Miztli Rose is a London based actor-comedian and qualified yoga teacher. She trained as an actor at RADA and has studied improv and sketch with The Free Association and Upright Citizens Brigade.

At first glance, there might not be an obvious link between yoga and improvisation; although ‘sweat’ and ‘spine roll’ might come up in a game of Mind Meld! But in 2019, after experiencing the dreaded freelancer burnout, I decided to take a break from acting and comedy in order to train as a yoga teacher (hello cliché). Studying yoga turned out to be one of the most valuable things I have ever done for myself and it allowed me to return to performing with a new-found sense of freedom and playfulness. In these strange times, I thought it might be useful to share the ways in which yoga has helped me as a performer.

GET INTO YOUR BODY AND OUT OF YOUR HEAD

At its simplest, the physical practice of yoga (also known as Asana) is about getting out of your head and into your body. In its earliest incarnation, the physical practice was about preparing the body for meditation by taking a sequence of movements to unite body, breath, and mind (fun fact: yoga in Sanskrit means to yoke or unite). How many times have you stepped out to initiate a scene and realised that you are not breathing or maybe that you are completely frozen? Spending an hour or so on the mat before a class or show can help you tune into how you are feeling, as well as waking up your body, and bringing your attention to your breath. If you are in control of your breath, you can be in control of your thoughts. The more centred and grounded you are, the more confident you will be to get on stage and play.

PRACTICE MAKES PROGRESS

And just like improv, the more we practice, the stronger we get. The sensation of trying an arm balance for the first time was pretty similar to the first time I stepped out to initiate a scene; “Oh god, what if I fall flat on my face”. Our fear of falling isn’t usually about the falling itself, but rather the fear that we won’t be able to get back up. I’ve had my share of face-planting both on the mat and on stage (and in life to be honest), and each time I’ve learnt how to get back up. I’ve also come to realise that everything is transferrable; all the things we undertake can inform and enrich each other if we allow the dots to join. Plus, think of all the material you’ll get from taking yoga. I studied with a 56-year-old paramedic who dressed up as Batman to teach his fellow NHS workers in order to boost their morale. And with that, let’s take a moment to clear something up; you do not have to be some super limber twenty something in a matching Lululemon outfit to practice yoga. There are many styles of yoga out there, including chair yoga, and some of the best teachers I’ve had were in their seventies. Just as with improv, learn to love your absolutely unique and wonderful self (well done to those who managed not to toss their cookies whilst reading that) and the rest will follow.

YOGA PHILOSOPHY

Physical practice aside, learning about yoga philosophy led to the most positive changes in my approach to performance. There are too many to list here, so I’ve picked the ones that felt most connected to improv. First up, we have Tapas, (no, not the Spanish food). Tapas can be translated to mean “heat” or “austerity” but is most often used to signify discipline. For example, the discipline to show up and practice, even when you don’t want to, is where the progress is made. I remember struggling on cold Sunday mornings to drag myself out of bed for advanced Harold class. But nothing beat the wonderful joy of doing the class (and normally celebrating with a roast from the pub downstairs) versus the sluggish disappointment of skipping the class. We can use Tapas to ignite the fire that allows us to overcome stage-fright, and to step out to support our fellow players when they need us most.

Next, we have the notion of Aparigraha, meaning non-attachment. This is a great principle to connect with in improv. Instead of grasping for perfection, we can allow ourselves the freedom to play, prizing the joy of working with our scene partners over striving for a laugh. It means that when a scene doesn’t go ‘our way’, we can let go, and move on without dwelling on the ways in which we ‘failed’. In a similar vein, Aparigraha can remind us not to grasp for what others have. There is nothing that kills our creativity like negatively comparing ourselves to others.

Finally, the hardest but most rewarding lesson comes from the notion of surrender; Isvara Pranidahana. Originally meaning surrendering to the divine, this can mean surrendering to the moment or the thing that you are devoted to. We all know the joy of a scene when we let go, surrendering to authentic connection with our teammates. It’s the scariest but most rewarding thing we can do as performers.

Ultimately, yoga encouraged me to aspire to be the most courageous, kind and generous version of myself. In yoga we often talk about having ‘a strong back and an open heart’, which means finding the courage to live with openness and vulnerability. Likewise, if we approach improvisation with openness, curiosity, bravery and generosity, we might just have the keys to creating truly wonderful comedy. A dedicated yoga practice has allowed me to nurture these elements and to find even more joy when I’m performing. Kindness to myself has allowed me to become a more supportive and playful scene partner who dares to fail more spectacularly than ever before.

Whilst we can’t do as much improv right now, maybe there is space to try yoga and see if you come back to improv slightly differently when the world opens up again. If you are interested in practicing there are lots of free YouTube classes (Yoga with Adriene remains a firm favourite for many), or check out your local yoga studios, many of which have taken their classes online!

If you want to hear more about our improv classes - click here for info on our March terms! We offer diversity scholarships for every level, so money is no object.

If you have an interesting story on how improv has helped or is helping you in the real world, please complete the form at www.thefreeassociation.co.uk/improv-in-real-life