i used to do a lot of meditative preperations for performance. as i progressed in my meditative states, my stage nerves got worse and worse. finally, it occured to me that i was making things worse by making the contrast more extreme. after that insight, i began preparing for performances by doing some aerobic exercise and lots of silly behavior; playing tag with fellow cast members, doing cart-wheels until i saw stars, etc. when i would walk onstage, i'd get a little kick that was an extension of what i had been doing ( all some sort of playing ) instead of a total shock to my system i had experienced previously.
what i have concluded is that the extra activity not only prepared me for the jolt of being onstage, it blew off some of the excess energy i had in anticipation of performing. there were times where i wasn't particularly thrilled about performing and the same preperation helped 'fire me up' for something i hadn't been in the mood for.
i did have one very hyper student who tried the same preperation to no avail ( too young to run out of energy, i guess ). i suggested beta-blockers for her just to see what being calmer was like. although, it was a stretch at first, at least she had an idea of what she was aiming for. the last time i saw her perform, she was unusually poised ( especially for her ).
mike
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