Page 97 - How to Shine on Stage

ing through the left. We breathe alternately through one nostril and
then through the other for about five minutes and finish the whole
pranayama by exhaling through the left nostril.
6. The 4–4–8 technique involves breath regulation by calming the mind.
With eyes closed, we inhale air through our nose, counting to four
in our head, then we hold our breath, counting to four again. After-
wards, we exhale, while directing our attention to counting up to
eight. We repeat the cycle 10 times.
7. The positive energy cloud is an exercise performed in hip-width stance. 95
We start with the arms folded in front of our chest. As we inhale
through our nose, we raise our arms vigorously into the air, and as
we exhale, we bring them back to our chest, holding fists. We repeat
this several times, slowly increasing the pace of breathing, and then
gradually decreasing it. The technique is called the positive energy
cloud because we imagine a cloud of positive energy above our head
and we draw its energy into our body with our arms.

Tapping Direct Factors of Musical Performance Success
Tapping or emotional freedom technique (EFT) is a technique for
achieving emotional freedom. It was developed by engineer Gary Craig.
EFT is a tool that integrates verbal and physical processes to achieve ef-
fective performance. It combines the stimulation of acupuncture points
while mentally activating the target psychological problem. When tap-
ping an acupuncture point, deactivation signals are sent directly to the
stress centres of the midbrain (amygdala) and the stress deactivates si-
multaneously on physical and emotional levels. The ability to conscious-
ly face a memory or emotional trigger without any stressful emotions can
be a great tool of preparation for a performance, concert, exam, audi-
tion, or competition (Oražem, 2021). The EFT process comprises four
basic steps. The first step includes preparation, where we name the prob-
lem and focus on it. We rate the intensity of the problem on a scale of
0 to 10. Then we form a sentence and repeat it three times while rub-
bing a painful spot. This sentence opens with a description of the prob-
lem (e.g. “Although I feel nervous before performance”), followed by a
general sentence of acceptance (“... I fully and deeply accept myself”)
(Fone, 2012). In the second step, we follow a protocol that involves tap-
ping all meridian points and simultaneously speaking the setup sentence
we formulated in the first step. We repeat this seven times. The sequence
of meridian points is as follows: eyebrow, side of the eye, under the eye,
between the lower lip and the chin, on the collarbone, under the upper