Our Story🎶
Welcome Cello Players!
I’m Mea (aka the Creative Cellist). I am a Canadian recording & performing artist and founder of CelloYoga™️I’m dedicated to helping adult cellists of all levels reach their musical goals using research-based mind & body methods specifically designed to help adult cellists develop confidence, technical mastery and expressive creativity
all while having as much FUN as possible! My journey here was a twisting and winding road. I wasn’t always a confident cello player. In fact, I was pretty average. I even quit playing for a while. But once I found the methods I now use to help others, everything changed for me…
This is what happened….
While I was studying cello performance at the University of Toronto I had the opportunity to attend dozens of masterclasses with incredible artists like Yo-Yo Ma, Shauna Rolston and members of the St. Lawrence String Quartet
I WAS LEARNING A LOT BUT SOMETHING WAS MISSING…
I struggled to create the beautiful sound I heard in my head
and I often found myself paralysed by nerves. I was uncertain about where my musical journey was headed. It seemed that no matter how much I practiced, I could never quite perform with the expressive sound of my dreams… On top of that, I found myself at odds with the traditonal structure and culture of classical music school.
During this time two factors combined that changed my life forever…
I met a group of jazz musicians and I discovered the practice of Ashtanga Yoga
You might be wondering how these unrelated events could change the trajectory of a life?
The freedom of jazz culture and the mindful discipline of yoga created a total paradigm shift in my approach to music and life
Within a short period of time, I had solved some of my biggest problems .
I was able to tackle difficult music, tame my performance anxiety and my confidence skyrocketed!
After graduation, I toured across Canada receiving a nomination for an independent music award and a generous grant.
I then returned to my other love…teaching
After extensive teacher training in Suzuki Pedagogy, I taught my first students.
At first, I was nervous to share my methods, but once I began, it quickly became obvious that I was onto something powerful .
My idea was to combine research based mind & body elements to help cellists feel more unity with their cello.
When I combined these elements with creative and technical development, my students began to thrive!
I discovered these methods worked particularly well with adult cellists who were learning cello as an adult or returning to it after having learned earlier in their life.
My students reported that the methods helped them make more confident making musical decisions.
I noticed that they were often able to progress much faster than students learning in more tradiational ways.
I borrowed an element of my method from Suzuki instruction and my experience playing with jazz musicians.
I discovered that cellists who attended group masterminds felt motivated, had more fun and learned faster than those who just had a private weekly lesson alone.
This discovery led me to create opportunities for my students to come together more than once a week to learn and grow together.
The emphasis in these sessions is uplifting each student and providing them with the tools they need to feel confident in their cello journey.
Just to be clear…
We don’t teach “Yoga” classes, though some elements of the practice do make it into classroom mind & body discussions and are an fundamental part of our warm-ups.
What we do is help YOU play with more confidence, skill and creativity using the best research-based tools from the fields of…
Music Education
Mind & Body Awareness Practice
Performance Pyschology