Post-playing routines and a special announcement
Do you often end long days of practicing or teaching feeling tight or sore?
Do you often end long days of practicing or teaching feeling tight and sore? And if so, do you have a post-playing routine?
It’s a good idea to have some sort of rehabilitative practice to let your body recover from playing. Athletes will often do a mixture of light cardio and stretching to help their bodies come down from intense exercise.
Similarly, my undergrad teacher always encouraged me to go play some scales after lessons. (Did I do a good job of establishing that habit? Unfortunately, no…) It was a long time before I realized he was giving me a musical form of a cooldown.
Over the years, I’ve tried a number of rehabilitative and restorative practices to help me recover from the soreness and tension built up over the day. I love a good yoga practice, contrast therapy water bath, and a microwaved pillowcase full of rice wrapped around my neck.
But my favorite form of post-playing recovery these days are my Franklin Method exercises. They are so effective at relieving tight muscles and fascia–that’s why I’m excited to announce that I’m giving an online workshop on injury prevention for musicians on Saturday, July 20th at 10 AM Pacific Time!
This is a great introduction to the Franklin Method and an easy way to incorporate it into your playing routines. You’ll learn somatic (a.k.a. mind-body) techniques and anatomical embodiments to help you warm up, address tension and pain, play with more ease, and find greater postural support.
The workshop is 90 minutes long and costs $30. You’ll also have access to a video replay for 30 days.
To learn more about the workshop and to register, click the button below!
I hope to see you there!
If this is the first time we’re meeting virtually, hello! My name is Erika, and I’m a violinist, teacher, and certified Franklin Method Educator. My mission is to rethink traditional teaching approaches to help musicians play with confidence and ease. If this resonates with you, here’s how you can connect with me:
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Take a Franklin Method class with me. Learn to release tension, play with more ease, and practice injury prevention techniques. The Franklin Method uses mind-body tools and anatomical embodiments to help you improve the way you move in daily life. If you’ve never experienced the Franklin Method before, an online or in-person workshop is a great introduction! Institutional presentations are also available for arts organizations and schools.
Try a Franklin Method private session. Are you an instrumental musician struggling with pain, stiffness, or sore muscles from playing? In a Franklin Method private session, we analyze your movement while playing and explore different ways to move with more freedom. You’ll learn exercises to improve body awareness, release excess tension, and retrain movement patterns
Explore my Resource Pages! I’m sharing some of my favorite pedagogy and musicians’ wellness resources for musicians. Learn more about different somatic movement methods, wellness platforms and practitioners, and helpful books. You can also check out new resources based on my doctoral research into integrating pedagogical approaches from the world of sports into music-teaching.
Read the At the Balance Point blog. Check out articles on holistic and research-based pedagogy approaches and musicians’ wellness.
Take a violin lesson with me! I teach lessons in-person in the greater Seattle area and online via Zoom.
Want to contact me directly? Email me at erika@erikaburnsviolin.com or DM me on Instagram.