Let's Talk Inflammation

Musicians and inflammations

Musicians are motivated, hard working, and in many cases obsessive human beings. The musician's lifestyle of constant high pressure on a daily basis can lead to consequences that are not always talked about. Some of these consequences include injuries and inflammations. They sometimes start at a young age, forcing the individual to deal with unique health challenges. But, sometimes these concerns also only appear later in one's career.

When it comes to occupational health, professional athletes tend to get a lot of attention. It's obvious their work requires more physical and mental efforts than the average person. Contrary to what athletes experience, I think musicians are the underdog population of this never-ending journey to perfection. We learn so much about music theory, history, and the specific techniques required to play our instrument or sing. But, we don't often get information to maintain our health as a whole in relation to our craft. Sure, most musicians aren't as popular as athletes, but it's time that we talk and share more about our journey to better health. 

After I started to experience my own issues with inflammation, I started listening to others to find as much information as I could to improve my condition. I found it fascinating how so many musicians struggle with some sort of inflammation. The most obvious one is tendinitis, but there are many more! Once I started asking around, I learned that many other musicians had issues with all sorts of inflammation. These included GI/gut inflammation, skin conditions, and similar issues with other organs. Over-working our body and soul has a price, and it's time to talk about this cost.

Every inflammation is different, but there are definitely similarities. My goal is to open this conversation to everyone, and interview different artists and musicians facing inflammation. In this way we can all learn how to better our health collectively as musicians. These talks are scheduled on instagram live on Sundays, and open to all to listen live or later. There's also a private Facebook group "Musicians and Inflammations", where we can share resources and insights. Feel free to ask to join the group, or message me directly if you want to share your journey with inflammation on a Sunday talk!

Past schedule:

August 28: Christina Dioguardi (bassoon)
July 5: Becca Laurito (percussion)
July 12: Tami Papagiannopoulos (voice)
July 19, 2:00 PM ET: Lina Gonzalez-Granados (conductor)
July 26, 2:00 PM ET: Thomas James Wible (flute)
August 6, 7:00 PM ET: Elizabeth O’Neil
August 13, 7:00 PM ET: Kayleigh Miller

Find on Instagram live @retune_with_Maya

Budget tips 2020

How's your budget tracking going? 

If you forgot to start it, February is a great time to start! I know January can feel overwhelming... too many New Year resolutions and we are all still recovering from the holidays. Or maybe it's just too hard to keep up with these new habits you promised to yourself.

Now that the pressure of the holiday season is over, I want to remind you about one thing I can't emphasize enough: self-awareness. This can be anything from emotional awareness, social awareness, or financial awareness-- which is what I want to talk about today. 

I know, we all look at our bank accounts and are usually not so thrilled by it. The only way to get over it is to look again and again. Slowly, we can start to change some habits and finally be happy with where we are financially. 

If you don't do it already, you should start tracking your budget. If you are afraid to, then start off with a few things at a time like groceries and meals out. If you do already but not in an organized fashion, you should bring it to the next level. The Excel level. If you haven't done so already, you should check out my budget template. You can get it here. I promise, it's not as complicated as you might think!

And now it's time for some specific budget tips:

1. Keeping track of a budget can feel overwhelming. Write down daily expenses somewhere handy like your phone or a planner. Then, once a week, like on Sunday night, tally up what you spent and put it in your budget spreadsheet. This is the easiest way to track everything weekly.

2. Try to put $5/week in savings. Feels impossible? Just try it. Skip one coffee/meal out! If you manage to put $5/week in savings, you actually save $260 a YEAR. This seems like a tiny amount, but might be a realistic goal for you if you are still trying to find financial stability or are in school. You can always increase the amount as you go.

3. Keep all your checks/invoices, even after you deposited them. Tax season is always a pain, especially if you are a freelancer. Save some headaches and have a designated spot for checks so it's easy to access. Otherwise you might wonder "hmm... what was that $300 deposit in my account back in February of last year?". Additionally, if you are unlucky enough to get audited by the IRS you will have hard evidence of all income and it will be already organized to present to the auditor.

4. Check your credit card statements. Not just for fraudulent activity, but to learn about your consumption habits. Do you eat out a lot? Do you use too many subscription services? Do you cope with stress through online shopping? Take a look at your credit card statements so you can see how and when you spend your money. It might be a little painful at first, but it is one of the top ways to raise awareness.

5. Be honest with yourself. It's time to stop with the shame and the excuses. Small efforts are still way better than getting into a situation where you ignore your finances because you think you might not have a chance at being stable. Managing your money as a musician is really challenging, but there is always a way to make it work!

