The Dive Podcast
Welcome to The Dive Podcast,
Brought to you by The Dive - the No.1 support platform for performers. Helping them to navigate the challenges we face as artists. The Dive Podcast was created for performers and by performers. Birthed out of the want and need for ongoing guidance and support within the hearts, bodies, and minds of the performing arts.
Helping you go from anxious, nervous, and unsure about your future. To create solid foundations that will set you up for life! Each week a SPECIAL GUEST will be interviewed on the show (who is a professional within the arts). As we dive deeper into their stories and uncover the golden nuggets of advice, you will begin to understand the tips, tools, and techniques required to make a long and healthy career out of the Arts.
Hosted by Taylor Scanlan, the founder of The Dive, a Musical Theatre performer with over 10 years in the industry, a Dance and Yoga Teacher as well as a Sound Healer.
Discover why The Dive Podcast is rising to become the No.1 support podcast for performers....pick the topic you are currently struggling with in the episodes below and we will see you on the other side! ;)
The Dive Podcast
21: How To Start A Mindfulness Practice As A Busy Performer with Sam Skuthorp
Struggling to find calm in the chaos? 🌿
In this episode, we sit down with Sam, a qualified yoga teacher who transitioned from studying classical voice and musical theatre in Perth and Queensland to embracing yoga and mindfulness. Desperation VS Desire in auditions – Sam breaks down why knowing the difference can be a game changer for performers. Want to step into your power during auditions?
Taylor & Sam talked about:
- Sam's transition from classical voice to yoga teaching
- The challenges and triumphs of moving across Australia
- The synergy between yoga and performing arts
- Sam's mission to create inclusive yoga spaces
- Navigating mindfulness during lockdowns and auditions
Here Are Your Next Steps 👇🏻
Step One: 📝Get your FREE 3-Steps To Confidence Workbook
Step Two: 🫂 Join Free Facebook Support Group
Step Three: 👀 Check out the Momentum Program for aspiring MT performers looking to become professional
Step Four: 🎥 Watch our MOST DOWNLOADED Podcast Episode with Luca Dinardo
And she just kind of said to me Sam, there's heaps of yoga teachers out there, there's heaps of white, slim, fit yoga teachers that can deliver a banging class. What are you going to do? That's different, like what's going to be, you know, the thing that you bring to the community and to the industry and the landscape, and I hadn't thought about that. That's a great question.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it is.
Speaker 1:And I was just like, oh, I don't know. She said take some time, think about it. I'm not going to be bothered that there are other people that in my opinion, you know maybe are doing better than me in that dance call or whatever that might be, because I have something to offer. And if at the end of the day it's not in alignment with the jigsaw puzzle or whatever they're piecing together, that's okay and I can be happy for my friends that it was successful for and good for that. You know it was just in alignment for them that day.
Speaker 3:Hello and welcome to the Dive. Now more than ever, we need to be finding ways to help us navigate the challenges of being an artist. You're listening to the Dive Podcast, a show specifically designed for performing artists, to help you stop the stress and overwhelm and instead find ways to get on stage with confidence, passion and ease. I'm your host, taylor Scanlon. I'm a fellow performing artist and founder of the Dive, the fastest growing support platform for performing artists. Each and every week, we have a brand new guest on the show who is a professional in the industry to discuss their unique stories and help us tackle the industry challenges. To help you perform, rest and excel at your peak.
Speaker 3:I believe that we all have a unique story to share, but most of our struggles are common. So, without further ado, let's dive right in, let's get to work and create a career of a lifetime. Well, thank you for coming on the show, Sam. It's awesome having you in my pleasure Today. We're actually going to switch it up a little bit. We have Sam in here and you are a qualified yoga teacher, and why not give you a bit of practices? We have something hidden along the way near the end of the episode, so make sure you listen to the whole thing.
Speaker 3:But before we get into all of that, let's start off with your training. I saw sure you listen to the whole thing, but before we get into all of that, let's start off with your training. I saw that you trained in Queensland and. Perth. What was that like for you? Yeah?
Speaker 1:So I grew up in Perth which love big fan of Perth and I graduated high school and went straight into a Bachelor of Classical Voice. Wow, and I call that year of my life my dickhead year because I have such respect for classical vocalists, I love all types of music, but my heart wasn't in that and I was kind of using that course as a stepping stone to study what I did want to study, which was musical theatre. And so I started this course and I was 17 years old and you know you turn 18 and you want to go clubbing with your mates and do all the fun things and yeah, I just really I was messing around in that year and at the end of that first year I realized I didn't want to be there.
