Not a warm-up routine.A complete transformation of your relationship with your violin, your body, and your practice.
It teaches you ways to prepare your mind and body for much more effective and healthy practice, and a transformation of the practice itself: changing how you play, and how you feel when you do.
Founding price
$497 USD
For the first 20 students. After that, the price rises.
What's a founding price?
It's a special price for the first students, the early adopters. I believe I've built something fine, robust and valuable, and I'm committed to making this course the best it can be, with continual improvements. For that I need solid feedback, and testimonials, so that more people can experience the benefits. The founding price is my thank-you to the first 20 students who help make that happen.
In the US, you can also pay over time with Klarna or Afterpay at checkout.
Covered by the feel-better guarantee: details below.
It's hard to love playing your violin when you're in pain.
It's hard to love playing when your inner critic is shouting at you the whole time.
It's hard to enjoy practicing when your mind is scattered all over the place.
That tight feeling in your neck and shoulders after playing.
Stretching it out afterwards, and never quite finding the relief you're looking for.
Pre-practice stretches that feel like one more thing to add to an already busy schedule: more obligation than something you look forward to.
The stretches may help, to a degree, but they just don't seem to get to the root of the issue.
So the tension becomes a constant, and we start to accept it as normal, even necessary.
Dealing with constant discomfort isn't even the worst part.
What may seem like manageable discomfort for a while can quickly escalate into pain, and full-blown injury, before you know it. Left unaddressed, the same biomechanical issues behind the everyday discomfort can easily spiral.
My friend David, from youth symphony, spent months unable to play. For years his shoulder had been compensating to support the violin, and the imbalance it built up ended in collapsed ribs and a whole chain reaction of problems.
Even some of the world's finest soloists have had to cancel concerts, sometimes for months at a time, because of neck, arm and wrist injuries, unable to share their gift while they healed.
It's not just that playing feels uncomfortable. Living with that discomfort can slowly kill your passion, and burn you out.
Prehab is far better than rehab.
Getting physically injured or burning out will set us back far more time, effort and money than investing in body-mind preparation now. Rehabilitation, physical or motivational, is far more costly than prevention.
Dealing with these issues can't be postponed indefinitely. If we don't address them now, we'll be forced to address them later, once they've blown up into a much more serious problem.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Yes, it takes time on the front end. Rehab takes far more: weeks or months of playing less, or playing through pain, and the money for treatment on top.
Playing the violin you love shouldn't hurt.
On the matThen at the violin
Now picture this instead
You finish a thoughtfully sequenced asana class, your body open and enlivened from head to toe, your mind clear and sharp.
You pick up the violin in that state, and feel the joy of practicing with your whole body and mind awake.
Then the yoga comes into the playing itself, designed so the tension and strain we used to think of as normal don't build up again, and you discover that the violin, as a movement practice, can actually feel good.
I want you to fall back in love with your violin
and for that love to permeate into every aspect of your life.
How much time it takes
If anything, it saves you time.
Yoga for Violinists is not just another set of warm-ups you have to add onto your practice routine, but a deep transformation of your relationship with the violin, from the inside out.
When we're unfocused and uncomfortable, we can't practice nearly as effectively.
It's also very difficult to progress when you don't feel like practicing. When you feel re-inspired to practice, progress can happen much more naturally.
By investing in this now, we rebuild a more solid foundation, fall back in love with the violin, and keep the motivation to practice.
You won't be trading practice time for yoga. What you learn on the mat comes into the practice room with you, so the practicing you already do starts to feel and work better.
So yes, in the short term it may feel like it's taking time. Investing that time gives us the opportunity for much more sustainable growth, in the short, medium and long term.
What it takes, day to day
Meaningful transformation takes an investment:
Half hour per day is solid.
Less is okay on days you can't.
More on days you can is golden.
The more you put into this course, the more you will get out of it. I can lay a solid path out for you, but only you can walk it.
For the best results, practice at least 10 minutes of asana every day, plus at least one new video from another module of the course.
The time you spend pays itself back with interest, so dig in to enjoy the benefits.
Consistency is key, but even 10 minutes of real focus on busy days is enough to keep you on track with carving the new path.
Try to remember and apply what you've learned as often as possible throughout the day.
Some of it moves straight into the practice time you already have: the violin yoga is done with the violin in your hands, and designed to be integrated there.
If you're serious about this transformation, then put in the time that you can, practice sincerely, and trust in the process.
It's not necessary to do everything that's in one day in one single day. The day 1 through 21 format is for the most intensive, immersive version of going through this course.
