Following this, the participants were then asked to complete a ‘Brass BodyMap’ survey to form an initial ‘participant profile’ and determine which areas of the body the participant experiences pain/tension during practice.
Case Study
Research Question:
How can yoga be used as a tool to prevent injury and promote ease in brass playing?
AIM:
The aim of this case study is to understand which areas of the body are most affected by playing each brass instrument, and how effective yoga can be as a tool to remedy these effects.
PARTICIPANTS:
This case study will involve 7 participants and will take approximately two weeks to complete. The participants will be exclusively musicians studying brass instruments at both Undergraduate and Graduate level with the group being divided into three groups of two: two for Trumpet, French Horn, Trombone and one for Tuba. The group will contain a mix of gender identities.
WHAT IS INVOLVED:
Phase 1:
Each participant will fill out the “Brass BodyMap” survey (found below) at the beginning of each week and then again at the end of the two weeks. The questionnaire is used as a guide to which body parts are most affected during practice. These results will be used in order to determine which parts of the body require attention for each participant during your yoga practice.
Phase 2:
Once the survey has been completed you can begin practising yoga. In the practice diary you will find four categories of yoga poses with four poses in each category along with four pranayama (breathing) exercises. I recommend that you choose five to six poses (at least one from each category) along with one to two pranayama exercises.
Each of the poses can be done without a yoga mat, and in total the 5 - 6 poses should take between 5 - 10 minutes. Each week I will provide you with a diary to record which exercises were done each day along with a comments section. In this diary you will also find links to simple demonstrations in the form of a Gif with tips for the pose in the comments section below. Please save the document to your device and write on that, do not use the Google Doc.
Phase 3:
By the end of the case study you will have carried out two weeks of yoga, completed three BodyMap surveys, and two weekly diaries. From this I can determine what areas of the body require the most attention for each participant and whether yoga is an effective method at reducing the risk of injury.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Be careful when carrying out these exercises. If a yoga pose is causing any pain, stop and choose another one. It’s more valuable to do the poses that are within your means.
It is understandable that some days there may not be time to complete a sequence and that is absolutely fine.These are guidelines and it’s more important that you are honest with your results and try your best. Any questions, feel free to ask.
THE BRASS BODYMAP SURVEY: https://forms.gle/rxDwUSJWQGYutXZP9
Alongside measuring the effectiveness of yoga as a form of treatment for my injury, I also explore the possibilities of yoga as a method of reducing tension and promoting ease in brass playing. To measure this, I designed a case study involving seven collegiate and graduate level brass musicians (2 trumpet players, 2 french horn players, 2 trombone players and a tuba player) who implemented yoga into their practice routine over the course of two weeks. The participants completed three surveys and two practice diaries which monitored the success of yoga at reducing pain and tension in their practice. It is important to note that the format of the case study and each asana and pranayama exercise was approved by a licensed yoga practitioner. From the results we could see the most common areas of pain/tension for each musician and the effectiveness of the yoga practice at reducing them. Participants were issued with the following document to act as a summary of the case study: