Researchers found that individuals who took yoga experienced improvements in music performance anxiety.
What are the benefits of yoga? Besides improving an individual's strength, flexibility, physical stamina and mental clarity, a holistic mind-body system like yoga can go a long way toward relieving the emotional pressures that high-stress situations place on the mind.
The benefits of yoga poses are manifold, extending into nearly any situation you can think of. Consider a recent study published in the journal Applied Psychophysiology and Feedback, which found that doing yoga and meditation may help musicians overcome stage fright.
The authors, a group of doctors, psychologists and yoga experts, asked participants to take eight weeks of yoga classes or, alternatively, of a " lifestyle intervention" that combined yoga sessions, breath control tutorials, conscious eating and a two-day initial retreat.
All volunteers were musical fellows in the Tanglewood Music Center, a training clinic for advanced music studies and the summer practice facility of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Researchers found that individuals who took yoga experienced improvements in music performance anxiety.
According to data provided by Professor Dale Cyphert of the University of Northern Iowa, stage fright is extremely common. The source notes that fear of public speaking, an anxiety similar to musical performance anxiety, afflicts an estimated 45 million Americans, 5 million of whom have a full-blown phobia.
In the study, doing eight weeks of yoga appeared to reduce the severity of such a fear. Additionally, scientists found that the interventions lessened the symptoms of generalized anxiety and depression.
In case you think performance anxiety couldn't be that big a deal for musicians, a study appearing in the European Journal of Psychiatry found that more than 36 percent of professional orchestra members report having difficulties with stage fright, to the point where they felt they needed help.
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