New Beginnings

It is with great love that I begin this blog about music and yoga. I have been practicing yoga for over 20 years and been a practicing musician for more than 30 years. I have deep passion and love for both modalities. As a musician I have quite literally found my life and voice in singing and playing the piano. I have made my living for 24 years now as a music educator in various roles. Yoga has been my outlet. Yoga has been a source of centering and calm for me. I now own my own yoga studio, Vicari Hot Yoga. These are very troubling and uncertain times. The country, and world at large, are in the middle of battling with the Corona Virus, COVID 19. My yoga studio will be closed for two weeks and the NYC Public Schools are closed until a minimum of April 20th. This seems like the perfect day and

time to begin my blog. This is my first official day home from school. I have made lots of content for my Google Classroom for my Music Classroom and my Yoga Studio. I don't yet do well with being home. My mind always needs a task to complete. I would rather teach a yoga class, plan a music lesson, or integrate a new curriculum than just sit back and catch my breath. I don't think this is rare or unique to me. However, I am going to make it a long term goal of mine to learn how to RELAX! It feels as though the world is on the verge of shifting. A new beginning is happening. People are losing their jobs and their livelihoods. I am fortunate to be a public school teacher. I will teach remotely through Google Classroom and offer my students as rigorous and engaging curriculum as I can. Twenty four years ago when I began teaching my first round of piano lessons, this realm of teaching was only thought and dreamed about. Now as a classroom music teacher the dream is now reality. How do we make a music lesson as engaging, yet full of content, as we would in person. Yoga and music are similar in many ways. The clearest similarity is in the need for practice. One does not learn a Beethoven Piano Sonata by thinking about it. You must practice and spend time, a lot of time, behind the keys. One does not learn to do a headstand by imagining what it must be like. You must develop the practice. Like acting, music and yoga require "chops" that built with practice. Will all these technological advances make the art of practicing a thing of the past? To date, there is no way to learn to play the piano without sitting down behind it. There is no way to become a better singer without singing yourself. There is no way to deepen your yoga practice without being on your mat. Several times a day my mind wanders to my students. My children at the school and the adults at the yoga studio. I hope they are all safe and healthy. I hope they know I am thinking of them and I miss seeing them and hearing about their days. In the days ahead I hope to become a better remote learning teacher for music and yoga. With reflection usually comes great change and deeper work. The theme for my yoga classes this week is: No Challenge No Change. The entire world seems to be challenged right now. From this challenge what changes will occur?