3-day Piano-Yoga® course with GéNIA – mixed ability
We are delighted to welcome internationally acclaimed concert pianist, composer, educator and yoga teacher GéNIA for her first course here at Finchcocks. Visionary founder of Piano-Yoga®, the mixed ability 3-day course will introduce you to her pioneering method combining classical piano technique with yoga and mindfulness.
GéNIA is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and Trinity College of Music. She has performed at major venues including Wigmore Hall, the Barbican and Southbank Centre and her compositions have featured in productions including Killing Eve and Cold Feet. Through Piano-Yoga®, her teaching, masterclasses and performance coaching, GéNIA has become a leading voice in helping pianists and performers develop greater technical freedom, confidence, wellbeing and expressive ease.
“It really does work.” Nadia Lasserson, Piano Professional
Recently featured in Pianist magazine and podcast, Piano-Yoga® is a specialist piano technique that combines the principles of classical piano training with those of Eastern philosophies, particularly yoga. Through the holistic Piano-Yoga® method, pianists learn to develop their technique in harmony with their own physique and mindset, working with their natural strengths and limitations, rather than struggling against them.
Participants will spend three days with concert pianist GéNIA, who is also a qualified British Wheel of Yoga teacher, exploring the Piano-Yoga® method through three interactive workshops, individual tuition and masterclasses. Together they will discover how piano technique develops through a deeper understanding of the body, including posture, alignment, movement, gravity, breathing and the effective use of the hands. The method also offers a carefully structured approach to developing strength, flexibility and control, while enabling pianists to increase their hand span safely.
This teaching will enable participants to apply the principles of Piano-Yoga® directly to their own playing and repertoire. By the end of the course, they will have a clearer understanding of how to use their physique more effectively at the piano, how to recognise and reduce unnecessary limitations, and how to work constructively with their individual strengths and challenges. They will leave with practical tools for developing a more personal, sustainable and body-aware approach to piano technique.
Each day will include an interactive workshop, led by GéNIA and will include:
1. Transform Your Hands: The Core Piano-Yoga® Workshop
This workshop presents the core principles of Piano-Yoga®, as developed in GéNIA’s award-winning book Piano-Yoga®: Transform Your Hands.
The method was born out of necessity when GéNIA set herself the challenge of performing Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and encountered the natural physical limitations of her own hands. Determined to find a solution, she began exploring how she could safely increase her hand span while making her fingers stronger. What started as a personal search evolved into an approach that enabled her to overcome these limitations and perform the work with greater freedom and ease. Over the years, it has helped pianists of all levels and developed into a comprehensive system of piano technique.
During this interactive workshop, participants will explore the core principles of Piano-Yoga®, learning how posture, alignment, movement, gravity and the individual structure of the hands influence piano playing. They will discover practical ways to develop strength, flexibility and control, safely increase hand span, reduce unnecessary tension, and build a technique that works in harmony with their own physique rather than against it.
By the end of the workshop, participants will have practical tools they can immediately apply to their own playing, enabling them to develop a more efficient, comfortable and sustainable piano technique.
“Fascinating issue… clear and precise.” — Murray McLachlan, International Piano
2. Breathing in Piano Playing – Myth versus Reality
Should pianists think about their breathing at all, or is it something that should simply happen naturally?
Breathing is one of the most fundamental aspects of our existence—without breath, there is no life. Yet it is surprising how many pianists unconsciously hold their breath or breathe inefficiently while playing, creating unnecessary tension that can directly affect their technique, freedom of movement and musical expression.
Drawing on principles from both Piano-Yoga® and yoga practice, this workshop explores how conscious breathing can become an essential technical tool in piano playing. Participants will discover how efficient breathing can improve coordination, timing and freedom of movement, making technical challenges such as wide stretches, jumps, chord playing and rapid passagework feel more natural and secure. Breath also supports concentration, helps manage performance anxiety and encourages a more organic and expressive approach to music-making.
Through practical demonstrations and interactive exercises, GéNIA will introduce participants to a range of breathing techniques that they can immediately apply to their own playing. Participants will experience for themselves how working with the breath can transform not only their physical comfort at the piano but also the quality of their technique, confidence and performance.
By the end of the workshop, participants will have a deeper understanding of the relationship between breathing, the body and piano technique, together with practical exercises they can incorporate into their daily practice to play with greater freedom, confidence and ease.