Speaker 1:I was you know, spent a year doing classical voice, which was a degree that I didn't want to do, and I also felt a little bit guilty because, being a boy in classical voice, you are a minority Right. So there were all these amazing opportunities that were being afforded to us. You know they were saying like, do you want to be in the postgraduate opera in the ensemble, cause we need more men. But you know there were female identifying students that would have loved for that opportunity and I was just there being a silly goose about it.
Speaker 1:Um, so, yeah, after that first year I kind of realized, okay, I don't want to waste their time, I don't want to waste my time, and I auditioned everywhere and then got into the one-year program at WAPA, yeah, and I also did a certificate at a private institution in WA which no longer exists, right, and did that for a year. It was kind of like full-time musical theatre because I approached it. I was a singer first singer-actor. Dancing was something I picked up later in life and so I needed to kind of figure out how to dance, yeah, and so I'm really grateful for that year. And then at the end of that did all the auditions, auditioned for everywhere in Australia at that time and landed at the Queensland Conservatorium, which is 19 years old.
Speaker 1:Wow, I moved across from Perth to Brisbane with no help from my family, as in like no, they helped me, obviously, but they didn't come quite literally help me set up that apartment or anything. I moved by myself, wow, and I remember that first night in that house, that share house, with some of the other students who hadn't arrived yet. I was by myself. Oh gosh.
Speaker 1:Big Queenslanderer cockroaches everywhere yeah, awful. And I just remember thinking to myself like what have I done? I've made the biggest mistake of my life, oh gosh but I'm so glad that I did move to Queensland and I went to the Queensland con. I think if I had stayed in Perth and I tried again to you know, do my full-time, my bachelor degree at WAPA or anywhere else, it would have been easy for me in the sense that I lived down the road from from the institution.
Speaker 1:I could have stayed with mum and, you know, have my meals cooked for me, and it would have been cushy, yeah, whereas moving across australia by yourself at 19 was scary and the blanket was just ripped off and I had to grow up very quickly. So that dickhead year that I spent in classical voice I'm very grateful for. I think everyone should go have a dickhead year where they just party, drink, bum around and then it was like, okay, you've moved to Brisbane, you now need to focus this is your three years.
Speaker 3:You kind of got it out of your system a little bit 100%.
Speaker 1:I got it out and you know there were 17 18 year olds in my course in. Brisbane, who you know were doing what I had done already, and very grateful that I had experienced that like. They talk about. I remember going through the auditions and they would say you know, you need life experience. You need life experience. And I was like what is life experience? Like I've experienced life enough. Let me in.
Speaker 3:And now I get it.
Speaker 1:In hindsight I'm like, yeah, life experience, I'm very grateful for that. So yeah, I did my, got it. I'm very grateful for that, yes, so yeah, I did my three years at the Queensland Conservatory Wow, and absolutely adored it, and how different was that from coming from Perth?
Speaker 3:to you know what was that kind of decision? Did you just feel like you needed a challenge, and that's why you moved.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I had a few options in front of me of places that I could have gone to and I had had a friend who was in the very first year of intake at the queensland com and I reached out to her and I said you know, what's your experience been like? You know, are you enjoying it? And she had guided me and said, you know she loved it. She thought it was a great course because it was very new. We were the fourth year of students that they took in. So you know, it's a big decision to move from Perth to Brisbane, you know, for something that's still very new. Yeah, but even in the auditions I got a sense of what that course and that institute would look like.
Speaker 1:I remember there were like they did a Q&A session, basically after our final callback. Okay, because we all did our callbacks in front of each other which was very different to all the other places.
Speaker 3:Yeah, wow.
Speaker 1:So we got to see everyone on the day, you know, sing and get workshopped, and that was scary.
