MindfulOpus

S3 Ep.3: Violinists Elena Urioste and Melissa White of Intermission join me for a conversation about yoga, performance nerves, ditching perfection, healthier practice, artistic agency, and allowing a musical career to become bigger than one prescribed path. This episode feels a little full-circle for me… I first crossed paths with Elena and Melissa more than 20 years ago, back in our Encore School for Strings days in Ohio. Years later, watching them bring music and yoga together through Intermission helped me imagine something I hadn't fully seen for myself yet: that being an artist didn't have to mean following one single, narrow path. Their work was part of what inspired me to pursue my own yoga teacher training in 2019, so getting to sit down with them all these years later felt particularly special. In this conversation, we talk about how yoga entered each of their lives and how it ultimately changed the way they play, practice, perform, teach, and relate to themselves as artists. We get into performance nerves, body awareness, perfectionism, healthier self-talk, and the idea that "you are your best and forever teacher." We also talk about agency: learning to trust your own body, your own artistic instincts, and your own sense of what works for you. And then we get into the Artist + of it all. Elena and Melissa share how Intermission began with two roommates, a Moleskine notebook, and an idea that other people didn't always understand. We talk about entrepreneurship, following an idea before you know exactly where it's going, and letting your career path curve rather than assuming you have to leave one identity behind to explore another. For any musician who has ever wondered, "Is this all I'm allowed to be?" I hope this conversation gives you a little more room to imagine. Maybe the path doesn't have to completely change. Maybe it can just curve. KEY TOPICS Yoga and classical music Performance nerves and breathing Body awareness and violin technique Perfectionism and healthier self-talk Compassion in the practice room The "three victories" practice Agency and artistic self-trust Teaching musicians to trust themselves Building an "artist +" identity Entrepreneurship for classical musicians Creating Intermission Letting your career path curve Intermission retreats and restorative practice TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Welcoming Elena Urioste and Melissa White 01:21 - Remembering Curtis, Encore, and our shared history 03:01 - What our younger selves would think today 08:11 - How Intermission inspired my own yoga journey 09:07 - Melissa's yoga origin story 13:54 - Elena finds hot yoga after heartbreak 18:01 - Yoga, violin technique, and performance nerves 22:28 - Compassion, discipline, and healthier self-talk 28:14 - Three victories and a new way of evaluating ourselves 34:42 - Yoga blocks, mirrors, and recording as practice tools 40:10 - Agency, ownership, and trusting yourself as an artist 48:07 - From violinists to entrepreneurs: creating Intermission 51:13 - How Intermission got its name 56:54 - The artist + life and letting a career path curve 67:22 - Inside the Intermission retreats 72:00 - Rapid fires + guest info   MY FAVORITE QUOTES "You are your best and forever teacher." "This is your today." "What's the one thing only I can do?" "Why do you have to switch direction? Why can't the path just curve a little bit?" ABOUT ELENA + MELISSA Elena Urioste is an internationally acclaimed violinist, yogi, educator, and entrepreneur. A former BBC New Generation Artist and first-prize laureate of the Sphinx Competition, she has performed with major orchestras throughout the U.S. and abroad. She is also co-director of the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, Artistic Director of Chamber Music by the Sea, Professor of Violin at the Royal Academy of Music, and a Kripalu-trained RYT-200 yoga teacher. Melissa White is an acclaimed violinist, educator, and founding member of the Grammy Award-winning Harlem Quartet. A first-prize laureate of the Sphinx Competition, she has appeared as soloist with major orchestras across the U.S. and internationally. She teaches at NYU Steinhardt and the University at Buffalo and completed yoga training in Vinyasa and Ashtanga in Goa, India. Together, Elena and Melissa co-founded Intermission in 2017, bringing music, movement, mindfulness, breath, and self-compassion together through student sessions, professional retreats, and online resources for musicians. FIND ELENA, MELISSA + INTERMISSION Intermission www.intermissionsessions.com YouTube www.youtube.com/@intermission1777 Instagram @intermissionsessions Melissa White @afroviolinist Elena Urioste @elenaurioste www.elenaurioste.com MORE INFO ON MINDFULOPUS: Curious about working together? Book a 30 minute consult: https://calendly.com/mindfulopus/30min?month=2026-09 Find out more about my work: mindfulopus.com Follow me on instagram: @mindfulopus

