Corona - challenges and opportunities

Interview: Cornelia Suhner - Our founder and Honorary President Pia Bucher, a kinesiologist for many years, has been directly affected by the massive restrictions on therapy services. In this interview, she gives examples of what this means for professionals like her, both professionally and privately.

Pia Bucher, you are a complementary therapist and work with musicians. What issues do they come to you for therapy with?

In the music industry, you are exposed to numerous stress factors that can lead to job-specific physical and psychological complaints. Typical issues include stress during performances, criticism, time pressure, muscle tension, posture, breathing and, in the case of brass players, embouchure dysfunctions. In the case of focal dystonia, we work together with SMM specialists on an interdisciplinary basis.

Why did you specialize in music as a kinesio-logist?

As a professional musician myself, I struggled with focal dystonia and had to give up my career for medical reasons. I therefore decided to found a musician's medical institution: that was the birth of SMM in 1997. My aim was to provide help at an early stage and to offer a central point of contact and advice for musicians' medicine in Switzerland. At that time, I completed body-oriented further training and training as a kinesiologist.

Music Kinesiology MK is a special field of applied kinesiology that deals with practical music issues and stress reduction in musicians. After many years of experience as a stage performer and instrumental teacher, this was the right approach for me. My work today - supplemented by further training in music medicine - includes retraining for brass dystonia and performance coaching for musicians.

Due to the professional ban in force until the end of April, there are severe restrictions on the care of clients. Protective measures and practice hygiene are still mandatory. How have you personally experienced the lockdown?

One positive sign was the sudden calm in everyday life and the deceleration. In the world of music, the usual everyday stress and pressure was suddenly gone: no concerts, rehearsals, auditions and no more traveling. Therapy sessions were suddenly no longer urgent - there were no more "acute cries for help" due to performance stress or musical complaints. My clients took much more time to practise and deepen the new practice structures, to rehearse concerts in peace... Where necessary, further measures could be discussed over the phone.

Have the topics and questions of those affected changed during the lockdown?

Corona has paralyzed the music scene - there is a great deal of uncertainty.

Many freelancers are experiencing existential hardship due to the loss of income.

New topics are: financial situation, existential fears and future prospects or the stress of unfamiliar online teaching or face-to-face teaching with distancing rules.

What consequences and after-effects do you expect for your clients and for you as a therapist?

A general rethink is taking place. Innovative concepts are in demand. The challenge demands flexibility and creativity in all areas.

Can you take anything from your therapeutic or personal experiences during this time into the "new normal"?

Slowing down is a valuable enrichment. It creates space to try out new possibilities or initiate your own creative processes. Innovative impulses - such as online training or supplementary forms of teaching - give rise to trust and confidence in the potential of digitalization.

Website of Pia Bucher:

> www.sana-musica.ch