Speaker 3:Especially at 19, was it yeah?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then you know there is 16, 17 year olds that are, you know, getting up and doing gimme, gimme and it's just like it was. It was scary, I remember. And then they also did things like scales and musicality kind of stuff. But yeah, they did this kind of Q&A. They kind of, you know, had given us 20 minutes and they said, if you have any questions about the course, if there's anything you want to know, anything that you'd like us to shed some light on, and I think some people asked some questions. And then the head of the course, paul, just kind of talked about his plan for you know what the course was going to look like and what to expect if you were successful, and that kind of sold it to me the way he spoke about it. I was like, okay, I think that sounds in alignment with what I want to do. So, yeah, it was an easy decision. I guess that I'm very grateful for.
Speaker 3:And then you did the three years there, three years in Brisbane.
Speaker 1:And then I moved to Sydney.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, just jumping all around the place. Why do we do it to ourselves? Literally, I'm like oh, that was a that was a choice. What made you want to go to Sydney?
Speaker 1:I think growing up in Perth and you know, knowing that I was queer from a very young age like Sydney was, you know, the epicentre of queerness in Australia. I thought at the time and I'd gone to Sydney on holidays I hadn't really seen much of Melbourne, right, it just made sense Like Sydney for me. I remember we would do school trips for music or for drama to Sydney and I remember saying to myself like I want to live here when I'm older.
Speaker 1:And that was always a dream and a goal for me, and so yeah, I think when we graduated, I think four of us moved to Sydney.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow, out of like, we were meant to be a year group of 30. I think they're smaller now. I think we ended up at the end being 28. But four of us maybe moved to Sydney and the rest either stayed in Brisbane or moved to Melbourne. Yeah, so we were the smallest group.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I'm really grateful for my time in Sydney. What a beautiful city. It's not for me long term. How long were you in Sydney? For Two and a half, almost three years, wow, yeah, sydney's difficult. Two and a half, almost three years, wow, yeah, sydney's difficult, and I think anyone living in Sydney knows Sydney's difficult. It's expensive but, yeah, it's beautiful. But I think when I arrived there and you know you're a fresh graduate and you're having to do your side hustle job and it's just so expensive, and I remember you know friends of mine in Perth would be like oh, you know, are you at the beach every day are you on like a boat on the harbour just cruising and I'm like no, I'm working retail like six days a week trying to pay bills expensive, it's very expensive, yeah, and I had no money for socialising or social life and so eventually an audition popped up that was only auditioning in Melbourne and I flew down and did it.
Speaker 1:Wow, and I remember saying to my friends and my family at the time like I just walked into that audition and I felt like there wasn't this pressure and this weight.
Speaker 1:Sydney felt very weighted and heavy for me. It felt the community felt very competitive, a little bit dog eat dog. That was just my experience. And whereas in Melbourne I remember in those auditions and that callback, you know, everyone was like so nice to meet you, like you know where are you from? Oh, you came from Sydney for this. That's brilliant, like it was the first time that, yeah, it felt very nurturing and welcoming. And I remember I went back to sydney and said to my partner at the time like I really want to move to melbourne. I don't know, there was just something. It was the air down there just felt lighter and I booked that contract and it required me to be rehearsing in Melbourne and I just was like this is a sign I'm going to move to Melbourne.
Speaker 3:And.
Speaker 1:I did. I moved in the greatest year to move down in 2019, right before it all kicked off. And, yeah, I never looked back.
Speaker 3:Oh, there you go. Oh my gosh, we spent a fun. So, Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, you've literally done.
Speaker 1:I'm collecting them all. They're like Pokemon gym badges Adelaide, Alice Springs, Darwin, Hobart you're next there you go, yeah.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, yeah. And then when you came to Melbourne and did that show, I've got to hear you know from shows from Sweeney Todd Into the Woods, even Paw Patrol, to Titanic, has there been like a favourite show that you've done over the years? Oh goodness Hard question.
Speaker 1:I know I think like you take something from each show. Sweeney Todd was the show that brought me to Melbourne, so I'm grateful for that. Yes, and you know I was working with people that I had dreamed about working with Not trying to blow smoke up his ass, but Anthony Warlow. You know I was working with people that I had dreamed about working with, not trying to blow smoke up his ass, but Anthony Warlow. You know, I remember in singing lessons, like my singing teacher in Perth would bring out his CDs and be like you can sound like this, like this is what your voice has potential to be one day, like you could work with him. And here I was working with him and I yeah, I never told him that. So Anthony if you're listening.
Speaker 1:You mean the world? To me, no, but like that was mind boggling for me.
