The Conductor as Yogi: First Things, First

I am in that slice of time between the end of classes and finals week with its culminating experiences, including honors ceremonies and commencement.  This “slice” also includes an out-of-state wedding, my first time on a plane since 2019.  My emails are all “now” items, my tasks are many, and as I begin to think about summer, my mind chatter is really, really active.

Stepping back, I remember that my state of mind and use of my time are my own to direct.  No, I can’t stop people from asking for things or the world from churning in its myriad ways, but I can remember that I have the ability, the responsibility, to choose the way I see the day and then go live it in the most authentic way possible.  I come back to one of the first precepts of yoga, Sutra 1.2, “Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind.”

Fluctuations of the mind, or mind chatter, is the constant, random, “ping-ponging” of our thoughts, often tinged with negativity or the impulse to do, do, do.  Mind chatter means we don’t stay very long on any one thing; we don’t linger enough to become fully aware (take that pause), detach (release the emotional colorings), and sense the next right action (wisely use our time and gifts).  We stay in reactionary mode and in doing that, we allow everything and everyone else to tell us what to do and who we need to be.  We’re scattered and without knowing it, we are breaking down our own sense of agency because we are giving power away and forgetting who we are in the swirl of activity all around us.

Today, I was in two airports, complete with crowds, long lines, so-so coffee, and an hour-long wait for a rental car that never materialized.  When I let my mind give way to chatter, what-if’s, and negative thoughts, the day felt disjunct and frustrating.  When I took a few seconds to pause and just be with a situation, I could find just enough emotional separation to see more clearly, make a smart decision, and find some gratitude, all of which made the challenges seem more manageable.

The wisdom of quieting the mind is supported by spiritual traditions, research, medicine, and our own life experience.  When I think of a really good day, it’s not a day that was spent on only one thing, but a day when I focused on one thing at a time; when I allowed myself to think a thought all the way through, do a task fully, with moment-to-moment awareness, before moving to something else, or pause before reacting to an emotionally charged situation.  Those days are really satisfying – I feel more whole, truer to myself and more productive, with (at least a little) less stress.

But stilling the mind is more than a stress-relieving tactic; it is necessary for living a life on purpose.  It’s easy to go on auto-pilot and repeat what we did (and thought) yesterday, cycling through the same routine and getting the same result.  It is only when we still the mind, even in simple ways, that our lens on life widens enough to really see and that is the first step to growth, change, and recapturing the self only you know, but may have lost touch with.  When we operate from that place, life truly is simpler because it is less clouded and more in flow with our natural instincts and abilities.

Yes, yoga is a powerful and impactful physical practice, but the word yoga means yoking or union (from the Sanskrit “yuj”), teaching us the integration of body, mind, and spirit.  Stilling the mind is the first and most important step in our yoga practice and is the tool we can always carry with us, even away from the mat, in busy airports or busy lives.  We can take that breath, live our yoga, and find ourselves whole, if even for a moment.

Dr. Ramona Wis is the Mimi Rolland Endowed Professor in the Fine Arts, Professor of Music, and Director of Choral Activities at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois and the author of The Conductor as Leader:  Principles of Leadership Applied to Life on the Podium.  Dr. Wis is a 500-hour CYT (Certified Yoga Teacher) and a certified Brain Longevity® Specialist, a research-based certification on yoga and integrative medicine for brain health and healthy aging. Reach her at: or ramonawis.com.