The Conductor as Yogi: Take What You Need

My blog schedule this year has coincided more than once with concert weeks for me, which means as I sit down to write, I am absorbed with those tasks, thoughts, and emotions that emerge from peaking and sharing performances.  Trying to clear space to think deep thoughts.  Hmm.  Maybe a different strategy is needed right now.

I recall a visit to our campus in 2019 by composer Reena Esmail and violinist and founding director of Street Symphony, Vijay Gupta.  As part of their residency, they visited our Chorale rehearsal and taught a simple but profound piece, “Take What You Need,” that has its roots in the restorative community-building work of Street Symphony in the Los Angeles area.  What I remember most about this experience is the “permission” we all felt, to honor what was needed right now in our own lived experience.  Something busy professionals can neglect as we rationalize that we don’t have time, are solely responsible for every piece of the artistic puzzle and everyone’s response to the performance or their contribution to it.

Of course, there is truth here—we do take responsibility when we step into leadership.  We are the one on the podium or in the sanctuary or classroom shaping the experience.  But we have to navigate our own physical, emotional, and psychological journey into the waters of art-making and people-leading even in (especially in) those periods of highest demand on our time and energy.  How do we do that?

We take what we need.  In this moment.  

Esmail’s words, shared purely and beautifully and powerfully, are a good starting place for us.  And as we let ourselves go, we might hear our inner voice leading us to something quite basic, but essential; something to re-center us, to nourish us, to clear out mental debris, to hear quiet instead of all the ear worms of the rep we are working on, to reclaim fun without guilt, to remember who we really are and why we are here . . . . whatever it is, when we take what we need we honor ourselves and by doing so, we find increased capacity to see more clearly and create more fully.

“Take What You Need” by Reena Esmail

Take a moment
Take a breath
Take time
Take care

Take heart
Take hope
Take a step
Take a chance

Take courage
Take charge
Take a stand
Take pride

Take joy
Take pause
Take a moment
Take a breath

Take what you need

What do you need right now?

Be well.

Check out: https://www.reenaesmail.com/catalog/take-what-you-need/

Street Symphony: https://www.streetsymphony.org/our-work/street-symphony-los-angeles

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 (and video course through Forward Motion, https://www.fwdmotion.org/sp-ramonawis-conductorasleader ).  Dr. Wis is a 500-hour CYT (Certified Yoga Teacher) and a certified Brain Longevity® Specialist.  Find her at:  or ramonawis.com.