With this post, we welcome choral conductor and certified meditation teacher Steve Grives in his first post for a bi-weekly blog entitled Midweek Meditation. This blog will address issues pertinent to choral professionals through the lens of mindfulness and meditation. He will write about his own meditation practice, share some stories from his professional life, […]
Wellness
The Conductor as Yogi: Lighten-ing Ways
As I write this, it is 5:47 AM on a Saturday morning. It is light outside and has been for a while. While I prefer sleeping in a little later, there is something about these longer spring days of earlier sunrises and later sunsets that creates an expanded sense of space and time. We can […]
The Conductor as Yogi: Living Ahimsa
Early on as a blogger, I posted “Living Your Namaste” in the wake of violence that escalated on a national level in late spring of 2020. It was a way to reflect on the moment and bring something from the yoga practice to inform our thinking so we might move toward a better life in […]
The Conductor as Yogi: It’s Time for Savasana
The season and academic year are ending. The concerts will be finished. We feel a sense of accomplishment, relief, and celebration, colored with the bittersweet realization that it is still an imperfect world both in and out of our choral lives. Our limbs may feel heavy, our energy is drained, and our exhales are getting […]
The Conductor as Yogi: Sing Your Authentic Voice
At least once a year I review my original mission statement for this blog: “The Conductor as Yogi blog will explore mindfulness, wellness, inspirational writings, and classic yoga philosophy and practice to encourage readers towards greater wholeness in their professional and personal lives. The Conductor as Yogi is an authentic, conversational approach to finding one’s […]
The Conductor as Yogi: Rest in Goodness
Rest—real rest—can be elusive. With our ever-thinking minds, busy schedules, and life’s shifting terrain, we can find ourselves unable to really settle into a fully relaxed state. To release physical, emotional, psychological holding. To sleep well. To feel restored rather than just OK. In many ways, experiencing a state of deep rest is our greatest […]