A Yogi Family Tree
In need of some new binge worthy video? This ought to fill the void
Have you finished season 4 of Orange Is The New Black yet? What about Peaky Blinders? Looking for something new and thrilling to watch?
Well I have just the solution!
Some vintage video footage of B.K.S. Iyengar, his teacher Krishnamacharya, and of course Lord Menuhin!
Menuhin has a direct lineage back to the 'father of modern yoga' - most yoga instructors these days can only dream of a pedigree like this. Trust me! You don't want to miss these videos!
From teacher in 1938.....to student (and brother in law) in 1976
...and finally to student/violin virtuoso. Seen here playing with Ravi Shankar. Menuhin was truly attracted to the practices and music of India. He speaks with great love and admiration for the culture and his visits to the country.
Fun fact: Did you know it was not the Beatles who discovered Ravi Shankar? It was Yehudi Menuhin! Talk about ahead of his time!
Menuhin met Shankar on his inaugural tour of India in 1952 and brought him the the Bath Music Festival in 1966 (the year that George Harrison met and studied with Ravi).
B.K.S. Iyengar + Yehudi Menuhin + Yoga + Violin = Research?
The first Dissertation Topic Post.
Two of my heroes. Yehudi Menuhin and B.K.S. Iyengar.
What did they do for music?
B.K.S. Iyengar + Yehudi Menuhin
aka
Yoga + Violin
These dudes...how can you not love them?
This is it. I'm diving in! This is my first post on the topic of my dissertation (or document as they like to call it at OU) research.
Yoga has taken the world by storm. It is reportedly a several billion-dollar industry.
Yoga pants, yoga mats, yoga classes, instagram accounts, workshops, festivals, books, websites, video subscriptions, food, diet, philosophy. Everyone seems to be doing it. In fact, I know more people who DO yoga than who DON’T do yoga these days.
And that is incredible.
I started practicing yoga when I was 19. I was at a summer music festival in Hawaii (poor me) and yoga was an optional morning activity before rehearsals. I figured why not? And that was it. I was hooked. Just like most people trying yoga. The initial benefits were immediate. I felt so focused in rehearsals, my body felt strong and long, I felt happy and positive. I didn't want to stop.
And I haven't really since. I've tried all sorts of yoga - Bikram, Vinyasa Flow, Kundalini, Power Yoga, Ashtanga, Yen, Sculpt, and finally Iyengar. I practice at home, on my own. I travel with a yoga mat. I read books on the subject. And now I am writing my Dissertation on it.
I was first introduced to Iyengar yoga a few years ago. I had been shoving my body half heartedly into sun salutations and asanas without really understanding what I was doing or how it was supposed to feel. The goal was pretzel shapes no matter how I got there.
Pretty much on speed dial pre-Iyengar yoga practice.
I signed up for a ‘Strength and Alignment’ class (secret code for an Iyengar class) and my whole concept of yoga changed. Gone was the mood lighting and mindless sun salutations. My muscles spasmed and quivered for a full 90mins just doing basic poses, and using props. Here I was thinking of myself as a pretty advanced yoga student and come to find out that when done properly there is absolutely no easy yoga pose and your entire body is working ALL OF THE TIME. Goodbye ego – talk about a humbling experience! Just standing up straight can make your body fatigue! Whoa!
We did Ustrasana.
I used to HATE this pose. I mean avoid it like the plague, whine like a baby on the inside or do something else in class when given the option. My neck would crunch, my legs would go a little numb, it was hard to breathe and just felt genuinely terrible. Everything was wrong with it. But then we worked on it in class and OMG I got it! When done correctly it feels AMAZING! You really do feel tremendous joy. Your heart opens up. You feel warm, your arms and chest expand. You come out of the pose and want to smile and just love everyone.
And that was it. I was hooked.
Many yoga lovers are turned off by Iyengar yoga; there is no music, there is no 'this is your practice', there are tons of props, you don’t heat the room, , you have to listen to every instruction from the teacher, you hold poses forever, it is not workout yoga, you feel like you're going to die in trikonasana (triangle pose), you never thought standing on your own two feet could be so difficult. If you can make it to the end of class = you will feel AMAZING. At least I do.
Just looking at this photo makes my legs ache! He may not look insanely strong - but what he is doing right here takes remarkable strength, concentration, and flexibility.
Iyengar teachers are a quirky bunch. They tend to be a bit older. Seasoned. No nonsense but not mean. They know exactly how each pose should look and feel. They have spent years in training (because there is no 200 hour training course or retreat for Iyengar teachers) and most importantly they use yoga therapeutically to cure or ease what ails you.
So what does this have to do with violin again?
Just as I go ‘all in’ with Iyengar yoga, imagine my surprise when I open his seminal book "Light on Yoga" and find a forward written by Yehudi Menuhin.
WHAT?! What business does this classical violinist have writing a forward in one of the most famous books on yoga of all time? And on behalf of the man credited with bringing yoga to the West!?
Turns out it was Menuhin who brought Iyengar to our attention. Yep - we Westerners have a forward thinking classical violinist to thank for our current obsession with Yoga.
Menuhin actually said the following;
"I consider B.K.S. Iyengar to be my first real violin teacher. He is the first to teach me how to use my body"
Talk about a revolution in pedagogy and performance!
That is a profound statement for a world famous once child-prodigy violinist to make about a previously unknown yoga teacher. It really got me thinking/curious/obsessed about this whole yoga thing. I loved it before but this seemed like a perfect opportunity to dive in intellectually too.
So there you have it.
My journey + the discovery of Menuhin’s involvement = mild/intense obsession with the impact this friendship had -in this case- specifically on the classical music world.
You can read my dissertation here.
Enjoy!
10 Things They Don't Teach You in Music School
Real talk about what really goes into being a musician.
We all get into this whole music thing because we love it, right?
There are just a couple details they don't emphasize in music school while you're working hard, practicing around the clock, and safely hidden away, nurturing your hard earned talents. Then BAM! welcome to the real world where you realize being good at your instrument is only a teeny tiny bit of what it takes to succeed in this business.
Here are 10 lessons I learned in the real world of music making, playing, and teaching.
1. Kiss your nights and weekends goodbye.
2. You’ll be ready for dinner at 9:30 or 10 when rehearsals/performances are over and most normal people are getting ready to call it a night.
3. Those people who wave a stick around, make no actual sound, and are always begging you to play on their recitals end up making the most money. Be nice to them.
4. Taxes are a mess. Seriously. Good Luck and Save Your Receipts.
5. Have you seen this meme? 100% accurate.
6. You will get just as much work being nice, fun, and social as you will practicing your butt off.
7. Black clothes. Forever. You will never have enough.
8. When you’re a teacher you will hear the same terrible excuses from your students that you used to use. And you will cringe with embarrassment for them…and also for yourself.
9. But first Coffee! A personal mantra that also functions as an excuse to delay practicing for just a few more minutes.
10. Practicing is probably only 15% of what you actually need to be doing in order to make money. Don’t forget about juggling rehearsals, getting to the gig, teaching, shameless self promotion, “networking”, organizing, planning, prepping parts, doing your markings, emailing (forever), watching hilarious youtube videos….and more coffee.
If someone had told me any of this when I was younger I may never have believed them. Ignorance is bliss, as they say.
But seriously.....What did I miss?