Healthful Band Technique
Yoga for Musicians

Did you know that 76% of collegiate musicians have played through pain at some point in their musical career? This doesn’t have to happen! Long gone are the days of the “No pain, no gain” mentality for physical activity of all types.

The Healthful Band Technique clinic teaches and reviews posture and proper performance technique while incorporating breathing, stretching and mindfulness. What’s even better is that a relaxed, injury-free performer SOUNDS BETTER with a more resonate, relaxed tone and isn’t that every band director wants?!

Breathing, stretching and mindfulness – wait, isn’t that yoga? Shhhhh…. it is but don’t say that. You might scare the musicians into thinking they have to chant and put their foot behind their head. :-)

Musicians are athletes and band directors are essentially an entire coaching staff in one person. By introducing Healthful Band Technique, I can be your athletic trainer while giving your students the tools to help themselves. Healthful Band Technique is great at all levels but is better suited to high school and college music students where bad habits may have developed while performing more physically demanding music.

Healthful Band Technique is different than Yoga for Musicians because we review and discuss proper hand positions, instrument carriage, and posture in addition to breathing/stretching/mindfulness.

Why should you have Healthful Band Technique come to your band room?

Your students will sound better.
Your students will feel better, both physically and mentally.
You will help your student be injury-free performers.

An outgrowth of HBT is the development of a yoga-based Dynamic Warm-Up for marching band. This warm-up improves balance and core strength while preparing students for the physical demands of marching. Bands that use the Dynamic Warm-Up before every visual rehearsal see improved posture, control and strength in the band's performance.

A little backstory on how this all developed……

After obtaining my 200 hour yoga certification, I wanted a way to combine that knowledge with the 25 years as a middle school band director. I fell down a rabbit hole of sorts, learning that musician health is a relatively new field and about 25 years behind sports medicine. As a result of this new interest, I’ve completed additional coursework in anatomy, yoga for athletes, and I am certified in Essentials of Performing Arts Medicine by the Performing Arts Medicine Association. I’ve developed Healthful Band Technique as a way to help band directors help their students be healthy AND sound great. I continue to develop the program through further reading and research regarding musician health as well as continuing my yoga education by pursuing my 500 hour certification.

The students’ sense of balance and movement has greatly increased since we started incorporating yoga. We also use yoga time as the first thing we do at a rehearsal as a full group, so it has become a core part of our rehearsal routine
K.S.: Band Director, Willow Spring H.S., Fuquay-Varina, NC

The HBT Dynamic Warm-Up Routine has set up our marching band for success! Students always know how we're starting rehearsal, led by our Visual Captains, and are able to focus after a day of classes. I was nervous watching them wobble and fall over at the beginning of the season, but now they're balanced with poise and strength. This shows up not just in the warm-up, but in marching and choreo, too!
J.L.: Assistant Band Director, West Johnston H.S., Benson, NC

I am a certified yoga teacher (200hr and Yoga for Teens). I started doing yoga for fitness and found that it saved me from the hyper-critical, hyper-competitive world we live in. Yes, most of that was in my head but yoga provides solace and safety from the destructive noise we hear. In addition, I want to dispel the myth that yoga is only for skinny, flexible girls. EVERYONE can do yoga. Can you stand, sit, lie down and breathe? Good. You can do yoga and it will help you with all aspects of life.

After a 25 year career teaching middle school band, I retired to focus on combining yoga and music. Both in my own classroom and working with area high school bands, I saw how yoga could benefit musicians of all levels and ensembles.

Yoga for Marching Band

Using principals of yoga, the Dynamic Warm-Up improves students' balance, core strength, and breath control. The warm-up can be altered to include any visuals from the show so that students reinforce those movements.

Healthful Band Technique for Concert Ensembles

HBT sessions combine breathing techniques, mindfulness exercises and chair yoga to prepare musicians to play but adds proper performance techniques reminders regarding posture, instrument carriage and hand positions so that students perform with a tension-free relaxed sound.

Yoga for Musicians

Musicians already possess mindfulness and sharp focus but sometimes instrumental performance forces the body into odd positions and pain! Classes are designed to work through any performance related issues. Individual or small group.

Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, United States

robingorhamyoga@gmail.com

Healthful Band Technique
Yoga for Musicians