It's okay to spread one set over a week or longer. It's not necessarily Day 1, it's Set 1.
My story
I used to be extremely rigid.
Playing violin felt constantly uncomfortable.
My violin teachers were constantly telling me to relax. One of them kept smacking me on the shoulder with his bow to remind me. I just didn't have a methodology to train that relaxation in a holistic way.
When I bent over to touch my toes, I could barely reach past my knees, and even that felt brutal.
My sound reflected it. My practice was unfocused, and many technical passages made me anxious. My neck and shoulders always felt stiff, squeezing the violin, even when I tried to relax them.
Then I started practicing yoga.
As I practiced, and especially once I got into my yoga teacher trainings, I realized that what I was learning on the mat could come with me into the practice room, and address not just one of these issues, but all of them.
Through consistent practice, I started to feel a freedom in my body I never would have imagined. My mind became more focused, and yoga taught me how to take on the technical passages that used to make me choke up.
Today, technical excerpts that once felt totally impossible feel comfortable to play.
It's a continuous journey. Sometimes I've lost focus on this path, but every time I come back to it, I rediscover how everything in the practice room, on the mat, and in my life just seems to work better when I do.
I present everything in this course to you, not as someone who has mastered all of it, but as someone who continues to discover how valuable it all is, continues to practice it, continues to integrate it. So I'm very pleased to share this with you, not just as a teacher, but also as a fellow practitioner on this journey with you.
More on this
I'm making this course as much for myself as for anyone else, to clarify everything that I've discovered in various moments at the intersection of yoga and violin for the past 15 years, and to formalize it into something that I can continue to practice with more clarity as well.
I have a long way to go before so many of these things are really fully integrated. Who knows if that integration will ever happen 100%, but I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that every time I practice in this way, I notice that things are improving: with the playing, with how I feel in my body, with the state of my mind. I know this works.
In the works since 2013
I'm Samuel Wexler, a classically trained violinist and a 500-hour certified yoga teacher.
I was first inspired to make this course during my first yoga teacher training, in 2013, as I saw in real time how much of what I was learning applied to the violin, and how it was improving my playing.
I've been writing down notes ever since, as I practiced and taught both yoga and violin. In 2023 I went to India for my advanced 300-hour training, to deepen my practice and to prepare for making this course. This course distills all of it.
My advanced training: India, 2023
The 300-hour certificateWith one of my teachers
Beyond classical training, I'm a multi-instrumentalist: I improvise, fuse genres, compose, produce, and perform as a live-looping artist. Hear my music.
Music, wellness and insights have been three pillars of my life. This course is the first project that brings all three together into a cohesive experience.
Deep roots
Yehudi Menuhin, one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century, studied yoga with B.K.S. Iyengar, one of the most influential yoga teachers of his era. Menuhin called him
“my best violin teacher.”
They met in India in 1952, and Menuhin brought Iyengar to Europe to teach. He saw yoga as part of his quest “to understand consciously the mechanics of violin playing.” More than seventy years later, this course brings that same meeting of yoga and violin into your daily practice.
This is where everything changes: when we start to practice violin as if we're practicing yoga with the violin.
You'll understand what I mean by this as you experience it yourself, and I believe when it clicks it will change your life for the better.
Yoga for violinists, not yoga stretches for violinists.
It's tempting to make a course of what most people think of as yoga: stretches for violinists. The deeper I've gotten into my yoga trainings, however, the more I've realized what a robust system yoga is, beyond just the poses, and how much of it is directly helpful to violinists.
The stretches in and of themselves are of course valuable, but they only become yoga when practiced with a certain mindset and internal focus.
When you bring together the stretches, the internal state, and all the other elements of the yoga system, it becomes much more potent and effective.
Since I first felt inspired to make this course in 2013, I've felt committed to building yoga for violinists, not yoga stretches for violinists. I feel I've achieved that in two ways:
The course includes far more of the yoga techniques and dimensions that help violinists, well beyond the stretches.
It comes from a deep contemplation of what yoga, meaning union, means for a violinist, so it unites many layers, including the time you spend playing the violin.
Side by side
A stretch routine
Yoga for Violinists
What it works on
Your muscles, one stretch at a time
Body, breath, mind and violin, as one system
When
Before and after you play: one more thing on the list
Before you play, and in the playing itself
Your violin
Set aside while you stretch
In your hands: violin yoga in every set
Tension
Stretched out afterwards, until it builds up again
Worked on where it starts: how you stand, move, breathe and play
Where it leads
Relief, to a degree
A complete transformation of your relationship with your violin, your body, and your practice
Why not just take a yoga class?