Speaker 1:I did a show called the Beautiful Game, which was at Chapel of Chapel, and the friends that I made from that show I carry with me forever like I'm still best friends with some of those people. It was just the best time doing. I don't know whether you're familiar with the Beautiful Game, but it's um, it's a questionable show, not my favorite um in terms of content, but yeah, just like we bonded so much during that. So I think isn't it awesome?
Speaker 3:like some shows, you don't even know what's what's going to come, and then you end up with, like such a family and 100 all these different experiences you end up with best friends for life um yeah.
Speaker 1:So I think you take something from every show. If I had to pick an absolute favorite, it'd probably be either sweeney todd or the beautiful game but it really is like like Sophie's choice, choosing between all of them. It's like they're all amazing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah and so now we've kind of connected from the arts but also the yoga community as well before getting into a little bit more into yoga and mindfulness and how people at home and listening can start on that road. What did that road look like for you was? Was there a tipping point that kind of shifted you into that direction, or were you always practicing forms of mindfulness? I?
Speaker 1:grew up in a big hippie family. My mum is a midwife and I went to a Montessori primary school. Wow, if you don't know what Montessori, primary or that kind of education is like For me, it meant I would arrive at primary school every day and they would give me a list of all the things that I had to accomplish by 3pm and I got to work at it in my own order, in my own pace, and it was kind of like self-led learning and if I had any questions I would go to the main teacher and ask for help. But I think that really I think that really would have made you really independent.
Speaker 1:Exactly, it made me quite self-independent and self-motivated from a young age. But something that that particular school was really big about was exposing us to different cultures, different ideas. You know we did Indonesian and Italian and speech and drama and music and instruments and meditation and ecology work, because the school was situated in a national park in Western Australia. Our playground was quite literally the bush, like we didn't have traditional playgrounds, so I was always a bit weird from a young age.
Speaker 3:courtesy of that the best of us are.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, absolutely, it's my little superpower.
Speaker 1:I say and then, yeah, I had always kind of been interested in mindfulness, meditation, you know all of that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1:And then I was in my final year at uni and I remember I was working on a show the Secret Garden and we were all double cast. I was working on a show the Secret Garden and we were all double cast and I remember the music director coming up to me and saying like, hey, I just need to let you know like you're doing great work. And I was like, ok, thanks. And they were like but just enjoy it, like relax, breathe. And I was like what, yeah, how dare you? No, but I just remember being like, okay, easier said than done, my love, yes, and like we are getting marked on this performance and this rehearsal process. But she was just like I just say like you're trying so hard and you're doing it, you're doing great, but the thing that will take it to the next level for you is just relaxing, like letting go of the body tension letting go of this kind of energy that I need to do.
Speaker 1:Well, and she's like you know, have you ever thought of doing yoga? She's like I do yoga. I found it really helped me. Was that something you'd ever look into? Or like getting massages, or you know therapy or you know whatever. It is meditation. And I was just remembering like, okay, all right, I'll try yoga. And I went to a yoga class and I hated it. I hated it the first time we did it and I just remember thinking like not for me, thank you so much. And then later, when I had moved to Sydney, I had some friends come for an audition and they were like, oh, you know, there's this amazing yoga studio down the road that we've heard so much about. Should we go?
Speaker 3:And you were like no, yeah, I was just kind of like this is.
Speaker 1:I think it was right before, this is a throwback. The Wizard of Oz auditions, oh, wow, yeah, okay, takes me back, okay. And so there was like maybe four or five of us that were like let's go do yoga and then we'll go to our Wizard of Oz audition, and the same day the same day, like literally, it was like a 1230 class and our audition was like 330.
Speaker 1:So it was like we finish shower, put on our kit and then head off to wherever that audition was. It was, you know that that that place in Sydney that all the auditions are at, not Brent Street, the other one. But yeah, and I just remember in that class just being like, oh, this kind of makes a bit more sense to me now. Yeah, there was some things that just kind of clicked and I went to that audition. I don't think I did particularly well.
Speaker 3:Like it didn't have you know.
Speaker 1:it wasn't just like oh, I went to one yoga class and all of a sudden was amazing and I'm booking every show.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I was booking every show and relax.
Speaker 1:That's the secret everyone, um. But I just remember I walked in and I felt more calm and more at ease with myself, whatever the outcome was meant to be. That day and yeah, it was my birthday was coming up and my mum was in WA and she was like, what do you want for your birthday? And I think that studio was having a special you know um, a discount on like the 20 class pass.
