What is the compulsion to create, and is the creation for the creator themselves or for others? Whom does it benefit? As C.G. Jung said, the creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with objects it loves. Without this playing, no creative work has ever come to birth. The debt we owe to play of the imagination is incalculable. For those that create, there's an impulse that consistently pushes us forward. What underlies it? What connects the desire or compulsion and the act of creation, and the creation which benefits others? Can we uncover the factors within the individual psyche and mental state? Today, along with my guest Xenia, we are uncovering these themes: creativity, piano composition, yoga, and war. And how they all blend together to make a social and psychological impact. Zhenya has created a unique blend of piano and yoga. Yoga is essentially a spiritual discipline. It is a subtle science which focuses on bringing harmony between mind and body. The word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj. It means to join, to yoke, to unite. That practice of yoga leads to the union of individual consciousness and universal consciousness, aiming for perfect harmony between the mind and the body, that is, man and nature. The aim of yoga is self-realization in order to overcome all suffering, leading to a state of liberation and moksha. Yoga dates back to 2700 BC and has proven to uplift both the material and spiritual in humanity. But what of the compulsion to create? Is it for ourselves or to help others? I'm Dr. Maria Kempinska, and my guest will be speaking about her own creativity and created a means to help others. In 2007, Zhenya created Piano Yoga, a multi-dimensional method of piano playing, performing, and teaching which provides a holistic approach towards playing the piano. Born in the former Soviet Republic of Ukraine, she is an enigma of the music world, a concert pianist and a composer. Her music can be heard on the TV series Killing Eve, Cold Feet, and more recently Sticks and Stones. Xenia, as the Times wrote, is an outstanding musician. There is so much more to find out, and I'm very pleased to welcome my guest. Thank you so much for joining me today. Uh, thank you, Maria. It's such an introduction, but thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be here. And tell me about your family and your heritage, because you now live in the UK, but that's not where you began your life, is it? No, you know, I was born in the former Soviet Union, which is now Ukraine, which is obviously very well known at the moment. And, um, my family was a mixture of musicians and scientists because my immediate— my parents were mathematicians, my grandparents were mathematicians and chemists, and but my great-grandmother, she was a musician, quite well-known musician in not only in Kharkiv where I was born but in the former Soviet Union. Her name was Regina Horowitz. And she was an outstanding pianist, a very well-known pedagogue, and the sister of well-known pianist Vladimir Horowitz. So she created her school of piano playing, and she started me on the piano when I was little, when I was 4. 4? Amazing! Do you think to really have talent, you have to develop that early? There are a couple of things. If you have talent, you have talent and you can develop it at any time, but the earlier, of course, is better. If you don't have talent but you want to learn something, I think, yes, you need to start doing it early. And so you were born in the Ukraine, which was part of the Soviet Union. And how— what was your day-to-day life when you were growing up? Was it full of learning the piano, finding the skills? Because it is a skill you have to learn. You have to practice, don't you? Oh, absolutely. You know, my mother still feels, I think, a bit guilty because she said, "I know you had a hard childhood." And it's true because you have to practice. I mean, it's a good thing that if you like doing it, it doesn't feel like a chore. But when you're growing up, you know, when you're young, and I used to like lots of other things. I used to go, Really, I was quite a good dancer and I even was sent to a school, dancing school. So my parents at some point had to decide, because, you know, in Ukraine it was very strict. They said, okay, either she's doing piano or she's doing ballet, she can't do both. And so ballet went out of the window. And then I did a little bit of acting. And again, my parents said, look, if you want to do acting, it's fine, but we are taking you out of the— school. I was in a school for gifted children. So it was always practicing piano. Yes, it was a big thing in life. You know what's so interesting, Xenia, to talk to you, is that over here in the UK they're now talking about, you know, we should try to make all children equal. And, uh, but you're talking about having a school for gifted children. Do you think that's a good or a bad thing? Well, I, I don't think it's a good— well, I think it is a good thing. I think it's suited for every child. But yeah, I think it is a good thing. Why not? You find a talent, a particular talent, and then you harness it. Yeah, and you have to work at it. So what was your day-to-day life? Just getting up, having breakfast, and going to school and practicing? And no, my day-to-day life was like this: I would