"We apply principles to achieve balance between the front and the back of the body, the inner and outer body, right and left side, contraction and expansion, mind and heart. (when we are playing or singing, don't we naturally do this, or work towards this?)
Also described are dual actions, which means that every single action must be balanced by an opposing, counter or “dual” action. If one action or instruction overpowers another we create an imbalance and put the body at the weakest part at risk. When we give an instruction that only works in one direction the body will get knocked of centre. (For musicians---Overuse syndrome, carpal tunnel, tendonitis, backpain, etc.)
Yoga is about finding our centre, when you find the centre in your body, your mind will follow along. So we have to observe that the results of our actions are balancing.
The result should always be that we create length and space in the body, but to achieve that in a safe and supported way we have to use muscle energy and core stability to protect the joints. (we do this at our instruments, yes?)
Ok, so what are we talking about here, what principles can we apply in every pose to make sure we’re balanced and supported enough to enjoy moving in a pose to the deepest level available to us. (allow the deepest level of music making to emerge)
The goal is to find the middle between extremes, once we do we can perform the postures with ease and joy." (We can perform our music with joy and ease!)
To put it simply, in yoga, the feet are essential...the way they connect with the earth is the fundamental basis of a pose. We feel how each toe connects with the ground, and then we put our attention on how the toes connect with the various places on the foot, and then how the foot bones, muscles, and tendons connect with the ankle, inside and outside of leg, hips, etc. It requires toes that are active and spread, and in full connection with the earth to enliven the many standing poses. We engage the four corners of the feet with the earth, and then we bring this energy upward through the legs, for strength and balance. We work to spread the toes far apart, so that each toe has its' own independence, and this also creates something like a web, so that our legs have a broader base to stand on.
(For piano, I think of the fingers on the keys, like I do the toes on the ground in yoga. Think about it, except for the foot being on the pedal, the tips of the fingers are the only parts of the body literally touching that huge instrument. "Grounding" the fingers, or maybe even better said, giving the fingers optimal connection with the keys, is fundamental to playing.)
Yesterday, in class, while we were standing up, my teacher said, "imagine that you are plugging your pinky toe back into your foot...or, visualize drawing your pinky toe towards you along the floor." Once I did that, I felt a connection from my toes up through my feet, on up through the legs, which actually reverberated all the way up through my torso and beyond. I felt a grounding and strength in my legs I hadn't felt before. Try it for a moment, and see how it actually helps to engage your calves more and makes your legs feel stronger. Many times in yoga class we are asked to "imagine" movements without actually doing them, as in this particular case with the toes. It works to just visualize it because we are bringing awareness to the area. I started to wonder, if at the piano, we visualized plugging the fingers into the hand, would we feel more strength, power, and choice in our playing? When I say choice, I mean, will we have the ability or more control to choose what kinds of sounds our fingers create? Many times, because of various reasons, it is difficult for pianists to have control over the sounds they make. In teaching the piano, I see this all the time. I am always looking for ways to help students engage the fingers more...in essence, to help them create a palette of sound with their fingers. I frequently see students' fingers collapse or fall out of alignment with the rest of the hand, which not only produces uneven sounds, but also tends to create pains in the hands and arms.
I decided to experiment using this concept of "plugging" the fingers back into the hand in a few lessons yesterday. I worked first, with a student who has been needing a technique for helping her engage the fingers more. Her joints tend to collapse, and a lot of time, she doesn't have the control she would like to play fast passages, etc. First, we put the lid of the piano keyboard down, and I had her place her hands on top of it in a curved hand position, like she would be on the keys. I asked her to close her eyes, and then starting on the 5th finger, I had her visualize plugging each finger into the hand. With each finger, I helped her feel the plugging, by tracing the line of energy with my fingers through her hand, then up through the arm, and all the way back through the shoulder. I continued to ask her if she was feeling the connection between all of these places, and if she could feel subtle firing of the muscles going all the way up to the shoulder. She said she could feel this line. Then I had her do the exercise again, this time, feeling two directions of engagement, one being the plugging in of the fingers, and the other being the fingertips pushing into the lid. You see, this is an example of the dual action Anusara yoga refers to, the fingers are both pushing and pulling at the same time(more imagining this than actually doing it). I could see that a certain strength and elongation was happening in her fingers, hands, and arms. After we completed both hands, I had her open her eyes and play, very slowly, 5 finger patterns, one hand at a time, on the keyboard. I observed that her fingers were stronger, and were in alignment with the rest of her arm, and the tone was so much more full and expressive. Her elbows naturally followed the movement of the fingers, which freed up the entire arm. Her posture was even better, I think, because of the type of awareness she was bringing to her body.
Now, as most of you pianists out there know, this is not new information. We have all been instructed in one way or the other to feel the connection from our fingers all the way to the shoulder blades, and to have our fingers aligned with the arms, etc. I have read countless books that describe techniques for freeing the sound by using various techniques similar to those used in yoga. An example of this would be, Gyorgy Sandor's book, ON PIANO PLAYING, where he goes into detail about how the alignment of each individual finger is necessary for beautiful tone. He uses words like "pronation" and "supination" to refer to how the arm is turning in and out, etc. This technique worked for me, for a while, when I had a student of Sandor teaching me the technique in lessons...he was touching my arms and fingers while I played to help facilitate my own awareness of these movements. It is very personal how we each go about finding the alignment, ease, and joy at our instruments. Some people can more easily find the physical alignment by hearing the sound first, and then the physical body does what it needs to do to create that sound. Others, who are more kinesthetic may like starting from the physical instruction first, and then seeing how the sound is created from there. Some people may benefit from a combination of styles. In any case, whichever techniques we do decide to use for ourselves and our students, I think the fundamental thread that runs through it all, is awareness. Whatever we can do to bring ourselves into a place of open, receptive, listening, with the body/mind/soul, will help us to connect with that which is our musical expression.
Enjoy,
I hope some of this was helpful!
Meg
