Yoga Videos for Classical Musicians
According to Nuffield Health, over half of Brits have taken up a new form of exercise during lockdown, and one of the most popular forms is yoga. Being a musician is by nature very physical, reliant on breath control, muscular control and good posture. Beyond its physicality, being a musician requires self discipline, stress management, extensive travel and creativity. Yoga can help with all of this. Here are a few resources specifically made with musicians in mind. Let us know how you get on by tweeting us @alterclassical and give us a shout if you know of any other videos and classes made for musicians.
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📸 @adrienelouise on Instagram
First up is YouTube’s Yoga Queen, Adriene Mishler (and her adorable dog, Benji). Adriene has over 9 million YouTube subscribers and has a massive bank of yoga videos you can access for free. There is something for everyone, whatever your mood, state of being or profession, including a 25-minute yoga video specifically for musicians. You can also find yoga for creativity, yoga for self-doubt, yoga for stress management, and an 11-minute quickie for hands, fingers and wrists. Have a dig through, see what resonates with you today and in the words of Adriene, find what feels good.
📸 @intermissionsessions on Instagram
Violinists and yogis Melissa White and Elena Urioste run weekly mindful movement sessions on Zoom. Classes are all-levels and donation-based. There are also personalised one-on-one sessions, and when the world is in its usual order, they also organise retreats in the UK and the US.
“Musicians are athletes. One glance at us once we’ve walked offstage – exhausted, dishevelled, drenched in sweat – confirms that we’ve not only been pouring our hearts into our music, but also our bodies. Thus, like athletes, we should be encouraged to nurture, prepare, and congratulate our bodies for performing those miraculous feats of which they are capable.”
📸 @musicbodymind on Instagram and Facebook
Amelia is a trombonist and yoga teacher based in Texas. She is passionate about helping musicians relieve any tension, pain or performance anxiety. She has around 15 videos on the Music Body Mind YouTube channel that you can dig into, and every Monday you can find a mindfulness tip to take into your practising and performing on the Music Body Mind’s Instagram and Facebook pages.
📸 @liedownandlisten on Instagram
Pianist and wellbeing advocate Christina McMaster is the founder of Lie down + Listen, a unique classical music experience. The sessions start with a meditation and restorative yoga session followed by a concert, during which the audience lies down. It’s like a gong bath taken to the next level. There is a selection of chilled yoga poses you can try for relaxation at home and an accompanying Spotify playlist with music by Pärt, Glass, Ligeti, Messiaen and Nils Frahm. Personalised online sessions are also available.
“Yoga has helped me cope with the mental pressures of being a musician and learned how to deepen my sense of connection. In performance, when I am focused and connected, my audience respond to this and so I feel a responsibility to lead and inspire like a great yoga teacher would.”
Hannah Fiddy is a creative entrepreneur, developing new audiences for classical music. She has created and promoted numerous concerts outside of traditional spaces, including warehouses, pubs, clubs, museums, hospitals, prisons and even in Primark. Hannah is also an interviewer, writer and guest lecturer, and runs the Avon Chamber Choir in Bristol. In a past life she founded London Flashmob, producing quirky events from wedding proposals to cultural pranks for up to 1,000 people.
Follow Hannah on Twitter @Hannah_Fiddy.