get up in the morning, and then the school started— what I remember now, the school started when I was little in the afternoon. So in the morning we had time to practice or go to piano teacher for lessons. So morning, which is great. And actually even now I prefer to practice, like my best energy is in the morning. So I used to practice 3 hours in the mornings and go to school, school until 6, and then we get home and then you have to do like your lessons, you know, like maths and art lessons. So it was very intense. And so can you imagine if I was also doing ballet on top of it, which was after school? School. It was too much. Yeah, but also in your culture, I think what was so amazing, and I know it was very difficult, there was so much discipline, you know, so much time spent on being perfect. And did you feel that, the pressure of being perfect, and, or was it natural for you? I don't think it's the pressure of being perfect, but the pressure of discipline, I definitely felt that. Yes. And do you still have that, uh, my own pressure? Well, people think I do. I'm not sure because I love— I, this is— I like my lazy days. But maybe that's why, because I am disciplined in, in other— but yeah, so it teaches you a discipline. I mean, you know, so Shakespeare wrote, show me a man till the age of 7— show me a boy to the age of 7 and I'll show you the man. And, you know, I do think discipline actually is one of the facets of creation, that you have to just do it. You have to get the skill. You have to be able to make something happen. And in order to do that, you have to be disciplined. Yes, but, you know, I have some friends— I'm talking about not musicians, artists— so they work in slightly different way. And sometimes I look at them and I see this complete chaos, but then they work all the time. But they can— but you know, sometimes they work not in the studio. So I think different people work in different way. But if you are a performer, if you're a performer, because there's a big difference between composing and performing, you definitely need a discipline because your body is a mechanism and that mechanism needs to be in its optimum state. And you know, in order to do that, you need to be disciplined in order to maintain it. And, you know, we'll talk about that because you are a composer as well as a performer, and also you've created something called Piano Yoga, which I'll come to shortly. But did you, did you grow up with brothers and sisters? What was your family background like? What— no, I was the only child. I wish I had brothers and sisters, but no. So I had a lot of attention on me. Was that a good thing? Sometimes I think there's a heavy weight for an individual child to carry. I agree, I totally agree. Although it sounds fabulous to have all that attention, because they say some children don't have attention and they get lost— that's in a very large family— but if you have all the attention on you, whatever happens within the family, it is focused on you, isn't it? You have to be the shining light, you have to save people, and so on. It can be quite a difficult weight to carry. Did you feel that at any point? Oh well, when I was young, I didn't feel I have to save people. It's more the other way, like I was saved. Like I had too much, too many people fuss over me. And I actually like my private space. I like to be left alone. And you know, and my mother said that when I was 4, I had like a little note on my door. I put it and I said, please don't walk in without knocking. At 4? Yes, because some— your alone time is important. I think so, especially if you're an artist, if you're a creative, that's where you— yes. Do you think that people— I'll come to the specifics of your ability to create, but do you think all creatives need to spend time on their own? Um, I can't speak for all because there are different types of creativities, whatever you ignite, you know, whatever ignited, but majority I would say yes. Because there is the separation between being alone, being on your own, and being left alone, isolated, neglected. There's so many areas, so many components to that. And it's almost as if we're in a world over here that is afraid of being on their own. And yet it can be very rich if you can turn inward and create something. Absolutely. I mean, it's— for me, it's like a blessing. I— for me, when I have this time, it's just, oh, it is. I'm just— I'm just savoring every And what was the school like that you went to? Did you have lots of school friends there? Oh yes, fantastic. And you know, it's funny because, because of Facebook, we are still connected and reconnected many, many, many years later. It's quite— it's a very strong bond because the school was for 11 years, and so some, some studied just for 8 and then some continued for extra 3. Advanced level. Yes, we had a fantastic, fantastic group of friends. Many, majority of them are musicians, of course. And yes, it was great. Oh, wonderful. So social media has it, the very best of social media for what it was intended, is wonderful, as you say, to keep connected. So at what age did you actually start performing as a concert pianist? Well, I can't say because I was performing when I was 4. Hmm. And then you were in the public. Yes, I was in public, I was on television, and— but it was very much encouraged in