New year and an updated website! Thank you to Tom Beckham, fabulous designer and vibraphonist (www.graphics.tombeckham.net).
I’ve been busy the past few years…growing the music therapy program at The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, teaching at NYU, doing vocal work with people recovering from open heart surgery at Columbia/NYP and continuing my clinical work with children with autism spectrum disorders at Reach for the Stars Learning Center. Most of the time everything I’m doing balances out…in time, energy and forward movement. And there are things that go by the wayside…playing music at home, singing jazz, sleep. As I get older, I’m realizing that finding and maintaining balance between accomplishment, stability, care for others and self-care are elements in constant motion rather than a goal state. When I’m at my best, I’m playing. Taking improv comedy classes in my 20’s taught me the concept of “Yes…and”. If you say “yes…and”, there is flow and forward movement. If you say “No” or “Yes…but”, you are cutting off flow or creating a quick detour that can crash and burn. Improv comedy and jazz have many overlapping characteristics that are helpful to working as a therapist, administrator, teacher, supervisor, mom and friend. As playing music connects us to ourselves and others, so does play. In this new year, I will keep a sense of playfulness even within the most serious parts of my life and I’ll keep an active, observing eye.
Practice: Play with your Breath Exercise.
Stop. Sit down or stand. Don’t go too crazy trying to be in the perfect place or in a perfect seated position. Just shift your attention for a minute to your breath. What does it feel like going into your body? What does it feel like going out of your body? Notice it. Find a word or two or don’t. Just check it out. What is the tempo of your breath cycle? Is the in breath faster or slower than the out breath? Does your chest feel tight or relaxed? Can you expand into your stomach when you inhale, letting your stomach fall back into place on the exhale? Check it out. Play with how slowly you can breathe in, how slowly you can breathe out. What feels good? There will be more of this in future blogposts. For now….keep your sense of movement, of play, of elasticity…let life move you and you will move with life.