Speaker 1:I said you know, can I get a 20 class pass to this studio? Oh, wow. And she said, yeah, no worries. And so that was it. I did the 20 classes and I was hooked. I loved it. And, yeah, that was the beginning of the end for me.
Speaker 3:The beginning of the journey.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just just, I really loved it. And then I moved to melbourne and I kind of went away from yoga for a little while while living down here. But then with the lockdowns and having all that time to you know, kind of sit at home and do nothing. I was working retail, that was my side hustle. And I just kind of said at home and do nothing, I was working retail, that was my side hustle. And I just kind of said to myself with that time to pause, like I can't, I can't go back to that. It's not me and it's. It's difficult. You know, you get an audition, you get the phone call from your agent and they say they want you in the room tomorrow for this and now you're having to call your manager and go hey, I'm so sorry it's happened again.
Speaker 1:And then you don't get it, you don't get it. Or the manager's like you can't keep doing this, like if you keep doing this, I'm going to cut your shifts, and it's just this cycle of stress just trying to stay afloat, and I remember just being like I don't want to experience that anymore. What do I do or what do I like? That I think I could, you know, make a career path from, and whenever people say you know you do yoga and you also do performing, like you know, is one your main, I said no, they're both equal to me.
Speaker 3:It started that I would say yoga was my supplementary career path, because the truth is there's going to be long periods of time in the performing arts industry where you might not be employed, and it's almost a given yeah, 100% if you're sitting at home thinking you're going to jump from gig to gig, like that might not be the case, yeah and it may look like that for some people that you're watching, but I guarantee there are months, sometimes years, that they are not 100%.
Speaker 1:And so I kind of thought oh, you know you liked yoga, could you do that?
Speaker 3:And I was really Was that someone that asked you or was it just something that kind of came up Just self-talk, in?
Speaker 1:my bedroom locked in my apartment Rocking on floor, literally, it was like, okay, can't go back to retail. What do you like to do?
Speaker 3:um, but I was really fortunate.
Speaker 1:I had a friend of mine who I worked on Sweeney Todd with, courtney, yeah, and she was a yoga teacher, and so we went for a walk and we had a chat and I said, courtney, I'm thinking about doing yoga teacher training and becoming a yoga teacher, and she was just like okay, cool, why?
Speaker 1:And I was like you know, I explained it all to her and she was like great cool. And she just kind of said to me Sam, there's heaps of yoga teachers out there, there's heaps of white, slim, fit yoga teachers that can deliver a banging class. What are you going to do? That's different, Like what's going to be, you know, the thing that you bring to the community and to the industry and the landscape, and I hadn't thought about that.
Speaker 1:it was a great question yeah, it is and I was just like, oh, I don't know. She said take some time, think about it, you know, and then kind of let that be your mission statement or that be the reason to do the training, because you know, doing the training just for the sake of doing the training is fine and you know it's a valid reason to do it, yeah. But if you want it to be a little bit deeper inquire within, yeah, and so for me, I kind of looked at the landscape at the time and just saw that there were a lot of, you know, there were holes, you know, for people that might not have felt accepted or welcome in traditional yoga spaces. You know, I kind of sat with it. I was living across the road from the Victorian College for the Deaf and I remember sitting in my room, looking across the road and I was like who's doing Auslan yoga? Who's doing yoga for that community? Who's?
Speaker 1:doing queer, safe space yoga, because often studios can feel very binary with you. You know the language talking about access your inner goddess, or your, your inner god, or you know even the bathrooms are. You know male and female. Who's you know, cultivating and creating spaces where people that are gender diverse and trans might feel safe to practice. Who's doing yoga for our incredible indigenous and first nations community?
Speaker 1:should they want access to it and so, yeah, I kind of landed on that. I wanted to create those opportunities and those spaces and have those difficult conversations with studios and be like, where can we improve? And be more accessible, and so I went into my yoga training with that in the back of my mind. Wow.
Speaker 1:And I did my first 200 hours. I was really fortunate to be able to do it between two lockdowns. We had the police called on us every day, really. Yeah, we were in Brighton at a studio that I shall not name, but they thought that we were running illegal yoga classes. We because- it was an educational program.
