Following my yogic path, I was invited to share my personal experience of the lockdown, and adaptation to the new times as a musician and yoga practitioner, as a featured guest on the 'Talking Yoga' podcast run by Yoga Alliance Professional, which is one of the most recognised yoga organisations in the world.
Somehow Melissa, the podcast host, managed to bring my memories back to the challenging times my family and I had when the Soviet Union collapsed, and we were striving to survive financially.
Whilst mentioning my tiny acting career, and the path of a journalist, I also share many stories from my past in this interview, which I have never shared before. The conversation was very much focused on the subject of maintaining resilience and sharing strategies which we can apply today.
I also share my personal story about how, from the painful back of a solo performing artist, the Piano-Yoga® method and movement was conceived and developed. Yoga has been my passion since my early twenties, to such a degree that I took two years out from my performing career to study yoga professionally, gaining my BWY (British Wheel of Yoga) Diploma as a qualified yoga teacher.
Even today, teaching yoga for me is blissful, because as musicians, we spend our time sitting for long hours, and often loose contact with our own body. I believe that education is one of the most important aspects of a progressive society and, through Piano-Yoga®, I am committed to helping many musicians, professional and amateurs, to experience the joy of piano playing, not only pain free (sometimes literally), but also by being able to learn how to utilise their mind and body to achieve the desired results efficiently and holistically (which sometimes means going against standard teaching methods). We are all unique, in both mind and body, and therefore our approach to the piano should also be unique, whilst, of course, still being based on a professional education.
In my compositions, Piano-Yoga® manifests through the energetic states which it transmits to my listeners. From relaxation and meditation to the deep range of emotions, I hope that my music stirs the core feelings in my audience, and helps them to get in touch with their true inner self.
Hence the interview covered a broad range of topics, beginning with my personal story of how to I came to learn piano and study yoga and eventually married the two disciplines together. I mention my own specific method of piano education Piano-Yoga® and how these techniques can help with stress management and resilience, not only for musicians, but for anyone who loves music.
Since the lockdown, the Piano-Yoga® movement seems to be flourishing, and I have started releasing online piano tutorials based on my own musical and teaching practice. My latest four and a half hour video course 'Transform Your Practice: A Complete 11 Stage Guide' is aimed at musicians, and joins my musical and yoga expertise intermixed with various NLP methods which combine to help musicians practice more efficiently and effectively.
I must admit this is quite a rare outlook on my life, taking the listener outside my musical career.
You can listen to the podcast on
If you have any comments or questions, please leave them underneath this blog and it will be my pleasure to respond to them!
I hope you are all staying safe and well,
with love,
GéNIA