Private Universe

Irish music and yoga postures

I have been teaching myself to play the Irish tin whistle, off and on, for several months. Whenever I have a new interest, I join an internet forum, so I found and joined one on tin whistling.

One interesting thread a while back was about practicing. Irish music (you may have noticed) can be fast. (Have a listen to Joannie Madden, the tin whistle queen.) Sometimes newbies to the forum post a clip of themselves playing, moderately fast but with lots of stumbles, wrong notes, and a general labored sound. Inevitably one of the experienced players says gently that the person is playing too fast for his or her ability level. The way to learn to play fast is to practice slow.

Practicing at an uncomfortably fast speed means (1) you are practicing getting it wrong, over and over, because you miss notes every time, and (2) your playing always sounds like it is full of effort - because it is. Playing at a speed that is comfortable for you means you get all the notes and have the extra attention to spare to make it sound beautiful. So you are practicing being correct and beautiful. Play it at that speed, however slow it is, a hundred or a thousand times, and guess what - your fingers start to move faster on their own, because they know what to do.

This is a lesson I'm hoping to bring to my yoga teaching later on. Lots of people in yoga classes try to practice a little (or a lot) beyond what they are physically capable of, just like the beginner tin whistler trying to play fast. Either they have a mental image of what the pose "should" look like, or they are trying to prove they are as "good at yoga" as the person on the next mat. Pushing farther into a posture that your body wants to go is practicing doing it wrong. Coming out of proper alignment and forcing the pose is a good way to hurt yourself. And if you are doing that, your yoga practice will always feel full of effort - because it is.

Instead, let your body tell you how far it can stretch today, and how long it can hold a posture today. Stay in good form and practice at a comfortable level. Practice the posture in a version that is right for your body, a hundred or a thousand times, and guess what - your body eventually lets you know that it is ready to go a little deeper, hold a little longer. Now it knows what to do.

The way to practice beautiful yoga is to play it at your own speed.

Labels: music, yoga

posted by Jaime_sama @ 8:15 PM