You are your instrument.
By integrating yoga into your practice routines, you will develop a more focused and concentrated mind for performance. You will be able to increase awareness of how you use your body to allow for proper posture and ease of movement while performing, helping you to avoid overuse injuries and play with greater expression.
These concepts, exercises, and practice routines present yoga from the musicians' perspective, focusing on the direct relationships between using yoga and creating music.
You will learn to:
Practice meditation approaches, breathing techniques, and yoga postures that will help improve musicianship
Play using healthy posture and technique
Get more out of your practice through improved focus
Use your breath to improve your phrasing and also to ease performance anxiety
Play with deeper expression through inspiration
Mia Olson is a professor in the woodwind department at Berklee College of Music where she teaches flute, piano, and Yoga for Musicians, which have been an inspiration for this book. She also offers her Yoga for Musicians workshops throughout the world. She is an acclaimed flutist and a Professional-Level Kripalu Yoga Teacher.
