Movement for (Performance) Anxiety
Photo credit: Rachel McCarthy
Every morning, I start my day with some movement and breathwork. I have a routine that provides a sense of grounding and stability. I also use a little excerpt from the same routine backstage to centre and calm myself before I play for people. This is part of my “toolkit” – a concept I unpick in my online performance anxiety classes.
Why movement? Some of the symptoms of performance and generalised anxiety include diverted circulation of blood flow away from extremities, resulting in cold limbs. Doing a warm-up routine that includes gentle “shaking” and joint rotations encourages blood flow to those cold fingers. At the same time, movement takes us out of habitual and obsessive worrying, which is otherwise difficult to manage through “reasoning” with oneself – instead, we can access the mind through the body. For me, bringing attention to movement can be an effective way to do shift my energy levels and attention. Here is one possible set of movements to try as a warm-up routine or on a break, then eventually implement before performing:
Movement combined with the breath elicits the parasympathetic nervous system response (“Rest and Digest”) by massaging and stretching our vagus nerve, the communication highway between the body and the brain. It can also help to release physical and mental tension, detox us from stress hormones, tone and condition the muscles and the heart and keep our joints healthy. From traditional perspectives, movement keeps stagnant energy circulating (the “Chi” or “Prana”), which ultimately affects our health. Stimulating areas in the body believed to contain energy channels (nadis or meridians) helps with energy circulation. We can access these energetic qualities through approaches including acupuncture, Tai Chi, Qi Gong and Yin Yoga. Here are a few ideas for movement combined with the breath to calm down:
Or try this very short routine:
Yin Yoga is an approach which has been invaluable and extremely beneficial for my own anxiety levels, providing a calming “yin” counterpart to my hectic and busy “yang” life. In Yin Yoga, we remain in each pose for a while (3-5 minutes) within our natural range of motion, gently working deep layers of tissue in our bodies. I was fortunate to be able to attend intensive teacher trainings in Yin Yoga with Sarah Powers. My own regular Yin practice provides wonderful support for managing performance anxiety from a holistic perspective.
Other benefits of Yin include joint stability, organ health, better connection with our bodies, feelings and thoughts. Over time, this practice enables our joints to become more pliant within their natural ranges of motion. As a result, we can remain still longer, which improves stamina, focus and concentration for musical performance. Our fluidity of natural movement and coordination are enhanced. This introspective work also helps come to terms with uncomfortable or even disturbing feelings by allowing them to come and go without judgement – this way, we can use the practice to build resilience and condition ourselves to acknowledge challenging thoughts and sensations without fighting them, then move on with the task at hand: making music.
Nourish and Protect: Autumn Yin Yoga for Organ Health starts on Thursday 14 October. More information is here. You can also try an introductory yin yoga session below.