Need even more motivation? You can always email me back. 

And happy tracking!

Budget for Musicians

Musicians and budgets. We all know it’s not a love story.

Every solution to a problem starts with one step, awareness. Facing reality is probably the hardest step. If we don't dive all in it's easier to continue our denial mechanism and feel less in control. Financial anxiety is real, and just because it's a new year it doesn't necessarily mean we get to start fresh. But, it's a great time to mentally reset and start our budget from scratch.

Awareness starts by putting in numbers with no judgement and no emotions. A budget is like a mirror, a tool to observe reality without any force to take action. You need a mirror in order to see how it looks, so you know where you might want to make some changes.In the past I was afraid to look at the numbers as they are. I felt like all my expenses were mandatory, and I didn't want to feel restricted. I knew I never spent money on luxury items, and I was generally aware of where my money was going. But it still feel scary. This budget has nothing to do with criticism! You just use it as a tracking tool to plan financially. After tracking even what I felt were essential parts of my expenses, I still found ways to make tweaks and help me get to a more healthy situation.

You could spend a few hours formatting and putting in all of the formulas of a budget spreadsheet yourself. But, I made one as part of my preparation for 2020 and I want to share it with you to use a ready-to-go tool. You just need to fill in your numbers!
The spreadsheet  is organized by each month starting with your income and different categories of your expenses (utilities, groceries, etc.). It automatically calculates your monthly totals, averages, and net income. I promise it’s easier than it sounds! There are specific instructions on the first sheet to help you get started. Feel free to reach out to me at any time if you need help figuring it out.

Bring clarity to your financial mindset in 2020 with this pre-made spreadsheet. Click here!

Tips for traveling and staying in top form

Stuck on a plane, mid air, with a bunch of strangers, lots of germs and thin air. How are we suppose to survive all of this at the height flu season? Traveling and flu season can be disastrous for everyone. You finally have a break and you do not want to spend it with a fever and feeling terrible. I’ve been there, and I know it’s pure hell.

A year ago I collected tips from singers about their wellness habits while they travel. You know how they get…all scared about germs and losing their voice. The survey is still up and running if you are a singer, or know a singer who should take it: Wellness Survey for Singers .

If you have any extra tips, message me so I can add to the list. Enjoy and please stay healthy!

• Take vitamins pre-flight

• Sleep the whole way if possible (some like to take Ambien or other light sleeping pills like Advil PM)

• Hydrate (before, during and after the trip/flight)

• Have hand sanitizer with you

• Use a nasal spray if feeling congested

• Drink orange or tomato juice for an extra Vitamin C kick

• Bring an eye mask and ear plugs to keep out unwanted sounds (and nose plugs for the smells if you are daring!)

• Wet wipe everything, especially before you eat on you folding tray 

• Avoid coffee and alcohol

• Wash hands whenever possible 

• Bring a big scarf to help you stay warm and cozy, even if coming from a warm climate (extra socks too!)

• Eat a healthy and substantial meal before the flight

• Pack healthy snacks with you so you don’t end up eating the things you shouldn’t. There are always delays and unexpected events. 

• Focus on eating protein and whole grains. It helps the body recover from the travel lag

• Stretch before your travel (and during the travel if possible) 

• Wear comfortable clothing

• Avoid touching your face

• Have eye drops with you in case your eyes get dry

• Get your favorite seat, even if it costs extra $
  

  ** Many singers also mentioned using a humidiflyer. I haven't tried one but it sounds like a great investment! 
  

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!

When my obsession is productive (to you too!)

I was never a metronome kid.

I had one, but I didn’t even know where it was most of the time. It was dusty and sad. I knew I should use it, but until this day I can’t remember what my excuse was for neglecting it. Do I regret it? Probably. Do I try to use it more as an adult? I really do.

As an adult I also learned the beauty of EXCEL. This sleepy spreadsheet software can be so powerful and helpful. I took my knowledge of excel, and tried to use it to track my metronome goals. Yes, everything is a goal these days. The goal here was originally to make it more likely for me to turn my metronome on in the first place. But, what this experiment lead to was a new way of organizing my musical life, and I wanted to share it with you.

I created a spreadsheet with four tabs:

1. Repertoire. This tab is where I track my repertoire for the year. Working on 45-60 minutes of music for a recital can be overwhelming. It helped me decide things like when I record certain pieces, and when I switch over to full run-throughs. I wanted to keep it all in one place and have a written out plan.