Speaker 1:We had been approved by, you know, the state and the government to continue this training. We were wearing masks, we weren't doing hands-on adjustments. There were elements of the training that we had to pair back to ensure social distancing.
Speaker 3:But the community, the Brighton mums would see people arriving at the studio every morning and they were like they are running illegal yoga classes.
Speaker 1:So literally every day the police would come, they would walk into the studio, they would look around and they'd be like you're doing everything that you're meant to be doing. But it got to a point where they actually said, you know, if they keep calling, we do have to shut it down because it's a matter of public safety and public security. Like they have the right to feel safe.
Speaker 3:From yoga teachers.
Speaker 1:From yoga teachers doing a yoga training, and so, yeah, we got told if they kept getting called, they would have to unfortunately shut it down, and so that meant we had to do the entire training, like we would stagger our call times from 6am, and we it was the biggest, like most wild acting exercise like we would be walking down the street, you'd see the person that you're studying, with no eye contact, no communication and you'd pass them and be like you go in and so you'd just walk in, walk in, walking past the door, quickly open the door, run inside like oh my gosh, and it took about 30 minutes for all of us to then get inside the building.
Speaker 3:So there, wasn't just like a hubbub of people like going in at once right.
Speaker 1:If they saw 15 of us all arrive and walk in at the same time, they would be concerned they're like. Well, I'm trapped in my house with binoculars looking out the window, nothing else exactly, and then that meant the blinds were drawn, the windows were closed and we couldn't leave the studio, and so we I did it full time three weeks and, yeah, we spent. I was grateful to get out of the house and to be doing something and to be around other people, absolutely. But yeah, we weren't allowed to leave.
Speaker 1:We were also kind of trapped in some capacity in that yoga studio. So oh, my gosh yeah, that was wild. And then, after I did my initial 200 hour training, I went and did further study in trauma-informed yoga and embodied social change, because that kind of felt very much in alignment with my mission statement as a teacher and the things that I wanted to pursue.
Speaker 3:That's amazing. Well, thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 1:My pleasure.
Speaker 3:People getting into mindfulness. I know a lot of people may see the title of the podcast or kind of be scared or maybe like us back then when we eye rolled at the thought of yoga or meditation. We chatted a little bit before as well. Not all mindfulness practices are fit for everyone. No, you mentioned your experience with journaling. I hate journaling.
Speaker 1:I hate it. If you're a journaler, I love that. Good for you. It's not for me. The way I think about it, it's like speed dating try it. If it doesn't work, that's okay. You press the bell, move on to the next one. Find the one that does work for you. That's it, because it doesn't mean that mindfulness isn't for you. It's just maybe you're not doing the one that feels in most alignment with how your brain or you operate. So if you struggle to meditate, that's okay. A lot of people do. If you don't like yoga, that's okay. Some people don't, that's fine, you know. Whatever it is, whether it's sound baths or sound healing, yoga, journaling, therapy there's so many. Just keep trying until you find the one.
Speaker 3:And then, when you find that one, yeah, yeah, hold on to it if you can I mean that is already answered, kind of like my next question, which is people getting into mindfulness. What would your kind of advice be on going into it?
Speaker 1:try it all try it all, think of it as like a mindfulness sampler, um, and then you know, maybe it's you do it before an audition. I remember when I was living in Sydney I would do kind of like before I even started really getting into yoga, I would just do these stretches before an audition, not necessarily geared towards dancing, but I just was like when I stretch out my hips in this way, I feel a release through my neck and my jaw, I sing better. Maybe there's some sort of connection from my hips to my the muscles in my neck. And so I just started, kind of naturally, I figured that out for myself and started doing you know, a little bit of 30 minutes of my self-led yoga practice which I didn't know was a yoga practice at the time, before an audition, and then I would walk in and produce a better result, and so, yeah, I just kind of gravitated towards that. But it might be breath work, it might be any of those things that we just touched on.
Speaker 1:It could be yeah, just try all of them. Um and yeah, if they don't work for you, that's fine, leave it. Move on to the next.
