Yoga and its application to classical guitar

I generally make it to my yoga practice once a week. I would like to go more often but I notice that I take less for granted when I only go once a week. I continually notice just how important total body awareness is in the practice of yoga, and every time I realize this it hits me over the head like a completely new discovery. For instance, we were practicing head stands today, and its easy to completely forget about the rest of the body and to only concentrate on the forearms and how much pressure is being put on them to hold this pose. The instructor came over to me and asked me to push my feet up into her hands, pull my sternum and sacrum towards each other, and make some other adjustment which I can’t remember now. What amazed me was the total body awareness that was necessary to successfully perform this pose and any other pose. I had focused in on only one of several areas of my body.

How does this apply to classical guitar? Let’s say you’re working on your tremolo technique in preparation for playing Recuerdos de la Alhambra. Isn’t it amazing how we can practice a technique such as the tremolo and, at the same time, lack being focused or mentally aware of what we are doing or how our bodies are reacting? Are we practicing or just wasting time? I caught myself going through the motions today and then (thankfully) brought my mental awareness around to what I was doing and what my body was doing. It seemed like I was running through deep sand when working on the tremolo technique. So I adjusted my hand and played more on the tips of the fingers. It seemed that trying to produce a loud sound created a choppy tremolo so I played softer. I noticed a lot of tension in my right shoulder, so I relaxed it. Playing softer resulted in less tension as well.

The point is - pay attention to what you are doing: focus in on your practicing. Ask questions, make adjustments, observe what is going on, and pay attention to your body. Otherwise, you are just wasting your time.