What helps violinists most comes first.
The complete system of yoga is extremely vast and deep. From what I've discovered in 20 years of practicing both yoga and violin, all of it can be helpful for violinists, but some parts are much more immediately helpful than others. Those are the first things I present in the course.
I start from the core of what's most directly helpful to you as a violinist, then work outward, adding the elements that keep supporting that core. Some of the elements I've found most helpful for violinists aren't things you'd find in a standard yoga class, only in more advanced trainings.
Even within the asana, the classes start with what seems to me, as a violinist, most immediately helpful for the unique challenges violin and viola playing place on our bodies. The order of the workshops is carefully contemplated, so you get an in-depth look at the poses, alignment principles and biomechanical movements that are the highest-leverage things to learn to transform how playing the violin feels.
The whole body is connected, so everything you learn in any class will probably benefit you. This course is designed to bring what will benefit you most, specifically as a violinist, as early in the process as possible.
If you start practicing yoga with general classes now, dive into different teacher trainings along the way and keep playing the violin, I imagine that after 20 years at that intersection, you'll have discovered many of the same points of connection I have. I'd love to help streamline that process for you, if you'll give me the honor.
Yoga means union.
Union runs through the whole course, in seven layers:
Your body and your violin
The vibrations of the violin and your body
You and your full desire to play and practice
Your attention, with listening and feeling as you play
You and the larger musical work you're a part of
You and other musicians
You and the people who hear your music
Five practices in every Day/Set, working as one
I always feel I play better when I've devoted the time to a decent asana practice beforehand, but it's not just that. The practice goes beyond that into the practice room.
Meditation+
Asana
Workshop
Violin yoga
Insight
Meditation+A sharper mind for practice, a stronger connection between mind and body, and a clean start, with the game-changing yogic techniques most yoga classes never touch.seated
AsanaA sequence of yoga poses that tune your body, the first instrument, and carry the previous workshop into movement.on the mat
WorkshopOne pose, alignment principle or biomechanical movement, broken down in detail: the keys to unlocking the most benefit from each pose. Alignment you can feel, not just "stand up straight and pull your shoulders back."on the mat
Violin yogaOne clear exercise with the violin in your hands, so the practice comes with you into your playing that evening.violin in hand
InsightThe idea of the set: a talk that changes how you see practice, drawn from yoga and from years at the violin. Listen anywhere.anywhere
Each day consists of 5 modules, each one with its unique value, and which complement each other for a synergistic effect.
The time each module takes varies from set to set, each one shaped to give clear value in its area and to serve that set's theme. In Set 1 the violin yoga runs about 7 minutes; in Set 16, close to half an hour.
Most sets run 45–90 minutes, about an hour on average, and many modules come in shorter parts of a few minutes each, so there's always something you can learn in a short window. Do them in the suggested order, or the order that suits your day.
Three weeks, each one building on the last
Yoga for Violinists is designed to catalyze immediate shifts in your playing: more comfort and ease within the first day.
Each Day/Set builds on the last. By the end of the first week, the beginnings of a real transformation: more freedom, enjoyment and focus.
Doing all of it in 21 days is the most intensive and immersive way through the course, for those who are highly motivated to dig in with everything they have. You can also take it at the pace your life allows.
Week 1 · CatalyzeThe foundations: body, breath, awareness, ease, and a more supportive inner teacher.
Week 2 · TransformGoing deeper: truthfulness, focus, discipline, simple versus easy, activating to release, strength through softness, and the vibrations of body and violin.
Week 3 · EmbodyBringing it all together: transitions, the senses, patience, play, your own voice, surrender, and full integration.
See all 21 Day/Set titles
1The Body as the First Instrument
2Breath as Monitor, Tool and Bridge
3Awareness Before Intention
4Don't Just Make It Look Easy. Make It Easy.
5The Supportive Inner Voice (Ahimsa)
6Riding Your Personal Growth Edge
7Uniting Body and Violin
8Truthfulness in Practice and Performance (Satya)
9The Clear, Sharp Mind (Dharana)
10The Fire of Discipline (Tapas)
11Simple Isn't Easy
12Activate to Release
13Strength Through Softness
14Receiving and Uniting the Vibrations
15Graceful Transitions
16Directing the Senses (Pratyahara)
17Trust the Process
18The Joy of Play (Lila)
19Your Unique Voice (Svadhyaya)
20Playing From Love, Gratitude and Surrender (Ishvara Pranidhana)
21Full Integration
A taste of the Insights
Ideas that change how you see practice
From Set 1 · The Body as the First InstrumentWe unlock the potential of the violin as we unlock the potential within ourselves.