S3 Ep. 2: What if confidence isn't what you actively need to cultivate to show up boldly on stage? In this solo episode, I'm breaking down confidence by working backward from the outcome most of us want. We often tell ourselves that we need to feel confident before an audition or big performance, but confidence isn't an emotion we can summon on command. And "fake it till you make it" only takes us so far. Instead, I share a practical framework for building confidence that I use with my clients. It's a ground-up approach that starts with Curiosity, Experimentation, Problem Solving, Competence, and how all of those are what lead to TRUE Confidence. For musicians, this can completely change the experience of practicing and performing. When something doesn't work, curiosity allows us to see mistakes as data, not judgement. The work stops being personal, and becomes information rather than evidence that something is wrong with us. From there, we can experiment, solve the problem in front of us, and develop genuine competence. I also explore the big differences between curiosity and shame when it comes to getting the results you want, why perfectionism breeds fake confidence, and how becoming your own inner coach can help you pursue excellence without making every result a referendum on your worth. Real confidence doesn't mean believing that everything will go perfectly - It means trusting that you can listen, adjust, problem-solve, and that you'll be ok regardless of what happens.   Key points: Why I don't believe confidence is something we should chase The difference between genuine confidence and fake confidence How I reverse-engineer confidence through the lens of curiosity Why mistakes are more useful as data than as personal judgments The difference between the voices of curiosity and shame How experimentation supports excellence without demanding perfection What it means to build confidence that isn't dependent on your result   Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and episode setup 00:30 Why "feeling confident" isn't where we begin 01:28 Confidence as an action, not a feeling 02:56 Working backward: confidence begins with competence 04:22 Curiosity as the foundation of the process 06:19 How curiosity protects our identity and confidence 08:07 Moving from curiosity to excellence—and eventually, confidence   Also - Come say hi! @mindfulopus on Instagram, or mindfulopus.com  

S3 E1: A conversation about outgrowing old structures, choosing curiosity over control, and creating frameworks that support who you are today. Season 3 is here, and in a fitting way, I'm kicking it off by changing the structure of the podcast itself. After two seasons with clear timelines, missions, and end dates, I'm opening things up: continuing every other Tuesday, bringing in a wider range of guests and conversations, and letting this season evolve without a predetermined finish line. That shift became the starting point for a much bigger conversation: what happens when a framework that once served you simply… doesn't anymore? Whether it's the fingering your teacher gave you, the audition process you've relied on for years, the way you care for your body, or even the way you think you're "supposed" to work, it can be surprisingly difficult to give yourself permission to try something new. I share some of my own experience with this too, including a recent playing injury that brought up frustration, shame, and the realization that what my body needed years ago may not be what it needs today. Instead of grasping for control, I'm practicing what I ask of my clients: letting curiosity lead, looking at the data without judgment, and staying open to the possibility that the answer may require a new approach. Because changing a framework doesn't mean the old one was wrong. Sometimes it served you beautifully for a particular season of your life. The question becomes: what do you want to keep, what needs to go or be upgraded, and what are you willing to play around with? Whether you're rethinking the way you practice, navigating an injury, preparing for an audition, questioning an old belief, or simply realizing that something in your life no longer fits who you're becoming, this episode is an invitation to get curious about what might support you now. You'll Discover: How to recognize when a structure has stopped serving you Why changing your approach doesn't mean the old one was wrong The difference between seeking control and leaning into curiosity How inherited practice and audition habits can limit self-trust Why mistakes can become data instead of opportunities for judgment What a well-being-centered performance process can look like How I'm navigating frustration and shame around a recent playing injury Three questions to help you keep, upgrade, or rethink an existing framework   Timestamps: (00:00)   Welcome and Season 3 intro (01:58)   Why the show structure is changing (04:54)   When old frameworks stop serving you (06:50)   Personal injury and learning to adapt (08:15)   Curiosity, self-trust, and audition prep (11:09)    Finding a healthier performance process (12:07)   The well-being wheel framework (13:35)   Letting go of what no longer fits (14:35)   How to evaluate your current structure (16:32)   Closing thoughts and send-off   Also - Come say hi! @mindfulopus on Instagram, or mindfulopus.com  