“Piano-Yoga® makes best use of your specific anatomy, strength and flexibility to help your playing.” Inge Kjemtrup, Pianist Magazine
3. Playing the Music of Frédéric Chopin
The music of Frédéric Chopin demands not only technical mastery but also an exceptional sensitivity to touch, tone and expression. Through the principles of Piano-Yoga®, participants will discover how a more efficient relationship between the body and the piano can unlock greater freedom of movement and a wider expressive range.
Using selected works by Chopin, GéNIA will demonstrate how the Piano-Yoga® method can help pianists refine different types of touch and articulation, develop a singing cantabile tone, achieve effortless legato, shape expressive phrasing, and produce subtle changes in dynamics with greater control. Participants will also explore how small adjustments in body movement, weight and coordination can create an astonishing variety of tone colours, enabling them to build a richer and more nuanced sound palette.
Throughout this interactive workshop, participants will have the opportunity to apply these principles to their own playing, discovering how technical freedom can naturally lead to
greater musical expression. They will leave with practical ideas for approaching Chopin’s music with increased confidence, imagination and artistry.
“Having tested out Piano-Yoga with students aged seven to 70, I can’t help but be impressed by it. My students have developed greater finger control, and the wrist exercises have really improved their phrasing.” Karen Marshall, Music Teacher
“With her positive, non-defeatist approach, she emphasises the joy and satisfaction of playing at any level…I would encourage any pianist, amateurs and professionals alike, to sign-up to one of GéNIA’s courses! ” Zoe Rahman, British Jazz Pianist, International Piano
Preparation
Participants will be invited, though not required, to prepare any repertoire they would like to explore during the performance classes and individual one-to-one sessions, with the option of bringing a work by Chopin in order to apply the principles introduced during the Chopin workshop directly to their own playing.
Guests will also:
- Have the chance to play in and observe two performance masterclasses.
- Will receive a one-to-one lesson with GéNIA.
- Enjoy access to play on our 9 grand pianos anytime between 7am and 8pm. (There are enough pianos to go round that everyone can play a piano at any given time.)
- Experience a private accompanied talk for course participants in the main hall of the family home, performed by Maria.
- Join and socialise with a group 8 fellow piano enthusiasts during lunch and dinner.
- Dine in style with lunches and three course dinners prepared by our fabulous chef.
- Experience the Finchcocks bubble, hailed as a “paradise for pianists” by BBC Music Magazine and stay in a grade 1 listed country manor.
About GéNIA
GéNIA is a Ukrainian-born, London-based concert pianist, composer, educator, founder of Piano-Yoga®, and a qualified British Wheel of Yoga teacher. Internationally recognised for combining artistic excellence with innovation, she has built a career that bridges the worlds of classical music, composition and wellbeing.
Described by The Observer as “One to Watch” and by The Times as “an outstanding musician”, GéNIA has performed at many of the world’s leading venues, including Wigmore Hall, the Barbican Centre, Southbank Centre and St John’s Smith Square. She has collaborated with internationally acclaimed musicians and has built a distinguished international career as both a performer and educator.
Alongside her performing career, GéNIA is an award-winning composer whose music has been broadcast on Classic FM, Scala Radio, BBC Radio and internationally. Her recordings have been released by Black Box, Nonclassical, Chappell, Karma Sounds and her own GéNIA Music label, while her compositions can be heard in major television productions, including Killing Eve, Cold Feet, Close to Me, Sticks and Stones, and The Day of the Jackal. Her music is also heard daily in Caffè Nero cafés across the UK.
Passionate about making music more accessible and sustainable, GéNIA founded Piano-Yoga® in 2007. Bringing together over three decades of concert experience with the principles of yoga, the method helps pianists develop a freer, healthier and more natural technique while improving posture, concentration, confidence, performance and overall wellbeing. Piano-Yoga® has received international acclaim from leading music publications, with Yoga & Health magazine describing it as “the first entirely new piano technique developed in over 50 years.” The method is now used by pianists, teachers and students around the world.
A passionate advocate for holistic piano education, GéNIA believes that great piano playing begins with the harmonious connection of mind, body and hands. Through her concerts, workshops, courses and teaching, she inspires musicians of all ages and abilities to play with greater freedom, ease and joy while nurturing their physical and mental wellbeing.
For booking enquiries, please fill in the form below.