History
GéNIA, creator of Piano-Yoga®:
"I originally created the Piano-Yoga® method for myself when I was asked to perform Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and needed to build up the strength in my fingers quickly and, more importantly, increase my span on the piano.
I extensively researched through a lot of musical literature but although I found separate exercises I could not find one coherent course that could do both of these things in a short space of time.
With my performance deadline approaching I had no choice but to design a whole course for myself. The swift results and success I achieved with the Piano-Yoga® method were astounding and I started applying the method to all the students I taught, with rewarding effects.
My students started to ask me if I could give them printed copies of the Piano-Yoga® exercises so they could practice them at home and as a result I developed Piano-Yoga® "Transform Your Hands: A complete ten week course of piano exercises" was created.
Originally the course was compiled from Stage One: Core Piano-Yoga® and Stage Two: Yin Piano-Yoga® and was aimed at intermediate and advanced players. However after working through these exercises with my students I thought it would be also beneficial for beginners to do Piano-Yoga® exercises. This is how the Preliminary Stage: Foundation Piano-Yoga® was developed. After spending some time on this programme I felt the need to develop it further and created Stage Three: Advanced Piano-Yoga® which is aimed mainly at advanced players.
After doing the course for a number of years I could not help but notice the Piano-Yoga® exercises and approach also worked on a psychological level. Just doing these exercises kept me balanced and prepared me for my daily practice and performances. Also coaching a number of students, especially nervous before their public performances, allowed me to introduce Piano-Yoga® to them. This is how the "Piano-Yoga®: How to overcome stage fright and make adrenaline work for you" workshop was created."
GéNIA studied piano at the Kharkov State Institute of Arts, Guildhall School of Music, London and Trinity College, London. She is a qualified B.W.Y. (British Wheel of Yoga) accredited teacher and trained at The Life Centre®, London.
"Piano-Yoga® is a unique method that really transforms fingers and hands. If followed correctly hands feel much bigger, and people can play much wider repertoire. Once it is available I would recommend all my students use it."
Richard Harris, piano teacher, composer, arranger and author
"Piano-Yoga® is more than a book of exercises. It is a holistic approach focusing on all aspects of performance and the performer. The exercises increase strength and coordination between different parts of the finger and hand, but also focus on the complex relationship between the whole body and mind in the act of performance. This approach focuses on the fundamentals of all music making and is not reserved for GéNIA’s advanced, but for all of her, students."
Ian Grundy, pianist, piano teacher and composer
"Piano-Yoga® helped me release tension, and simply concentrate on playing the piano. GéNIA's approach to tuition makes practice a pleasure."
Jamie Telford, Composer
"I found GéNIA's exercises quite odd at first. I felt the stretches act as though they were a workout for my hand. After the exercises, in the playing of my pieces, my hands felt very warmed up and more capable of stretches and passages, much more so than if I had played scales alone. In just a few weeks my hands felt permanently larger and stronger."
Alexander Stubbs, pupil, Westminster School, recipient of Westminster Music Scholarship 2005-2010
"I am so impressed by the Piano-Yoga® exercises. By doing them regularly I have noticed it allows me to stretch my hands more and more and my span on the piano is continuously increasing. I notice changes on a weekly basis. I highly recommend these exercises to everyone who wants to increase their hand span and it's flexibility. As a yoga practitioner I particularly enjoyed the breathing together with the piano exercises - I find it incredibly relaxing."
Elisabeth Scheder-Bieschin, Freelance Photographer, Tatler Magazine