She was sitting in the orchestra pit, cello solo moments away. Heart racing. Hands shaking… and when the conductor gave her the cue, she couldn’t bring herself to play. 🎻

Thankfully, it was just a rehearsal. But it really shook her confidence, so she brought it to me.

When she played the solo for me in our session, her sound was absolutely gorgeous. Rich, warm, technically beautiful. The problem wasn’t her playing at all.

As always, I listened to my intuition and quietly wondered what might be blocking her in rehearsal.

I sensed there was a disconnect within her that made it hard for her to receive.

So we began exploring something most musicians never consider. What if performance anxiety is not really about giving the performance, but about what you are afraid of receiving?

I suggested that her instrument was offering her a gift in every moment. The vibrations moving through her body.

The conductor’s cue was not a test. It was an invitation to connect. The music itself was pure beauty, waiting to be received.

“Can you receive the vibrations of your instrument?” I asked her. “Imagine them as nourishing energy moving through your body.”

She paused. “I don’t know if I even normally notice them, to be honest.”

And that is what anxiety does. We become so focused on avoiding negative judgment that we shut down our ability to receive anything at all. 💡

As she began practicing receiving rather than controlling what she could produce, everything started to shift. She stayed open to the good energy around her. The supportive conductor. The beauty of the music. The luxurious sound she was already making.

By the end of our session, she was smiling while she played.

“That felt a little better playing it that way,” she said. That was an understatement. Not because the anxiety had magically vanished, but because she had found a way to stay connected and receive what her music was offering her. That shaking bow settled into ease because she was no longer fighting herself. 🌿

And guess what? She was able to do it in performance, too.

This is what happens when musicians learn to work with their creative spirit and natural gifts instead of bracing against what might go wrong.

Your instrument and the world around you are always offering you nourishment.

The shift begins when you choose to receive those gifts and focus on what is already working beautifully.

Is this something you experience, shutting down under pressure instead of letting the music in? I would love to hear your thoughts. ♥️

Love & Light,
Jennifer