our culture, you know. And to be honest, I was a child who loved performing, and I didn't like practicing that much, but I knew that I had to obviously practice in order to go. But performance was great. Yes, and you love that. What does it take to be able to perform? What, what was your preparation in your mind as you're preparing to go on stage, uh, to actually sit down at the piano? People are watching you, they— all their eyes are on you, and they have this wonderful expectancy. But also, how do you focus on the work that you do during that period of time, which can be quite a long time? Are you talking now or when I was a child? Both. What was it like when you were a child and now? Um, well, obviously I don't remember all the details, but I do remember one thing, and that is, for me personally, it's quite important to have, again, this time alone, at least for 3 minutes, when no one is talking to you, you know, so you can actually gather your thought, your energy. Because I feel when you're an artist, you're going on the stage You kind of, you're a container of that energy and then you go on the stage and you pour in this energy to your audience and basically if you start, as a container, if you start leaking, you know, giving your energy away before you go on the stage and you have to watch it, you know, so you have to, it's very important to be, to be by in your own thoughts and yes, just be with your own energy for a while. Yeah, and when we come to— what is the best piece of music that you love playing, that you've always loved playing? Oh, very hard to say because at different stages of life I like different things, and not even different stages, at different moods, you know. I mean, I always adore playing Rachmaninoff, always, but to play Rachmaninoff you need to be in a certain state. I mean, if you're playing very how to say, the piece which is very energetic, you need to have energy to give it. Or if you're in a state where you, you know, you just want to relax, you can play a list. But now these days, to be honest, I'm quite selfish, but I'm writing so much music and so I'm playing a lot of my music. Yes, so your music, which is absolutely beautiful, I was, as I was writing my notes, is you have that essence of Rachmaninoff in your music. Thank you. Thank you. I don't know. Yeah, no, it's beautiful because Rachmaninoff is quite romantic. I always feel it has that soulful essence that's quite soft, and your music has that to it as well. As far as, you know, when I felt it, it's very easy, very— it draws you in, it makes you feel warm, it it can, you know, sort of gives you— it wraps around you like sort of a warm fire. That's how I felt in your music itself. Thank you. And it's very powerful. Is that what you wanted to portray? Did you have an idea of how you wanted your music to sound? Not like that, not with that, uh, no, no, no, no, no. Um, when I compose music, Again, it started very organically because I only started composing 9 years ago. I always played someone else's music. And then during the— let's say, yeah, quite a while ago, I collaborated with a lot of artists, majority of them are men, actually, men artists. And it was very interesting to take part in the creative process as a performer working. And then at some point I just thought, you know what, I really want to express my own feelings and my own thoughts. Don't I just try to write something? And that's how it started. So that started 9 years ago. So when did you actually move from the Ukraine to the UK? Oh, it was a long time ago. It was '94. I got a scholarship and it was It was— I was very lucky because when Ukraine separated from the Soviet Union, economically it was in a very difficult situation. And it was, you know, the idea of going to the West and studying and having money to, well, not only pay for education but to leave, it was just— it was like going to the moon. And I was very lucky. I got a scholarship. They paid for me basically to study and to leave. And that's how I ended up. And where did you live in the UK when you came over? Ironically, where I still live now, but I traveled a lot in between, in Highbury. Yes, yes, so you're still there, how lovely, and it's a wonderful part of London. I know, I arrived to Highbury and then I lived in many different parts of London, and then I lived in Paris a little bit, and then I settled back. I— yes, it just happened that it ended up being the same area. How fabulous! And where did you study when you came to London? At the Guildhall School of Music and Drama at the beginning, and then I did my master's at Trinity, which is now called Trinity Laban Conservatoire. Ah, and from there, did you then start— because you make your living out of your performance, don't you? Well, my performance and piano yoga, so it's a combination, and my music, yes. And that isn't easy in this day and age because there's so much in many ways that there's a lot of need for piano composition, but also there's so much more competition, not necessarily at your level, but there is a lot of more competition in the world of performance and musicians, aren't there? I think so, but I think it's a competition in every area, in every sphere, you know. If you go in any area of life and you think there's a lot of competitions, then I don't think you— and you think it is a