It’s 6:45 AM. Two people get out of the elevator on the 38th floor of the Sheraton in Downtown Dallas. One has a yoga mat rolled up under her arm. The other has a towel in his hand. They search for the Yoga for Conductors and Singers session. I smile and motion them into the room. They anticipate an hour of breathing, relaxing, stretching, and sweating to prepare for a long conference day. We begin the class with a remarkably in tune “ohm,” and start the deep, rib-expanding inhales and the extended, tension-reducing exhales. We test our balance as we stretch and strengthen muscles we didn't know we had. Our breathing focuses the mind in ways that will pay off in our rehearsal preparation and stamina. As the weight of our bodies presses gently on a folded leg, years of harbored emotional debris releases from our hips, freeing the soul to express symphonies of passion. Our arms and shoulders are absolved of gesture-limiting stiffness, becoming inspiration to an oratorio’s worth of inhales. I stand at the back of the room and observe most of the class paused mid-flow, inspired to the point of a stun as they drink in the sun, now half-risen on the Dallas horizon. As the class ends, we sit. Our spines are plumb lines of verticality. We are in silence but for the peaceful waves of breath sweeping through the room. The tranquility of the body brings the mind to focus. One young conductor passes me on his way out and asks permission to use some of the things we did with his choir. I encourage him to continue his yoga practice at home where he will find many more things to bring to rehearsal.
(The ACDA National Conference is just one of the many benefits of membership in the American Choral Directors Association. Join ACDA today.)
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