Change your relationship to pain, posture, and perfectionism.

You are a musician because music brings you joy…

But the mental and physical challenges of hours of daily playing, navigating the music industry, self-promoting, sustaining your career, commuting between gigs, maintaining a teaching studio, and just trying to be the best musician you can be all adds up.

You are not alone.

Many musicians of all sorts (amateurs to pros, classical to rockers, students to seasoned vets) experience physical injury as well as mental health struggles. It is remarkably common...

but pain is not a necessary ingredient to creating worthwhile music.

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Meet Your Teacher

Dr. Rachel White Galvin

I struggled with injuries for 15 years. For the better part of my school years and just when I should have been flourishing, my career in music was stunted before it could even really begin. I saw countless medical and holistic health professionals, but I was met with the usual “you can get hurt playing?” or the dreaded “you need to stop playing.” None of them would stop for even a moment to consider my unique situation. Instead they each prescribed their various protocols to strictly follow to “fix me”, and regarded any questions as a nuisance. When they didn’t help, I was quickly shuffled out the door (figuratively and literally).

I took my healing into my own hands. After finishing my Doctorate in Viola Performance, I started devouring all the information I could about the body, our brains, posture, how injury happens, everything! I got certified as a personal trainer. I coached CrossFit® classes. I studied many different movement disciplines. I became a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Method® Practitioner.

Through my study of different methods, I found that the elusive secrets to healing pain do not lie in following strict protocols. In fact, there’s really no secret at all. I learned that healing pain is NOT about hoping you’ll never experience it again. Pain happens, plain and simple. Your response to it is what makes all the difference. Does it make you want to curl up guiltily in bed all day? Or will you allow it to guide you? Pain is your brain trying to protect and teach you, but you have to learn how to listen to it without judgment. This mindset shift is key. This is what I guide my clients to explore by using movement and strength as the vehicles for that shifting.

This is what I’m offering you. The chance to change your fate and shift your mindset. Your pain is real. You don’t have to stop playing. You can have a happy and healthy career, instead of early forced retirement. You can live pain-free and enjoy doing what you love at your highest potential. In order to this, you will need to dig deep to rediscover your sense of curiosity and cultivate a beginner’s mind.