The beginning of the calendar year—ahhh! . . . Resolutions. Big plans. Massive change! And how long do those resolutions last? We know the statistics, that resolutions set on January 1st are often abandoned within the first month, depending on whose reporting you read. There are countless guides for determining and keeping resolutions to create […]
Yoga
The Conductor as Yogi: May You Know
We’ve made it through another calendar year. Some combination of joyous, fatigued, inspired, bruised, cautious, or hopeful, on any given day. Stories to tell and plans still in the making. Intersections of work life and “real life” (can they be the same thing?). And though I have no idea how many read this blog, I […]
The Conductor as Yogi: The Spirit, the Brain, and the Choir
Sounds like the title of a new novel, but today’s post wraps up our fall exploration of brain health and how it intersects with our life as conductors and teachers. We started by looking at how our brain reacts to stress, then unpacked how we can mitigate stress in rehearsals with our breathing and movement […]
The Conductor as Yogi: Brain Aerobics in Rehearsal
Our recent posts have focused on the impact of stress on the brain (not just on our “feeling” state) and how we can mitigate it by taking time in our day and in our rehearsals to pause and move and breathe. Today we look at another way to enhance brain health for us and our […]
The Conductor as Yogi: The Brain-Healthy Rehearsal
In my last post, we looked at the brain’s response to stress and the importance of understanding stress not only as a “feeling” thing but also, a “thinking” thing. The effects of stress can negatively impact our short-term memory and our ability to manage the details of our professional and personal worlds and can have […]
The Conductor as Yogi: This Is Your Brain on Stress
One of the most common reasons people come to a yoga class is to de-stress. Stress is at the center of our modern lifestyles, so engaging in the physical practice of yoga, as well as the meditation, mindfulness, and breathing that are built into the eight-limbed yoga practice, go a long way to helping us […]