One of my pet peeves is the term “mental practice.” To me, this term just reinforces the wrong idea that the mind and body are separate entities, and that practicing without a musical instrument must be a mental or non-physical activity. In fact, all modes of practicing require the participation of the whole self—mind, body, emotions, and creative spirit.

I propose that we honor the unity of the self and our desire to make unifying music with effortless ease and flow by replacing the limiting term “mental practice” with the more inclusive, holistic term “MindFlow Practice.” Using the term “MindFlow Practice” (MFP) reminds us that the human organism is an integrated energetic system constantly in flux; a hierarchical system in which the Inner Wisdom of the whole self directs the movements of the mind, which are then reflected by the body.

When people talk about so-called “mental” practice, they typically mean rehearsing music in the mind without using the musical instrument. The funny thing is, most teachers who recommend “mental” practicing intuitively recognize that awareness of the body needs to be included in this process. However, the way they recommend to do this is problematic and can easily backfire when they advise students to imagine and rehearse how it feels in the body to play the passage of music they’re working on. Some teachers go even further by suggesting the student actually move their fingers along with their thoughts.

These suggestions can be more harmful than helpful if a student is unable to first imagine the music (hear or visualize it internally) without reacting to it by subtly increasing tension (which in those who have not been specifically trained in the subtleties we’re discussing here usually goes unnoticed). This requires having the ability, as is described throughout this book, to consciously inhibit the movements of the body that would normally follow upon having the idea to move.

When I first began studying the Alexander Technique twenty years ago, I was shocked to discover that I was completely unable to think through my music without feeling a corresponding muscular activation in my arms, hands, and fingers. I had been doing “mental” practicing ever since I could remember: when bored in school, riding in a car, or falling asleep at night. This definitely helped me learn things faster, but it also solidified the tension that I was bringing to everything I was thinking about, subtly working against the facile execution of those passages.

Now that I’ve been teaching the Alexander Technique for nearly as many years, I realize that my initial experience of instant muscular activation when thinking of playing my violin is extremely common in musicians, and it can take a good amount of time to unravel this

reactive habit.

Why is it so important to be able to think of music without reacting to the ideas physically? Because without this ability, any rehearsal (“mental” and/or “physical”) will simply reinforce the unhelpful psychophysical tension habits that are already present and make them stronger.

This might not be a problem if it weren’t for the fact that our psychophysical state is always changing from moment to moment and from day to day, depending on innumerable factors, many of which are unpredictable.

When things feel different from how you rehearsed when your psychophysical state was different, you’re likely to become disconcerted and get thrown off your game if you’re not used to rapidly adapting to and rising above the changing states of your body-mind-self.

Which means if you’re depending on the memory of how you think something should feel, but then your body is in an altered state due to performance nerves or any other number of reasons (what you’ve eaten, how you slept the night before, how you related to others backstage, etc.), you’ll find yourself in trouble. What you’re doing with your body will end up, by definition, feeling quite different.

Your likely response will be to try to make your body feel “normal” again, the way it felt when you were relaxed at home. Basically, you’re fighting against and not accepting your current reality, and your instinct will be to try to change how you feel. This reaction will likely cause you to shift your awareness down into your body, abandoning your prefrontal cortex “throne” and leaving yourself vulnerable to all kinds of unhelpful thoughts and tension taking over, throwing off your performance as a result. This is at the root of most performance anxiety.

With Love & Light,

Jennifer

P.S. If you’re ready to move beyond “mental practice” and discover the freedom of MindFlow Practice, I’d love to support you in making that shift. Just send me a message and let’s start the conversation!