What Are The Cornerstones To My Embodied Artist Practice?
Generally speaking people know that life and music go up and down. What’s that Buddhist saying? “Nothing is permanent”. Sometimes we have high highs after a great show or recording (or great news) then other days are low lows from a performance to a tour or even the news. Therefore it can feel like you’re not making progress in your art or any number of personal and or life’s challenges that may be occurring. Part of why I feel so strongly and grateful to teach a holistic approach to vocal technique is for all the ways it can directly support me through the ups and downs, twists and turns of life and music. So I thought I would share the cornerstones to my own Embodied Artist practice in the hopes that it inspires you..
I don’t always practice these in the following order but this is an example of a regular day’s flow for me.
The Four Ms:
Meditation
Over the years I’ve practiced a variety of meditation methods from Hatha Yoga to silent Quaker meetings, from Qi Gong to Authentic Tantra, from chakra and ancestral meditations to Yoga nidra and more. Rather than listen to guided meditations, I guide myself and mix/marry different approaches. I spend anywhere from 5-30 minutes to meditate usually followed by a short visualization of how I would like to experience my day.
Meals
Having had food sensitivities for most of my life now I’ve had to learn how to nourish myself without a lot of the many comfort foods people like to go to like caffeine, sugar and refined flour. So I’ve learned how to really enjoy eating what my body needs, not just what my mouth or taste buds might be craving. Instead I have to go for what’s actually going to fuel my body. And now at this point in my life I really can’t skip out on eating, especially if I have work to do like a long day of rehearsals or teaching for example.
Movement
This almost feels like the top M for me. I’ve gone for many months where I skipped on my sitting meditation, even performing but movement I’ve discovered is really central to my mental health even if it’s just going for a walk to clear and refocus my mind after a day of work. I’ve created my schedule so that I pretty much always start my day with some kind of movement from strength/weight training to Yoga or pilates, and or walking.
Music
I believe music in itself is like meditation. Sure there are aspects that can feel more computational or technical like when you’re learning a new piece of music, composing or dealing with the technical set up for recording. But music can be very meditative and therapeutic when you’re warming up or refining a piece. So I need my daily dose vocal practice to not only get my chops warmed up but also to center my mind.
So these are the pillars, or cornerstones, that I rely on to get through jetlag, multiple activities, and life’s challenges as well as keeping up with my own music business. Which, if any of these pillars do you resonate with and which if any would you like to incorporate into your day/week? Send me a reply I would love to know.