Things musicians don't talk about...

Right around the time I turned 25, my life took a big turn. A sequence of events introduced me to a new level of anxiety. And when I say anxiety, I don't mean "normal" anxiety that we all get on stage or during an exam. I mean anxiety that controlled me and my sanity every day. It all happened when I was in the middle of my doctoral program in addition to a demanding part-time administrative job, gigs, and an autoimmune disease that had just started. I was lost and scared. I could barely perform, and while I looked normal from the outside, I was a complete mess. After I got myself out of this terrible place (after A LOT of work in therapy, acupuncture, meditation, nutrition, and more) I was wondering how I could help others who might be in a similar situation.

A few years after recovering from constant anxiety, I started a blog called Retune with Maya that focuses on general wellness for musicians. The goal was to create a resource for topics that were not taught in music schools, but were still important to our well-being. Dealing with my autoimmune disease taught me so much, but also made me feel SO alone. The doctors didn't know what to tell me (they don't know what causes it or how to ultimately cure it), and I felt embarrassed to reach out to others for advice. I felt like I was flawed. Now that I was on the other side of my wellness journey, and gained all this knowledge and experience, I knew I had to share it with others.

Part of the frustration came when I was looking for resources online to help myself. Everything I found was too "rainbows and butterflies", or provided oversimplified and seemingly random solutions. There are so many health and wellness coaches out there and many seemed too perfect: had too many pictures of avocados, beautiful sunsets, perfect bodies, and a too-good-to-be-real Instagram account. While I still respect and admire their efforts, I felt like I wanted to create my own community of realness. Doing yoga every morning at 6am on the beach at sunrise sounds like a lot of fun, but is a privilege few can afford. Our lives are challenging and not always photogenic! I wanted to be a no-BS coach that can help musicians tackle their crazy lifestyle. The only resources I could find felt like everyone is telling me what to do, but no one taught me HOW to figure it out myself. Musicians have such challenging lifestyle. I felt there's no way we can be both an excellent performer and maintain a healthy lifestyle physically and mentally. I became really interested to find out what bothers other musicians and how we can, together, shape a better environment in the industry as a whole. 

I completed my health and wellness coaching certification, and I now help fellow musicians gain balance in their life; without the BS. We work together on areas that go beyond normal areas of fitness and nutrition such as social life, goal setting, time management, and silly things like planning what to wear in a recital. This is all based on the concept that we each have our own personal journey to wellness. Avocado toast and kale smoothies are delicious, but not everyone is even able to eat all of those foods. Without having a realistic blueprint to follow, we must come up with our own. My goal is to help musicians find their journey and lead them down their true path. I was only able to get on my own right path after years of mixing and matching bits and pieces of other people's wellness advice. I now feel that I am able to steer people in the right direction to what specifically works for them.

What did I wish I knew before this whole thing began?

I wish I realized that wellness is a life-long journey. For musicians, it is as important as practicing! Similarly to practicing, there is always a new level that we can work and improve towards. We have to give it a bigger place in our daily and routine because it could be too late if we encounter a health issue.

What are some practical things you can do in the meanwhile?

1. Start by tracking your health to see where you are. Go to a yearly check-up with a primary care physician and make a list of all your questions. Even if you are young and in good health, there still might be something that you don't notice or think about too often.

2. Collect sources of inspiration: anything from an inspiring quote to a memory of a certain performance or piece that reminds why you do what you do. This can help balance all of the stress and self doubt that comes along the way as an artist.

3. For a week (or more if possible) find a time of day to write 3 words that describe how you feel during that specific moment. This is a great tool to reflect and acknowledge these emotions and how you feel. Seeing them written down might help you to overcome the not so pleasant feelings and hold on to the good ones.

4. Find moments for self-care and reflection. Even if it's 5 minutes a day. Maybe it is doing a few stretches before you practice. Or it could be to periodically stop what you are doing and remember to breath deep and enjoy the present!