Speaker 3:That's wonderful. Hey, listeners, if you're interested in yoga, pilates or even becoming a yoga teacher, I highly recommend you come and check out the Australian Yoga Academy. It's located in the heart of Chapel Street in Melbourne, with daily yoga and Pilates classes as well as yoga teacher training to get you prepared to step onto the other side of the map. Whether you're here to be a teacher or not, you can come to the Australian Yoga Academy and find something for you. They also house Reiki, osteo and physiotherapy, and they're really just revolutionizing the way that we look at our bodies and also connect together as a community. Whether you're a beginner or a daily yogi, the Australian Yoga Academy has something for you. The Dive podcast is also filmed here and houses our sound therapy sessions each and every Monday To receive up to 28 days of unlimited yoga and Pilates. Go onto their website, wwwaustralianyogaacademycom today to check out their generous intro offers for yourself.
Speaker 3:Now, that's enough from me. Let's get back to the episode and maybe let's chat about because a lot of people go. They may be hearing about mindfulness, they're hearing about all these things. Maybe we can both kind of give a rundown of some benefits that can actually happen, because maybe some people are listening and saying, oh, that's what they're doing, but why are they doing? What are the benefits? Or you know what are the benefits have been for you over your career with these certain practices.
Speaker 1:I just found, like when I was a fresh graduate and before I had established, you know, this mindfulness practice, I would walk into an audition and there'd be this just like bubbling, and I'd just be. You know, it's this energy of desperation and I think there's something to be said. There's fire and there's hunger and passion, and then there's desperation and they can switch really easily. They can switch. It's such a fine line. And desperation doesn't read well in an audition room. If they see you and you look like this is life or death for you, it doesn't read well.
Speaker 1:It's very different to like having the fire yeah, it doesn't read well. It's very different to like having the fire, yeah. And so I would walk in and I remember I'd just, you know, be so tense and part of that I'm not trying to rag on Sydney again, but maybe that was because I was living in Sydney, yeah, and it was expensive and I saw these performing opportunities as a way to get out of my retail day job and to go do the thing that I've been studying all my life to do so.
Speaker 3:there's a lot of added weight to that one moment.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and something that I've been reflecting on recently the performing arts industry is competitive but it's not a competition and I think when you reframe, like the way you think about it, yeah, there's so much to be said about. You know, just going into an audition and when I had established my mindfulness practice, I was just like I'm here, I'm here to do the job, I'm here to sing my 32 bar cut, I'll do my absolute best in that dance call. I'm not going to be bothered that there are other people that, in my opinion, you know, maybe are doing better than me in that dance call or whatever that might be, because I have something to offer. And if, at the end of the day, it's not in alignment with the jigsaw puzzle or whatever they're piecing together, that's okay and I can be happy for my friends that it was successful for and good for that. You know, it was just in alignment for them that day and so I think, yeah, through establishing my mindfulness practice, I just walked in and that, that bubble, that shake and the shake and the, the need to do well, um, that little desperation was just gone, yeah, and I was very much at ease and at peace with it and I was just like here's my 32 bars, and also like when, if something wouldn't go right, you know, I feel like maybe this is the same for you when you started.
Speaker 1:You know, if they're playing your song a little bit too slow or too quick, or like they're hitting some bung notes, you just be like, that's fine, I'll just keep singing through. But now I'm like I'm so sorry, I must have miscommunicated my intention for this. Can we just take a moment and we'll start again? Yeah, and that's like I don't know. It felt like stepping into my power, yes, and stepping into this kind of groundedness. And it wasn't that I had lost a fire or a passion, it was just like a quiet confidence that grew and that's what a lot of the mindfulness practices do.
Speaker 3:They not only allow you space with yourself, but to build that reflection within yourself, to know who you are more clearly, so that when you are in the auditions, like you said, you have that level of trust and level of confidence and awareness to you, know what you need and not be afraid to kind of ask for it as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and for all you singer movers out there, I think you know, if you are approaching a dance call just like off topic, randomly, we all do dance calls in front of each other but we don't sing in front of each other. So there's, you know, everyone gets to see you dance but no one gets to see you sing. And if that's what you think you shine in, then like, walk in to that space and be like, yeah, there might be some people that can dance rings around me, that's okay. In the other flip side of this, you know, in 30 minutes, when we all go in and sing, I might be excelling in that side of it yes, but they don't know that.
Speaker 1:No, because we don't watch each other do our singing.
Speaker 3:That isn't it? Yeah, yeah, but we're not going to do one-on-one dance calls, because that would take forever I get it, but you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Like yeah, so if you do identify as a singer mover, just yeah, keep that in mind.
