Musicians know that stress affects your whole body. Your breathing gets tight. Your fingers clench. Your posture suffers. You might get injured. Your sound suffers.
To play a wind instrument or sing well you need to fill your body with an open relaxed breath. The air is what produces a beautiful tone, what helps them reach the high notes, what supports the ensemble, and makes vibrato warm and the phrases musical.
Whether you sing, play the tuba or play the piccolo, Karen Martinez, or Khushbir Kaur, invites you to her weekly yoga class called “Recovery to Self Discovery.” She believes Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan is ideal for musicians because its strong focus on rhythmic breathing.
Each session combines breath, movement and stretching in a way that targets specific physical, mental and emotional issues and creates the mind-body awareness that you need to play music. The meditation portion develops concentration and makes it easier to change old patterns.
Kundalini Yoga is an ancient technology that has been passed from yogi to yogi in secret through the centuries. In 1969 Yogi Bhajan began teaching those secrets in the West.
Martinez is a Kundalini Research Institute Level One Kundalini Yoga Teacher. She studied many forms of yoga, but turned to Kundalini Yoga as Taught by Yogi Bhajan to relieve her chronic back pain. She said, “It transformed my life. Yoga and meditation allowed me to define myself, to fulfill my myself by focusing on the things I want to achieve, and to act and think at my highest consciousness.”
“Recovery to Self Discovery” can be enjoyed by everyone who wants to increase energy and build physical and mental strength. People who suffer from body aches and pains, or have limited mobility will also be able to participate.
The class is Saturday mornings from 10-11:15 A.M. in the Great Room of the Betty Earhart Senior Center, 1000 Oppenheimer Drive. $15 per class, $54 for a monthly pass and $162 for a three month pass. For more information call 505-753-6686 or 505-927-0768.
