Jalayne Mitchell- Classical Wellness
Classical Wellness is a space created by musicians and for musicians to integrate more mental wellness into our music lives, so we can do the work that is required of us without sacrificing our basic needs. Classical Wellness was founded by Jalayne Mitchell during her time at RCS and who recently graduated from the RCS in 2022.
Classical Wellness can be accessed @classicalwellness
I’m so thankful to Ken for asking me to take part in RCS’s mental health week! My name is Jalayne and I’m the founder of Classical Wellness, an online space for musicians to integrate healthy habits into their practice lives. I started this page because I was a late starting cellist, and when I entered the classical music space, I felt like I had fallen into the deep end without knowing how to swim. When I started taking lessons at 16 I went from a complete cello-hobby-life to an extreme level of hustle culture, perfectionism, and comparison. I didn’t know how to handle the never ending to do lists, and the constant looming pressure of practicing 4-6 hours a day. I wanted to be a degree level cellist, and I wanted to make a career out of music, but I didn’t have the resources to truly take care of myself while doing this work. This page is for the musicians who want to do well in their field without completely sacrificing their mental, physical, and emotional health.
I thought I’d use this space to first give everyone reading this a huge kudos for making it this far in the year. Now is a busy time for most folks, and whether you’re holding on for dear life trying to make it to the end of term, or you really thrive in fast paced environments, I know that we can all use tips and tricks for making our relationship to mental health better. Here are a few of some previous posts that I think would be useful to you right now:
PS: my page @classicalwellness is primarily for classical musicians, so a lot of the posts are directly addressing musicians. But I know these words can apply to artists across many disciplines, so I’ve included posts that I believe are relevant for everyone at RCS! So no matter your discipline, scroll on to see some of my favorite posts re:mental health!
A post about perfectionism (originally posted Nov 6, 2022) 👇
A post about calming yourself when you need to focus (originally posted Sep 11, 2022) 👇
A motivational post for the hard workers (YOU) (originally posted on Aug 11, 2022) 👇
A reality check that we all need to see (originally posted July 15, 2022) 👇
This one is more performance based, but I’m still including it (originally posted July 13, 2022) 👇
Let’s scream this one from the rooftops (originally posted June 19, 2022) 👇
Saying goodbye to hustle culture (originally posted Dec 29, 2021) 👇
I hope you got something out of some of these posts! I feel really nostalgic looking back on these and I definitely needed some of the reminders. Make sure your mental health doesn’t fall on the back burner while in Uni, because you might end up sacrificing the quality of the work you do (even if you don’t recognize it).
Just one more thing..
When I first started classical wellness almost 2 years ago, my very first guide was on creating sustainable morning routines. Many of us have probably seen some form of the 5AM morning routines on youtube or tiktok, but those videos are super unrealistic for most people. But, there are other (more enjoyable) ways to create a healthy and consistent morning routine. There are also so many benefits to starting and maintaining routines (at any time of day). The guide is still available (free) on my website, but I’m attaching it here for anyone who wants to learn how to make a morning routine that they can actually stick to!
Much love to all my people at RCS. <3
X
Jalayne