S2 Ep #10: This is one of those episodes I've been sitting with for a while. I have some big news to share, and honestly, even typing that feels surreal. After more than 20 years as a violist with the Cleveland Orchestra, I have officially stepped away from my position and am now full-time in MindfulOpus!! It's the kind of decision that took years to arrive at, and yet the moment it became real, my nervous system had plenty to say about it. In this episode, I'm sitting down to unpack the journey that led me here: from winning my job at 21 with double tendonitis in both arms, through burnout, yoga teacher training, a health coaching certification, and ultimately building MindfulOpus into the community it is today. I walk you through what I call my "clear yeses and polite no's," the universe moments that kept showing up along the way, and what it actually felt like to send that email. This has very much felt like a "life imitates art" moment, because so much of what we've explored together in these two seasons has led right here. If you've ever stood at a crossroads between who you've been and who you're becoming, this one's for you. You'll Discover: Why making the right decision doesn't mean it will feel good, and what to do with the harder emotions that come up anyway How Jo used "clear yeses and polite no's" to navigate a major life and career pivot What "universe moments" are and how to recognize confirmation and challenge when they show up Why following your curiosity doesn't have to mean a dramatic career change, and what it can look like instead How the nervous system responds to even positive change, and why that's not a sign something has gone wrong What my next chapter looks like, including whether I'll keep playing or not... Timestamps: (00:00) welcome and season two finale announcement (00:32) the big news: stepping away from the Cleveland Orchestra (02:50) the overarching why: tracing the journey from injury to burnout to curiosity (05:16) yoga certification, coaching, and building an artist-plus identity (07:35) when thriving started to feel heavy: honest self-reflection (09:59) the universe moment that confirmed the decision (12:21) why the right decision still came with a body terror wave, nervous system and change (14:42) following curiosity doesn't have to mean a career pivot, examples from the show (17:06) two ways universe moments show up: confirmation and challenge (19:30) what's next: viola, coaching spots, bonus episodes, and season three       Interested in diving deeper into this work with me? Visit mindfulopus.com to learn how we can work together. MindfulOpus has a video podcast! Visit our YouTube channel to watch: youtube.com/@mindfulopus Come say hi over on Instagram @mindfulopus

S2 Ep #9: Self-trust might be one of the most quietly radical acts we can practice as artists — and honestly, as humans. It sounds simple, but for so many of us in this field, it's anything but. This episode is a reflection on something I've been circling all season long, and something I've wrestled with deeply in my own life: what it means to actually trust yourself, follow your gut, and stop outsourcing your own authority. This is a solo episode, and I'm sharing what I've learned — often the hard way — about how musicians and performers can lose that inner thread of self-trust, sometimes so gradually we don't even notice it happening. From the early days of handing our gifts over to teachers and institutions, to the slow replacement of curiosity with the pursuit of approval, I walk through what that drift looks like and why it runs so deep in our world. What I've come to believe is this: rebuilding self-trust isn't about making perfect decisions. It's about becoming someone who trusts themselves to handle whatever comes next — the wins, the losses, the uncertainty, and the in-between. The more I've practiced that in my own life, the more freedom I've found in my artistry. And I think that's available to you too. You'll Discover: Why musicians often lose self-trust early, and how the pursuit of praise can quietly replace the pursuit of curiosity The difference between seeking guidance and outsourcing your autonomy How perfectionism and the need for external approval are deeply linked for performers What self-abandonment can look like in your life and career, and why it tends to build slowly over time Why self-trust cannot be contingent on things going well, and what it actually means to trust yourself through failure How experiences outside of music helped Jo reconnect with her own instincts and strengthen her artistry A guided exercise from coach Martha Beck to help you distinguish between fear of the jump and your gut's true answer Timestamps: (00:00) welcome and podcast intro (00:32) introducing self-trust as this season's through line (02:54) when music stops being playful, how approval replaces curiosity (05:19) perfectionism, external focus, and losing your own voice slowly (07:42) Jo's personal experience outsourcing decisions, and what she learned (10:07) how going against your inner knowing erodes self-trust over time (12:33) fear, FOMO, and why failure gets pathologized in our industry (14:55) reframing self-trust: it's not about getting it right (17:24) people pleasing vs. being anchored in your own truth (19:51) Martha Beck's diving board exercise for navigating decisions (22:17) season two reflection and preview of the finale Resources Mentioned: The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown Untamed by Glennon Doyle Carol Dweck's fixed mindset concept Martha Beck's diving board decision-making exercise MindfulOpus Season 1 Ron Patterson finale episode MindfulOpus S2 Ep #2 with Jonathan Biss MindfulOpus S2 Ep #8 with Kayleigh Miller Interested in diving deeper into this work with me? Visit mindfulopus.com to learn how we can work together. MindfulOpus has a video podcast! Visit our YouTube channel to watch: youtube.com/@mindfulopus Come say hi over on Instagram @mindfulopus