Ep 8: Body Nerdery for Musicians with Kayleigh Miller
about kayleigh
Kayleigh has been a movement instructor for over 7 years, combining her passions for musician wellness, natural movement, yoga, and pilates. As a yoga instructor, she has studied with Jill Miller, Tari Prinster, David Vendetti, Trina Altman, and Sarah Court, as well as completed additional studies in biomechanics, children’s yoga, and anatomy. She is also an integrated Yoga Tune Up® instructor and MovNat® level 1 instructor. Her studies in pilates have been with Karen Sanzo, P.T., and Erin Burnham at Pilates Unlimited in Dallas, TX, as well as with Nanci Patch in Round Rock, TX. She blends traditional yoga and pilates movements with contemporary knowledge of movement and biomechanics, to help clients move better and feel better. Kayleigh also maintains a blog called the Musicians’ Health Collective and has been a featured author on YogaDork, Elephant Journal, polyphonic.org, Musicovation, and other online and print publications. She was previously a member of the viola section of the San Antonio Symphony, and is currently freelancing in the Seattle area.
in this episode
Kayleigh and I had a wide-ranging conversation covering all manner of body nerdery, including:
Progressive loading and why a group yoga class might not be the best choice for musicians without much movement experience
What it means (and doesn’t mean) when our muscles feel “tight”
Myths about strengthening and why strength training can be beneficial for musicians
How to build strength safely and progressively
Pain: What it may or may not tell you about what is going on in your tissues; chronic pain vs acute pain; the relationship between body awareness and pain
Feldenkrais and the exploration of movement potential
Why musicians and music teachers should know at least a little bit of anatomy
Kayleigh’s blog: Why she started it and how it has evolved
Fear-based language in music and movement
Acknowledging and working skillfully with power dynamics between teacher and student
Issues of racial, social, and gender privilege in classical music and boutique fitness
What Kayleigh is working on these days
learn more
Kayleigh’s blog Musicians’ Health Collective (Three part series about fear-based language in teaching are here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3; post about racial and social injustice is here.)
Kayleigh’s personal website
Lorimer Moseley’s TEDx talk Why Things Hurt (More about Moseley’s fantastic work on pain can be found on the Body in Mind website.)
If you are interested in exploring Feldenkrais, there are some excellent FREE audio lessons available online from Twin Cities Feldenkrais.
