Dr Xenia Pestova Bennett’s Befriending Performance Anxiety course starts on the 8th November

Do you feel frustrated, inadequate and exposed on stage? Would you like to move to a place of enthusiasm and confidence as you share your love of music with your audiences, friends and family?

This is possible for all of us – we just need to be willing to befriend and work together with rather than against our anxiety symptoms and negative thoughts!

Performance anxiety is a universal experience, a survival mechanism that is hard-wired. Symptoms vary, but many of us get shaky limbs, blurry vision, dry mouth, shallow fast breathing, rapid heart rate, sweaty and cold hands (personally, I get both sweaty palms AND cold fingers – the worst possible combination for a pianist!).

Even talking about these symptoms can make some of us experience them. This is our sympathetic nervous system kicking into action and responding to perceived as well as real danger (the so-called “fight-or-flight”). To make matters worse, many of us can exaggerate the sympathetic response and literally sabotage ourselves with negative thoughts before, during and after playing for others, spinning into uncontrollable worry-loops instead of activating the parasympathetic “rest-and-digest” response to return to equilibrium.

Would you like to work more in depth on this material?
Join a supportive group of like-minded performers in Xenia’s November “Befriending Performance Anxiety” online course. Learn simple and proven techniques to manage your heart rate / sweaty palms / shakes / silly mistakes, increase confidence, perform without critiquing yourself, discover joy and nurture a sense of pride and achievement.

Free taster webinar:

Befriending Performance Anxiety – managing negative thoughts

Thursday 30 October, 6pm UK / Irish time (video recording available). Register here.

Course Dates and Times:

Saturdays 8, 15, 22, 29 November; 6, 13 December, 12-1pm UK / Irish time

More details and registration: https://xeniapestovabennett.com/perform