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    • Lynne Krayer-Luke
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Body Mapping Workshop Monday!

March 31, 2013 by Lynne Krayer-Luke Leave a Comment

If you struggle with tension, aches and pains when you play your instrument, or even just feel limited with your technique at your instrument, I urge you to explore Body Mapping!  I’ll never forget the first time I had the privilege to sit in on a Body Mapping workshop, because it changed my life forever.  I had aches in my neck and sharp pain in my wrist when I would practice during my early college years.  Truth be told, I would have been happy to tolerate it if it meant I could sound good on my flute.  I was a good flutist, but not as good as I wanted to be–I was severely limited in my expressive capabilities.  I would have difficulties getting a big enough breath to play the long phrases that I wanted to play, my breathing was very noisy, my articulation was slow and muddy, my fingers never seemed to be able to move as fast as everyone else’s.  Body Mapping provided me with clear, practical information about how my body moves to create music.  I didn’t just get rid of the discomfort, I took my playing to the next level, I learned how to be my own best teacher, I found greater confidence and a calm that I had never experienced before.  More than a decade later, I continue to use this information every day; not just to improve my flute playing, but to find greater enjoyment in all the crazy activities I fill my life with (even flying trapeze).

The next Body Mapping class in Boston is this Monday evening.  The class will address noisy breathing, and flexibility of the tongue and embouchure.  Registration is available online: http://flyingflutistas.com/workshops/#2

Be sure to bring your instrument.  The Flying Flutistas look forward to seeing you there!

Filed Under: Learning Process, Practical Anatomy

Learning how to ‘Hang In There’

January 11, 2013 by Lynne Krayer-Luke Leave a Comment

The source of inspiration and motivation for me in music, trapeze, and other mind-body work, is the constant process of self evaluation and change.  There’s always something new to explore and always the excitement of reaching for new heights (both metaphorically and literally).  Right now, the next area for me to explore is going to be the shoulder blades!  Lack of clarity in this area is currently holding me back in my trapeze swing, so I’d really like to turn that around and make it a new strength.

While I’m clear about the structure, function and size of the sterno-clavicular joint (where the collar bone meets the breast bone–and the only place where the arm structure skeletally attaches to the torso); I’m still foggy about the movement of my shoulder blades.  Engaging the muscles of my back that move my arm structure (particularly the trapezius) when and how I want is difficult for me.  I’ve never spent much time training these muscles and it shows in lack of strength, and (more notably) in the lack of sensitivity (meaning that I’m not very effective at discerning the movement/engagement of this area).

Lack of engagement of back muscles.

Lack of engagement of back muscles.

Improved engagement of back muscles.

Improved engagement of back muscles.

I’m excited about this new project!  I believe it can help to make my trapeze swing easier and HIGHER 🙂 !!!!  Perhaps it would make flute playing easier as well!

Filed Under: Awareness, Learning Process, Practical Anatomy Tagged With: arm movement, shoulder blades, slouching, trapezius

Hanging from a Bar

November 21, 2012 by Lynne Krayer-Luke Leave a Comment

I wonder how many musicians would benefit from taking a moment to hang from a bar.  Musicians suffer so many maladies of the arm structure; most frequently from misunderstandings about the structure, function, and size of the arm.  Hanging from a bar immediately challenges many of the most common misconceptions that musicians have about the arms.  The first one that comes to mind, is where the arm structure begins.  Many musicians have incorrectly perceived the top of the humerus as being the beginning of the arm structure.  One of the first things I noticed when I first hung from the bar, was how my humerus shared a connection to my scapulae (shoulder blade), and how my collarbone moved up and down in tandem with my scapulae.  It immediately becomes apparent that an arm contains more than just an upper arm, lower arm, wrist and hand.  An arm also contains a collarbone and shoulder blade!!!  Flying trapeze certainly isn’t for everyone, but if you have healthy arms, you might think about stopping by your local playground to hang from the monkey bars for a moment.

Filed Under: Practical Anatomy Tagged With: arm, arm mismapping, arm structure, faulty proprioception, humerus, scapulae

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