From Set 5 · The Supportive Inner VoiceThere's a difference between being very strict and very harsh.
From Set 6 · Your Growth EdgeIf we go too far into a stretch, to the point where we start reacting to the discomfort, we're generating reactivity rather than generating ease.
From Set 7 · Uniting Body and ViolinWe must neither sacrifice body mechanics for the violin nor violin mechanics for the body. We must seek to find that sweet spot where both are in harmony.
From Set 9 · The Clear, Sharp MindDo you actually want to progress? Or do you just want to check the box and feel like you practiced?
From Set 11 · Simple Isn't Easy“Should be able to” is not the same as “actually able to.”
Learn the mental shift at the heart of the yoga practice that makes both challenging yoga poses and challenging repertoire feel achievable for the first time.
Everything you get, yours to keep
The course
21 Days/Sets of practices, five modules per set, on video
Lifetime access: the course is yours to keep. If it ever leaves the platform, you'll get a downloadable copy of everything.
One new set opens each day, and every one already open stays open, so you never fall behind.
A short Start Here to set up your space and your first check-in.
Plus the Toolbox, always open
01The Workshop LibraryEvery workshop stays open as a reference library, for whenever a pose, a movement, or an old habit needs another look.
02Extra asana classesWhole classes of yoga poses, from about 7 to 47 minutes, beginner to advanced, for the days you want more, or have less time.
03The Breath LibraryExtra breath practices, from kapalabhati to squeeze-out exhales, to use whenever you need them.
04Spare-moment stretches and warm-upsQuick stretches, joint warm-ups and finger mobility for any moment: before practice, between rehearsals, no mat needed.
05In-bed stretchesGentle stretches you can do to open up your body before dozing off for the night, or first thing in the morning before you get out of bed.
Some bonuses are being added progressively: each one appears in your account as soon as it's ready.
Two bonus mini-courses, coming in early 2027
01Harmonious VibratoExplore a less mechanical approach to vibrato. Practicing the motion in time with subdivisions of a beat is a very useful exercise, but that approach is only half of the equation. Here we break down the biomechanics that help the motion map onto the violin, and we also discover the natural vibrations and waves already moving through your body with the motions you're making, the ones your body naturally wants to express in a pleasing way. The aim: a vibrato that releases tension instead of accumulating it, and feels like a natural expression of who you are.
02Lila: Playful ViolinIn English we say we play the violin, not work the violin. Lila is about rediscovering play, and using playfulness not only to enjoy playing more, but to improve your playing, discover more about your sound, solve problems, and more.
For the first 20 students
01A live group call with meA live group Q&A in early 2027, once you've had time to go through the course.
The feel-better guarantee
If you don't feel better, you get your money back.
We're going to assess your current relationship with the violin on four dimensions.
Physical comfort while and after you play
Enjoyment of playing and practicing
Focus, and how well your practice works
Motivation to pick up the violin
Changed your mind early? Ask for a refund any time before Set 6 opens, or within 14 days of buying, whichever comes first. No questions asked.
Did the whole course and didn't feel better? Complete all 21 sets and re-rate the same four dimensions. If your combined score hasn't gone up by at least 6 points, ask within 45 days of buying for a full refund.
Why do I want you to fall back in love with your violin?
There are many levels:
I want the moments you spend with your violin to be as healthy and fulfilling as possible.
The violin called to you, and the world needs violinists who love playing with all of their hearts.
Anything done without love is empty, so I want to help you love every second you spend with your violin.
The whole answer
On the surface level, I want you to feel more contentment in your life, to be able to enjoy the blessing of having the violin in your life.
Your life is a short collection of moments spent doing different things. So I want the moments that you spend with your violin to be as healthy and fulfilling as possible.
On a deeper level
If you're a violinist of whatever level, it's because the violin called to you in a certain way. Something about the sound really compelled you, really moved something inside of you, and made you want to be able to draw that sound out for yourself.
We wanted the violin to be our instrument, but we could also say that we wanted to be the instrument of the violin.
String instruments seem to touch the hearts of almost everyone who hears them, and I don't think that we should take that for granted.
In a world with so much stress and darkness, I feel like we really need a family of violinists and string players who love playing with all of their hearts, who are ready to give voice to the violin and touch the hearts of others who need it.
