Musician's Yoga, Body Mapping, and the Alexander Technique: Awareness

Let's jump right in, shall we.  Physically, I struggle to "work out" because as a young person, I was constantly engaged in physical activity such as ballet and other dance forms, soccer, tennis, gymnastics, etc.  I never had to "work out".  Now that I am older, and I am not getting any younger (no body is, get it?), I feel my body ache doing things I was once able to do without a second thought.  Mentally, in short, I have responsibilities (kids will do that) that I have not had before.  I often find myself stressed.  So this summer, I decided to do some reading that would, hopefully, make me more knowledgeable about my overall well-being, both physical and mental. My reading included the following books: Musician's Yoga: A Gude to Practice, Performance, and Inspiration by Mia Olson; Body Mapping for Flutists: What Every Flute Teacher Needs to Know About the Body by Lea Pearson; and Simple Step-by-Step Alexander Technique by Michèle Macdonnell.

After reading these books, I by no means am an expert on these topics, however I do feel enlightened and inspired to learn more and improve myself. The first two books are written by flutists, which is awesome because, hey, I am a flutist.  Here is what all of the books seem to agree on, emphatically: 1) awareness of your body and its responses to everyday activity is extremely important and 2) we carry stress around in our body through misuse and tension both of which can inhibit our ability to perform mundane tasks and/or perform musically.  All three also provide many pictures which demonstrate proper balance and poise and conversely imbalance in the structure of the body.

Musician's Yoga offers meditations and yoga routines, as well as individual poses, to help a flutist find inner calm and balance.  The varying routines, each including multiple poses, to focus the energy of the body, increase flexibility, and implement the balance found in all aspects of flute playing (from practice to performance) will help you become more aware of your posture as you play.

Body Mapping goes into great detail about how each part of the body works and how the whole structure is connected.  What I got out of it, based on the aches I have felt of late, is that the tension in my neck is hindering my ability to breathe fully/quietly/effectively, to feel flexible and relaxed in my playing stance, tongue faster, and even use the maximum mobility of my fingers.  It seems crazy yet also so obvious that tension in one area of my body spreads throughout and impacts my playing.

Finally, Alexander Technique,  offers a brief but clear introduction to the technique which focuses on the primary control (the alignment and relationship between the head, neck, and back).  It suggests that we study the way babies/toddlers move, their stature, to realize what natural poise looks like.  It is often suggested, by the way, to watch babies breathe to understand the proper/natural/most efficient breathing technique.

Again, I am not an expert, but rather an intrigued student who has only just begun this journey.  I plan to slowly teach myself how to implement the finer points of all of these books into my everyday life and, of course, into my playing.  In the last few weeks I have started to do yoga, via DVD.  I can already feel a difference in the way I carry myself and stand.  I feel less tension while I play.  However, I am far from mastering yoga and I can only imagine how much better I will feel as I continue to practice yoga.  In the near future, I would love to make up my own routines, with guidance from Olson's book and other experts, that I can use daily for myself or teach my studio students.  These routines could be an overall experience or singularly focused to release tension and improve flexibility in a particular area of the body.  It is my hope that as I learn my own body map, I can help my students learn and correct, as needed, their own.  Furthermore, taking note of how I complete everyday tasks will only prolong my body's ability to perform music without falling prey to tendinitis or other painful aches.  It starts with how I stand, how I sit, how I bend over to pick something up, how I write on my computer or on a piece of paper at a desk; all of these positions we put our bodies in and forget to consider, to be aware of, how our body feels.  Awareness is paramount.  As discussed in both Olson's and Pearson's book, inclusive awareness, taking in all around you, is part of the musical experience.  Macdonnell discusses this type of awareness too when she talks about being in the present, in the now.

It is so easy to get lost in the music, to only see the music.  Yet, if we are not mentally and physically healthy and aware, then it is all for naught.