I have played the flute since I was eight years old. Alongside flute playing and music, I studied ballet and modern dance as a child, and at age 15 began practicing yoga. Throughout my younger years in music conservatory and as an emerging performer, I always had one foot in each door, so to speak. I loved to move when I played. I practiced long tones while doing ballet barre exercises. I thought about and dug deeply into my own postural habits when playing. I began to teach students incorporating these thoughts. Looking back on it, I was attempting to embody my practice as a musician with my knowledge of movement and posture.
This ongoing love and involvement in movement persisted throughout my life. After receiving my doctorate in music, I went back to school in the 1990s and received an MA degree in dance history, during which time I studied ballet, tap, baroque and modern dance. I choreographed and performed as a flutist and dancer, performing contemporary composer Stockhausen’s works for flutist/dancer and other works written for me.
Teaching yoga came slowly, in drips and drabs. First in high school, then again with private students throughout college. After 9/11, I was moved to do something to help heal the world and heal people. I decided to take my yoga teaching to the next level and become certified as a teacher. When that was solidly in place and I started teaching classes regularly, I also became certified in pilates, and as a personal trainer. The study of anatomy became a strong interest, as well as other healing modalities like reiki and Tibetan sound healing. Eventually I also became certified as a Yoga Therapist, and now hold the title E-RYT500. (“Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher.”) This means 500 hours of training, and at least 1000 hours of teaching experience at the time I was certified. By now, it’s more like 10,000 hours of teaching!
After these transformative years, I started a private home studio in 2006, teaching all the modalities I’d studied. At the CalArts School of Music I began teaching courses in Performance Wellness: Anatomy for Musicians, Yoga for Musicians, Injury Prevention for Musicians, and Musicians Toolkit (a course spanning all the above, plus covering issues such as becoming more organized, managing time, reducing stress, coping with stage fright, becoming a professional, and communicating compassionately.)
As I’ve honed my knowledge and become experienced teaching in all these fields, I have begun to concentrate more on the melding of the two passions of my life: music and movement. I bring these skills to students needing help in postural alignment, injury prevention, and stress reduction. All of these areas can be incorporated into private lessons. And I am available to give remote (or in person, when possible) workshops in the several areas listed.
To inquiry about prices and scheduling, please click here or go to www.ajanafitness.com for more information.