeks away from becoming a registered Yoga Teacher. I'm feeling both excited and anxious. These feelings are not uncommon to me in fact throughout my journey as a Musician & Flute Teacher i battled with anxiety before performances and exams. When i attended my first Yoga class it was a breath of fresh air, an 'aha' moment and my first thought was 'why didn't i find yoga sooner!' Over time with a regular yoga practice my breath control has improved, i am able to reduce my nerves before a big performance and i have reduced tension around my shoulders, neck and jaw all through using Yoga stretches and breathing techniques.

Why is yoga Important?

Yoga benefits musicians of all instruments and genres. It’s a physical activity accessible to every age and fitness level, and is thoroughly embraced by professional musicians. Yoga offers powerful opportunities to address the physical, mental, and emotional challenges we musicians face. And it can be done in just a few minutes without the need for special equipment.

For musicians we have extreme stress situations — adrenaline, stress hormones,etc that go into our body during performances.The prefrontal cortex shuts down in response to fear or stress causing the “deer in head lights” syndrome.

Yoga helps us regulate our reaction to stress factors. It is a stressful activity for the body, yet if we breathe and relax into a pose, we’re training ourselves to counteract stress in a positive way — over time we can eventually regulate the way our body responds to stress.

this is a great article to read :

https://majoringinmusic.com/yoga-for-musicians/

I offer Private & Group Yoga classes for Musicians. If you would like to explore Yoga and how it can help you as a Musician please contact me