Warm up your body for a better performance
Before I embarked on my yoga journey, I suffered from wrist pain while playing the English horn for extended periods. I would use a neck strap, like many musicians do, to help offset some of the weight on my wrists but they would still bother me and the added weight placed strain on my neck. I complained of my wrist pain to an oboe colleague and he asked me if I had ever tried yoga. Of course, I had tried yoga and enjoyed it, but I did not have a dedicated practice at that time and was nowhere near consistent. It took me several years to fully immerse myself in a consistent yoga practice but once I had a regular routine my wrist pain disappeared. Yoga helped to strengthen and stretch my wrist muscles through the different postures and greatly helped the longevity of my performing career.
Yoga has many benefits to help the longevity of a music career. In addition to helping strengthen the wrists, yoga helps to prevent or reduce pain from conditions musicians get like bursitis, arthritis, or carpal tunnel. Yoga also helps to maintain good posture to counteract the forward-posture position lots of musicians have due to the nature of the instrument. Yoga loosens up and stretches the muscles which not only feels good but helps the mind and body to relax and leads to a more productive practice session.
This leads me to my main question: Why do many musicians skip warming up their bodies before playing?
Many musicians warm up their instruments by playing long tones and scales before beginning a practice session. However, often ignored is the warm-up of our entire body which is vital to maintain good health and prevent injury.
Perhaps musicians do not stretch before practicing because they do not know which stretches to do or they do not think it is helpful. Maybe you even skip your instrument warm-up and go straight for the hardest passage! I think we have all been there (I know I have!). But I also know that when I do things correctly in the practice room and warm up first, my fingers and breath control help me to be more efficient and learn the music better and faster. I promise you that if you take at least 5-10 minutes every day to stretch the body before playing, you will be more efficient, focused, and less prone to injury.
If you are interested in incorporating more warm-ups for the body and mind before your practice session and need some inspiration or ideas, check out my “Daily Mindfulness Guide” for stretches and breathwork you can do in the practice room. You can also find various length yoga classes on my YouTube channel. Try them out and let me know what you think!