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Sample Excerpts from Newsletter
Yoga and Breath for Musicians 1
"Society’s ideal of the 'flat, rock-hard stomach' also encourages shallow breathing"
WHAT IS YOGA?
Yoga is many things to many people. For our purposes it is a system of stretching and breathing for increased flexibility and strength. While each pose has specific physical, mental and vocal health benefits (too numerous to discuss here), what makes Yoga different from standard exercises is patience. Our muscles have a natural inclination to remain in their given state; this is known as the "recoil response." In Yoga one remains gently in a stretch, attempting to relax more each moment, until the "recoil response" subsides and the tension eases, thereby lengthening and strengthening the muscles.
This can be a good example for how we can adjust to difficult situations in our daily lives. One puts oneself in an unusual pose (asana in Sanskrit) that at first seems tight, tense and difficult, but with patience begins to soften. Once you have found repose, the body has learned to turn a stressful situation into a relaxing one. The implications are innumerable. As the renown yogi B.K.S. lyengar writes in Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health:
The practice of asanas have a beneficial impact on the whole body. Asanas not only tone the muscles, tissues, ligaments, joints and nerves, but also maintain the smooth functioning and health of all the body’s systems. They relax the body and mind, allowing both to recover from fatigue or weakness and the stress of daily life. Asanas also boost metabolism, lymphatic circulation and hormonal secretions, and bring about a chemical balance in the body.
When one is relaxed, time expands. Every moment spent on relaxing the singers will save you double or triple the time during the music practice, as the time wasted with repetition due to unfocussed singers will diminish. So many musical "problems" disappear when we sing in a healthy and joyful manner. You will be tuning the bodies, minds and ears of the singers, just as instrumentalists tune their instruments. |