2. Scales. Oh Carl Flesch, you created a wonderful scale book for violin, and I hope you would have loved this spreadsheet too. This tab has 7 columns (one for each day), with indications on what style to play the scales and at which metronome speed. I track my scale exercises progress on this tab, and can also note what I focus on every week.

3. Technique. This is probably my favorite tab. It all started when my teacher saw how frustrated I was with spiccato. He suggested that I do an experiment: learn how spiccato works, but from the beginning; AKA speed 50. Every day I increased by 10 clicks on the metronome and tracked it with this sheet. Slowly I built it up to the right speed (in my case, it was for Mendelssohn Scherzo), and it helped me gain great control of my right hand. I finally felt like I knew what’s happening and how it should feel. This sheet can be edited to all sorts of techniques… anything you want to take apart and get nerdy with.

4. Auditions timeline. This tab is pretty simple – it’s just a way for me to track progress in preparation for upcoming auditions. You can be as detailed as you want and plan every hour, or make more of a week to week timeline.

You can get this worksheet (even as a printable version) for FREE if you go here. Super easy. It will land in your inbox immediately! Happy practicing!

Gift guide for the musician

Holiday season is here, and that means that stress season is upon us. December is a busy month (with performances of the Nutcracker and parties), and shopping for the perfect gift can add extra stress. If you have any musician friends or relatives I made this list just for you! Most items on this list would probably be suitable for “ordinary” people too…

*Just a disclaimer that I am not receiving anything for including the links or mentioning these products. I just really think they would all make great gifts for a musician!*

Studio/stage

• Heavy duty music stand so you can return the one you took from your school $42

• Portable and light music stand for gigs $13

• Music stand LED light $13

• Musician’s chair $240

Electronics

• Headphones
  Audio-Technica ATH-M50x $129
  Sennheiser $150

• Portable bluetooth speaker
  JBL $60
  Ultimate Ears Boom 3 $120

• Fancy metronome
  Boss DB-60 Dr. Beat Metronome with Rhythmic Patterns $80

• Bluetooth foot pedal for an iPad

  PageFlip Firefly $110

• Travel fabric steamer

  Mini travel steamer fabric steam iron $25

• Portable charger (power bank)

  INIU portable charger $14

Misc.

• Ear plugs
  Not custom fitted, but still better than cheap foam ones $25

• Pencils
  Pencils for musicians sampler set $16.50
  Blackwing 602 (Set of 12) $25

• Microwavable heating pad

  Microwavable Neck wrap with aromatherapy $24.15

• Gift cards
  60-minute Massage
  Fedex (for printing music/office supply needs)

Subscriptions

• Headspace for meditation on the go

• Berlin Philharmonic Digital Concert Hall

Beat the winter blues!

Did you change all your clocks yet or there’s still one that’s one hour ahead? Man, gaining this one hour of sleep doesn’t help with the one hour jetlag, and short days ahead.

How to prepare yourself for this winter times ahead? Here are a few ideas…
1. Keep active: plan activities especially after 5pm, when it gets super dark outside.
I always try to add more stops on my way back home, or make evening plans. Stop for groceries after work, schedule drinks/dinner with a friend, or try a new workout class. Because it gets dark at like 4:30pm, it feels like the day is over. It is NOT. Fool your brain and schedule evening rehearsals or plans that start at 5pm or 6pm.
2. Get outside: don’t be a caveman. Walk/run outside if not too cold. Maybe check out a new park or walk the long way home. It’s a good opportunity to get to know your city/town better, and try new restaurants and bars.
3. Keep warm: coffee and tea are great and tasty. Choose the herbal tea options in the late afternoon or evening. There are so many fun cozy drinks! Try Matcha, new teas, hot chocolate, or make your own hot cider!
4. Eat healthily: boost your mood with a colorful plate, loaded with fruit and veggies. We get most of our immune system powers from FOOD. There’s plenty of vitamin C in our foods (broccoli, cauliflower, kale, kiwi, orange juice, sweet potato, strawberries, tomatoes) so forget the supplements, and just eat better. Recipes are coming up!!
5. See the light: turn on ALL the lights and candles. You can also use scented candles or use Christmas lights for some mood lighting.
6. Get some vitamin D! If you live in north America, and most European countries, you ARE vitamin D deficient during the winter months. Differently than vitamin C, we cannot get enough vitamin D from our food so you should take supplements!
7. Take up a new hobby: it will keep you busy and distract you from the darkness. Knitting is super awesome because you can knit a scarf. Or mittens. You can also find a buddy and do this new hobby together. Personally, I like baking during the cold months because it keeps the house warm, smells amazing, and there are yummy things to eat.