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05 Dec 24 | Events
Music & Wellbeing: What do vinyasas and violins have in common?
Elena Urioste is a violinist and co-director of Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective with many strings to her multi-talented bow, including being a qualified yoga instructor. Elena will be hosting the Early Morning Yoga class as part of the Music and Wellbeing Day with Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective on 28 February 2025. We asked Elena about the connection between yoga and music.
How has yoga supported your wellbeing as a musician?
Over the course of my regular yoga practice, I have not only noticed changes in my outward appearance, but I have been able to adjust some physical habits that I had built up over the years from my violin playing. Additionally, as it is no small feat to survive 90 minutes of yoga in a scorching hot room without falling over or crying, the hot yoga sequence builds mental determination like you wouldn’t believe, as well as the ability to overcome almost any seemingly impossible situation.
My yoga and meditation practices are largely responsible for the sense of calm I am now able to access in even the most harrowing of performance circumstances. This is not to say that I am immune to pre-concert jitters, but I now know how to work with my nerves as opposed to battling against them.
How did you get into yoga?
I began practicing hot yoga in the summer of 2009, and from my very first class, I was hooked. Hot yoga is a fixed set of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises that are performed in a heated room (105℉/40.5°C, 40% humidity) and each class lasts for 90 minutes. Insane? Possibly. Effective? Definitely.
I have since expanded my yoga repertoire to include other styles – among them Kripalu yoga and mindful, alignment-based vinyasa – as well as building a regular meditation practice. All of which has offered broader insight into a true mind-body-spirit connection.
Why do you recommend yoga for musicians and performers?
It is my personal belief that all musicians would benefit from a regular yoga practice. Posture awareness, breath control, a gradual development of mental strength and clarity, an increase in self-compassion… the benefits that yoga can introduce to one’s life are truly invaluable.
Many musicians, in their quest to fulfil the intellectual and emotional sides of their craft, overlook the more athletic components, which is perhaps less often discussed, but in many ways just as relevant to effective music-making. An athlete would never launch into his or her physical acrobatics without properly nurturing and preparing the body; similarly, musicians should consider what an immense physical undertaking it is to play an instrument. Proper blood circulation and limber muscles are vital, given the amount of time we spend making strenuous, repetitive motions.
Having had a myriad of physical issues with my violin playing for many years, I am immensely grateful for the better understanding of the human body that yoga has imparted to me, and I find it a fascinating ongoing study.
Techniques and wisdom that I have absorbed in the yoga room creep into my violin teaching as well, and I often find myself encouraging students to spend as much effort thinking about the way their breath flows from their lungs, through their bow arms and onto the strings as they do agonising over their intonation.
All musicians should learn to treat their bodies with the awareness and respect they deserve, and to find joy in their physical connections to their instruments — and ultimately, to the music itself.
Inspired to try yoga for your wellbeing? You can book tickets to Elena’s Early Morning Yoga session and take a look at the other events as part of the Kaleidoscope Music and Wellbeing Day.
05 Dec 24