Yoga at the Royal Academy of Music, hypopressives, functional movement, pelvic health trainer
25/02/2026
A very welcome break from research to teach yoga to the LSO Panufnic and Soundhub composers — breath, presence, possibility. A beautiful space to share movement and stillness. photo credit to Joyce Lam.
28/10/2025
I joined Sarah and Ali at the studio for Urban Om's 'Yoga for Health' themed podcast. It was a pleasure chatting with you 😊 URBΔN ŌM Yoga
We talked about women's health, breathing, my journey as a musician with pilates, yoga and physiotherapy, working within injury, how progress can be letting go of 'more' and how yoga can be used as therapy for our body and mind. Full podcast out soon...
27/08/2025
Pelvic Pain vs Power?
It can be hard to build power if you have pelvic pain. Finding the right balance of exercises for your needs and trusting yourself not to 'squeeze' can be hard to let go. A focus on release combined with pelvic floor flexibility can help build strength and reduce pain.
There are two useful collections coming into my yoga for pelvic health library in the coming months.
Let me guide you through yoga for managing pelvic pain and urgency, and pelvic strength using breathing to enhance pelvic floor connection.
Follow the link in the bio or
Subscribe at patreon.com/emma_williams_yoga
02/05/2025
Feeling like you want to have access to just what you feel like doing in yoga. Pick and choose from 2 min to 45 min videos to suit where you are at in the moment. New uploads each month. Pick your own from the library.
Side Stretch | Emma Williams Yoga & Pelvic Health Get more from Emma Williams Yoga & Pelvic Health on Patreon
This week, the postgraduate students at the RAM are learning and experiencing the diaphragm as part of the Enhanced Performance Techniques module.
Fundamental to breathing and therefore our wellbeing, the diaphragm is also one of the core team of muscles. The students are using yoga practice to experience the sensation of breathing into different parts of the body to increase awareness of breathing and create internal body space.
We are also looking at the fascinating linkage of muscles that have fascia connections to the diaphragm, exploring how these connecting muscles can affect our breathing and posture as musicians, and how tightness in these muscles can sometimes lead to hip or back pain.
I got a good diaphragm workout blowing up 17 fitness balls prior to class! 💪
10/09/2024
This series came about in response to helping one to one clients continue to support their pelvic health from the comfort of home. The Pelvic Health Subscription Series gives you unlimited access to exercise videos and yoga sequences to support you, your pelvic health, build your pelvic health knowledge, and find exercises that work for your body.
contact form or for more info https://www.emmawilliams.co.uk/pelvichealth
27/08/2024
This month's NEW subscription series
'Using the Breath'
Including hypopressives (level 1), alignment, breathing and movement to support pelvic health.
Subscribe for unlimited access to online library.
https://patreon.com/emma_williams_yoga?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_fan&utm_content=join_link
Nerves...? Eyes provide sensory information to the brain.
Release 'nervous' tension by allowing the eyes to curiously explore, thinking of contented, circular, exploratory movement of the eyes.
Allow eyes to wander, include your peripheral vision and allow the neck and head to move too.
Notice what happens to your breathing!
Stage 1: try out when practising challenging music
Stage 2: try out in rehearsal
Stage 3: try out in concert
Why? Because under pressure, eyes widen and focus narrows. This can sometimes remove the creativity, exploration and joy from performing. The narrowed focus may also make us feel uncomfortable.
Nerves in the head and neck are responsible for voice production, swallowing, hearing, initiating muscle action in the jaw and tongue, and the information that contributes to regulation of breathing.
This is one performance anxiety technique the RAM postgraduates will be exploring with me next term on their Enhanced Performance Techniques module.
13/08/2024
Thanks Sally for sharing your experience.
Studies have shown that diaphragm training combined with core exercise combined have a greater improvement on lower back pain.
Studies also show before we have even engaged a muscle, the diaphragm switches on as part of unconscious core to prime our body's core system.
True core stability and function is connected to your breathing!
Come and join me on Tuesday evenings for my Therapeutic Pelvic Floor and Core yoga class.
This is a gentle class with lots of breathing. Plus the class builds strength, improves alignment and improves pelvic floor.
7.45-8.30pm TUES online
08/08/2024
Professional musicians who control breathing for their job have highly sensitive, developed and athletic breath capacity. Loading is increased in performance. Loading is also increased with any respiratory illness, asthma or long covid.
This athleticism can have an impact on 'normal' breath pacing.
The Yoga practice of Pranayama (paced breathing) can develop, regulate and improve breathing. Breath practise can help regulate breathing, improve breath pacing issues, reduce anxiety, regulate breath patterns and promote wellbeing.
Here's what happens on a regular basis as a professional piccolo player to manage, regulate and control the breath in preparation for performance. This is practised so there is spare capacity to allow for breathing and mindset changes under performance pressure.
bpm (beats per minute) 100
1) Breathe out slowly for 12 counts. hold for 4.
2) Breathe in slowly for 8. Hold for 4.
3) Breathe out very slowly for 24.
4) Breathe in very quickly
5) Continue Breathing out for 16 counts and extend.
Stage 2 - is to play around with (1) and (2), missing out the breath in (4). The final breath out will be 40 counts.
As a counterbalance to high intensity breath training, practising down training, decreasing loading and relaxation can be effective to connect back to regulation.
16/07/2024
Finding the motivation for a daily exercise routine to support pelvic health can be challenging. If you would like some support, I run a pelvic floor subscription series.
This is an online library of videos you can access at any time and new videos are released each month. Reminders pop into your inbox when you have a new video to try out. Choose your videos from a mix of strength, release, alignment and breathing.
The subscription enables you to access support exercise videos at any time in your own time. The subscription link is
patreon.com/emma_williams_yoga