Yes you read that right…

On the face of it, there’s absolutely no relation between making tunes and wrapping your legs around the back of your head, but you’d be surprised!

I’ve been a committed Yoga practitioner for a little over a decade now, and it’s changed my life in ways too numerous to get into in this post.

In fact, it’s such a big part of my life, it’s been my primary form of exercise for a long time now, and recently I decided to stop running and lifting weights, or ‘self punishment’ as I’ve come to call it, and during lockdown I successfully qualified as a Yin Yoga teacher.

Yoga is the connective tissue, linking all the major aspects of my life - physically, emotionally, spiritually and creatively.

One of the primary benefits is how it’s undoubtedly helped me become a better Music Producer, and Artist.

Here are the top 5 things Yoga has taught me, which has enabled me to become the best I can be in the studio...

1. It’s a Practice

This is the single most important aspect Yoga has taught me, not only in terms of ‘doing’ Yoga, but ‘being’ in life.

One of my first Yoga teachers once said in a class:

“it’s a Yoga PRACTICE, not a Yoga Perfect”.

This was revelatory to me, and the wisdom of this simple sentence has unfolded more over the years.

Making music is a Creative Practice.

When I realised this, all the pressure I used to unconsciously put myself under faded away.

The need for Perfection, which as we also recently discussed is impossible to achieve, also dropped off my shoulders.

Every studio session you execute is a Practice session. Your studio is a sandbox for you to play in, experiment, and make mistakes, over and over again.

I see far too many Producers & Artists put themselves under undue pressure; they expect far too much of themselves, and push themselves far too hard to try and reinvent the wheel every time they open their DAW (I was absolutely terrible for this until recently myself!)

Like a professional musician, who practice away from the stage so they can execute at their best on the day of the concert, you are practicing music production - the automatic side effect of this are the songs you create.

2. Acceptance

Yoga taught me how to accept where I am, as it’s the only way you can progress.

I used to look across the yoga studio at all the bendy men and women in class with me, and then try and wrestle and  contort my own body into the positions they could effortlessly move into without even thinking.

Needless to say this is pretty counterproductive, and you can end up injuring yourself if you’re not careful.

Ultimately, in order to progress, you have to learn to accept your own body, accept where you are, and also accept that you are unique.

In Yoga, every body is different. There will be positions and disciplines you will perform easily, and others will struggle with. 

The inverse is also true.

You learn to play to your strengths, and work on your areas of development.

It’s the same in the studio. There will be aspects of Music Production you will naturally find easy and enjoyable - you could be great at arrangement but terrible at mixing down. 

Others might find mixing their tracks down a breeze, and that’s ok, as we all have something unique to offer, and it’s far better to accept what it is you have to offer, and cease attempting to be something you are not.

Self acceptance is hugely important.

3. The More You Let Go, The More You Flow

For a long time, I pushed my body far too hard, coming up against walls of internal resistance, which ended up being the primary element holding me and my body back from progressing my practice.

When I properly got into Yin Yoga a few years ago, it was another transformative moment. 

For those who don’t know, Yin Yoga is a very slow and deliberate form of yoga, where positions are held for up to 5 minutes at a time. It can be uncomfortable, yet it can teach you so much about your self and your state of being.

Yin Yoga encourages us to find a sweet spot in the pose, described as ‘the first sensation of resistance’, and rather than angrily push through, or force the body into a position it doesn’t want to go into, you have to let go.

This allows the body to soften. Eventually, the tension releases, meaning the body can go deeper into the posture.

 It’s amazing to understand how this is enormously relevant to making music.

There’s a lot written about ‘writer’s block’, and how to ‘overcome it’. The truth of it is, it doesn’t need to be overcome, like some form of conquest. All that is required is to let go, take all the pressure off yourself, find a sweet spot, where you feel challenged creatively, but not too much that you feel like quitting.

Once you do this, it’s actually surprisingly easy to reach what would be considered something of a ‘flow state’.

4. Discipline is Freedom

Yes, I know this is hardly news. There’s so much bullshit written about discipline in this modern era of toxic hustle culture, that it makes me feel physically sick.

The reality of discipline is simpler, far more relaxed, and easier than any fake ‘self improvement’ guru would have us believe.

If you want to get good at something, you have to do it consistently. This is easier if the task is enjoyable, and you can see a clear progression, and feel the benefits.

This was the case in my Yoga practice. I started in 2012 at a Bikram Yoga class, and that system of yoga is one I still practice to this day. In order to acclimate to the heat, as well as the movements, I had to go to class consistently. This was actually pretty easy, as I felt massive benefits from the combination of the heat and becoming more flexible, both in my body as well as in my Self.

Even on the days I didn’t feel like going, it was easy to go to class anyway, as my mantra became ‘Yoga is always better than no Yoga’.

I built up to my practice now being an almost daily ritual, across different disciplines of Yoga, from Bikram, Fierce Grace and Vinyasa Flows, to Yin, which I often do at home, in my studio between sessions would you believe!

To apply this to the studio, you have to get in consistently, an the way you do that without it becoming a chore, a bore or something you end up resenting, is understanding the benefits, making it fun and enjoyable, by taking the pressure off yourself, by applying all the points above.

5. It’s All Within You

Yoga is an internal journey, moving past and dissolving the resistance and stuckness we can all feel in life. As mentioned above, self acceptance is a huge part of the path, and you eventually come to learn how pointless it is to compare yourself, or indeed concern yourself, with the unique path others are on.

In the dance music industry, we are far too prone to enviously doom scrolling social media, and looking at other artists apparently ‘smashing it’ and wondering ‘why not me?’

All this means is we are limiting ourselves. We are on our own unique path, and nobody else can walk it. Only you have your body, your sense of self, your talents, your gifts. By comparing yourself to others, especially negatively, you are wasting what you’ve got to offer the world.

Yoga taught me not to look at others and wish I had their bodies, their flexibility, their strength. It taught me to focus on my own body and spirit only, and when I did that, my practice deepened significantly, and I developed much faster. The same happened when I did this musically as well.

Comparison is pointless. You are only working with, or against, yourself. Make a choice how easy you want your life to be.

6. It’s a lifelong journey.

I’ve always been a Type A personality - ambitious, determined, hard working (to the point of burnout), and want to smash everything I do into next week, and do it by yesterday.

It comes from a good place - I want to be the best I can be, and on the surface, it doesn’t look problematic...apart from the fact it’s been one of the principle aspects of my life that’s held me back from my full potential.

Part of my path through both Yoga and Music has been realising I’ll be doing both of them until the day I pass on to the next life (hopefully a long long time from now!)

Yoga is a lifelong practice. I see people in their 70’s and 80’s in class on a regular basis, and often, they’re more flexible and have more stamina than I do! 

The legendary cello player Pablo Casals was once asked about why, at 90 years of age, he was still practicing his chosen instrument for 4-5 hours a day.

His response?

“Because I think I’m making progress”

I also take inspiration from John Williams (who wouldn’t!), moreso these days for his dedication to his craft than the legendary music he’s composed.

At 90 years of age, he’s still composing incredible film scores, and still has ideas he’d love to realise, such as finally scoring a James Bond movie.

So relax when you’re in the studio. You’ve got time. There’s no rush, and there’s no rushing greatness.

Hopefully you found this inspiring, both musically, and maybe you fancy doing a little yoga as well. I’ve taught 6 hours of Yin Yoga classes as part of the MYT AAA Membership, designed to help you get into an optimal Flow State in the studio. This unique offering is a great example of the holistic approach MYT has to Artist Development. Sign up here to begin your membership