Speaker 3:No, I love that you've added that coming into near the end of the podcast. Now I would love it if you would be open to doing a live either breathing or meditation practice for the listeners on here. A lot of people that tune in each and every week have either confidence issues or self-doubt or do experience the shakes and anxiety, so would you be open to guiding us through a little bit of a taste of what it is to practice with Sam? Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:So the meditation that we will do today is something called the path meditation pressure, air, tension and heat and the idea behind this it comes from trauma. Informed lineage is that you start with the sensations on the outer, so pressure is an outer sensation, and then it slowly brings the awareness in. So if you're feeling, you know, distracted or feeling ungrounded, then this is the one that will kind of slowly bring the attention in and kind of quieten the mind a little bit and tune into yourself. So if you are listening and you would like to practice just finding a comfortable position for yourself and this could be seated, it could be reclined, could even be standing, and you're welcome to use any props that you have available to support yourself, if you have a pillow or a blanket, a yoga block, whatever that might be. So just take some time to settle in to your shape of choice. And when you have done that closing down your eyes or softening your gaze. Closing down your eyes or softening your gaze, just taking some time to steady the breath, breathing in the way that feels most natural to you, whether that's through your nose or your mouth.
Speaker 1:When you are ready, I invite you to notice the specific sensation of pressure in your body, whatever that means to you. However, you wish to interpret that pressure of your body resting against the earth, pressure in your joints, in your joints, in your muscles, pressure in your internal landscape, any or all pressure. Slowly shifting your focus to the sensation of air. Noticing any air in your body, in your experience, air brushing against your skin, a sense of lightness, a sense of weightlessness in different parts of your body, the rise and the fall of your breath. Noticing any air. Continuing this exploration.
Speaker 1:Moving now to the sensation of tension. Noticing any or all tense parts in your body. Perhaps by drawing some attention to tension, you can work towards finding a little more ease and a little more freedom in your body. Noticing the sensation of tension. Last but certainly not least, noticing heat Once again, whatever that word means to you, the gentle warmth of the room, heat in your muscles, heat in your mind. Maybe it's your inner flames. Noticing any heat, noticing any hate. And you might find it beneficial now to notice these different sensations in combination with Embracing heat and air, pressure and tension. Tension and heat Starting to consolidate everything you've learnt and everything you've felt in your body present into the space, somewhere in your next four breaths, blinking, open your eyes and returning to the moment that you find yourself in.
Speaker 3:Amazing. Oh, I feel so relaxed.
Speaker 1:Oh good, I'm glad.
Speaker 3:Well, I hope everyone enjoyed that as much as I did in the studio. To finish off the show, I'd love to finish with you know, is there any other advice? We've discussed a lot of things on mindfulness, on your personal road of mindfulness and yoga and your career and traveling all around Australia, but is there any other advice that you would have maybe given younger Sam when you were starting out, and maybe this may be different to advice you would give to performers that are starting their career too?
Speaker 1:I think something that I would tell younger Sam and that I learnt kind of quickly or decided for myself, is that I want my career to be cross country. I don't want it to be a 50 meter sprint and it's going to take time and that's okay, and I want a long, healthy and fruitful career. I don't want it to be, you know, a flash bang in the pan and then done Um. So if it takes time, that's okay, I've got time. So, yeah, just knowing that cross country, not a 50 meter sprint, and being okay with that, yeah, that really helped me kind of settle into myself and my knowledge of where I exist in this industry that's wonderful.
Speaker 3:Well, thank you for being on the show. It's been awesome catching up and talking to you, and if anyone has any questions for myself or Sam, you can email us at info at thedivecomau. Thank you, my pleasure. Thank you. You've been listening to the dive podcast, the fastest growing support platform for performing artists. For more resources, tools, techniques and tips, you can head to our website, wwwthedivecomau. Be sure to subscribe, rate and leave a review for us, and if you feel like this episode could resonate with anyone else in your network, feel free to share it online or share it with a friend directly. Be sure to check us out on Instagram with the handle at thedivecomau, where we come on each week and share a little bit more about the behind the scenes of the podcast and any upcoming workshops, classes and offers with the dive. Until next time, I hope that you stay passionate, keep showing up and just know that if you're going through challenges right now, it's going to be so worth it when you are in a show and living.