If there wasn't something unexplainably powerful about the sound of the violin family, then why would you have chosen to devote so much of your life to drawing out the sound with your own two hands?
Deeper still
I believe that anything done without love is empty. Even the simplest thing done with love is healing for all of us. So I want to help you love every second you spend with your violin.
That every moment brings you a deeper connection and understanding of both the violin and yourself.
Questions
How much time does it take?
It's not just another set of warm-ups to add to your practice routine. For the best results, plan on about half an hour a day: at least 10 minutes of asana, plus at least one new video from another module. More on the days you can is golden. A full set runs about an hour, so you can spread each one over a couple of days or more, and the videos come in bite-sized pieces for small windows. On busy days, even 10 focused minutes keep you on track.
Do I have to do a whole set in one day?
No. It's not necessary to do everything that's in one day in one single day. It's okay to spread one set over a week or longer.
What if I miss a day?
Nothing is lost. A new set opens each day and everything already open stays open, so you pick up where you left off.
I've never done yoga. Is this for me?
Yes. Everything is taught from the ground up, at your own level. No flexibility required.
I play viola. Does it work for me?
Yes, and it may be even more helpful for you. I also play viola and can't deny that the added size and weight of the viola compared to the violin makes it even more unwieldy and strenuous on the body.
Is it for amateurs or professionals?
Both. It's for anyone who wants playing violin to feel better, from amateurs to top-level players.
Isn't any yoga good for violinists?
Yes: the whole body is connected, so everything you learn in any class will probably benefit you. This course is designed to bring what will benefit you most, specifically as a violinist, as early in the process as possible, including elements you'd usually meet only in more advanced trainings.
I'm in pain or injured. Should I do it?
Yoga for Violinists is education, not medical care. If you're injured, in pain or have a health condition, check with a professional who knows your history first, and always stay within what feels right for your body.
Is this religious or spiritual?
No. It's practical and non-dogmatic, and non-religious: there's nothing to believe, only things to try. It applies the essence of true yoga practice to violinists: deeper union within yourself and with your violin, without ever pushing any belief system on you. People of all beliefs are welcome.
How long do I have access?
For good. You're buying the course outright, and if it ever leaves the platform, you'll get a downloadable copy of everything.
Can I try it first?
Yes. For now, the complete first set is my gift to you: try Day/Set 1.
Is there a payment plan?
In the US, yes: you can pay over time with Klarna or Afterpay at checkout, and you'll see the options before you pay.
Can I upgrade later?
Yes. What you paid for the 21-Day Course counts toward Y4V Live or The Harmonious Violinist, and what you paid for Y4V Live counts toward The Harmonious Violinist. Write to me when you're ready.
What currency is the price in?
US dollars. Use the currency menu beside the price for an estimate in your own currency; at checkout you'll see the exact amount in your currency before you pay.
Can I give the course as a gift?
Yes. Give the 21-Day Course to a violinist you know, and I'll send them everything they need to start.
What if I can't afford it?
If the price is out of reach where you live, apply for a scholarship. Tell me your story, and I'll read it myself.
Want more support along the way?
Y4V Live
$2,000 USD founding It's a special price for the first cohort, the early adopters: $2,000 USD instead of $3,000. I'm committed to making Y4V Live the best it can be, and for that I need solid feedback and testimonials. You rate the same four dimensions at the start and the end, tell me what's working along the way, and if it helps you, share a few words about it. The founding price is my thank-you for helping make that happen.
The whole course over ten weeks with a small group: two live calls with me every week, feedback on videos of your playing, then six months of monthly group calls. Starts the week of January 11, 2027.
$10,000 USD founding, first 3 clients It's a special price for my first 3 one-on-one clients: $10,000 USD instead of $15,000. Your work becomes a documented case study, with your say over what's shown, and you give me structured feedback along the way. The founding price is my thank-you for helping me make this work better for everyone after you.
Six months one-on-one: two private sessions a week, one on yoga postures and one on violin integration, then 18 months of support.
Start where it fits: if you want more support later, what you paid counts toward the next step up.
Start the 21-Day Course.
Founding priceIt's a special price for the first students, the early adopters. I believe I've built something fine, robust and valuable, and I'm committed to making this course the best it can be, with continual improvements. For that I need solid feedback, and testimonials, so that more people can experience the benefits. The founding price is my thank-you to the first 20 students who help make that happen.
$497 USD
For the first 20 students. After that, the price rises.