danger— I don't think you can, you should even go, you know. Does it energize you, competition? Well, I don't know, maybe. I haven't thought about it, but, uh, it's, it's a nor— it's a healthy thing to do, you know. It's much healthy to have competition, I think, than not. To have, and some people do things better than I am, and I can learn from them. And just the whole point of creating, I think we're always trying to, well, at least I can talk about myself, you know, on the one hand you express yourself, but then you always develop. And then if you have a competition, you hear other people doing something, you think, oh my God, this is so amazing, this is so beautiful. And then even unconsciously, then you strive to create something along those lines, or even go further. It's wonderful. And how old were you? Did you get an agent quite early on? I have an agent. Well, I got an agent quite early on, and then I actually— I don't know if it was wise decision or not— I left my agent. How did you? And I tell you why, because at that time I was already, um, played a lot of contemporary music. I liked a lot of experimental music because I always thought, you know, I went on tours and I played, and I adore Mozart, but I played Mozart Concerto No. 21 9 nights in a row, and I remember towards the end I'm sitting on the stage and I think, I'm not feeling anything, I'm like machine, I'm not enjoying. And that sort of, and you know, classical repertoire is very beautiful, but it is a certain repertoire, and then I was in my early 20s and I thought, my goodness, if I'm gonna play this until my late years, this is such a bore. So I decided to experiment. So I did a lot of— I've started working, collaborating with a lot of living composers, commissioning music, even did piano electronics and lots of things. Some of them were very good, some of them now, listening back, I think, my God, it was awful. But that was interesting to me. But of course, for my agent, that was a disaster because— of course, commercially, that wasn't a very good decision. So yeah. And do you have an agent now? Do you work with others in that respect? Do other people help you get work, or do you have to— because for an artist, yeah, to do everything themselves is overwhelming as well. Totally. So I agree. I mean, I don't have one agent. I would love to find one agent. It was like my dream come true. Yeah. Sometimes work with several agencies, um, and I, you know, it's sometimes it's word of mouth. Really, but some— you, Ira, I think yes, if you have an amazing agent, you can get where you want much, much quicker. Yeah, and how would you like to— if you found an agent, as you say, I've always wondered that actually, you know, a piano would be amazing to play, but it's— I would never be able to play to your standard ever, ever, but it's so— it's such a wonderful instrument played well, and I was wondering just about that question when you were saying you were playing Mozart for 9 consecutive nights, and then suddenly you thought, I'm a robot. And we were talking, my introduction was about the compulsion to create. Some people don't mind reproducing somebody else's music. Mozart was amazing, obviously, because people want to hear him over again. But you have this deep desire to create something new. And is that when you started thinking, I've got to do my own more and more of my own compositions? Well, I was always improvising, but I was never putting it for the public. I was doing it at home. And so people who heard me playing— and I surrounded by musicians— so they said, you're crazy, you really need to start composing. And I never, to be honest, I never had time because I had concerts, concerts, concerts, and it was quite a big thing. And then there was, you see, everything in life happens I think for a reason. I was doing a private concert for someone, actually it was one of the founders of Café Nero, and he came to me after the concert and he said, "Oh, you know, do you play any of your music?" And I said, "Well, I improvise a bit, but not." He said, "Well, send us something. If we like it, we'll play it in our café." 'Can you imagine?' And that was like, wow, that was a dangling carrot. I think, 'Oh my God, that would be such an interesting thing to try.' And then I had an opportunity to go to Paris at that time, so I thought, 'Okay, I have to,' because London was too chaotic. And I packed my life in London for 3 months. I went to Paris and started to compose in Paris. It was a very good time for me and was important. And I came back I sent him the recordings and they loved it and they started playing it in Café Nero. They played my music for many years and then actually, whatever I said to him, they organised a concert and they said, "Look, we need your EP very quickly." I said, "Oh, I don't have time to go to recording studio." He said, "Look, what you did was great." And that was my first, that was my first EP actually. What is an irony is that one track from it, Sweet Memories, Yes, it's ended up in the series which you mentioned, Sticks and Stones. How fabulous! And do you know, this is exactly what I meant about your music, that it is— there has got that haunting quality. It's very emotional, it's emotive. It's not emotional in as much as it takes that away from the drama, it just underpins life, doesn't it? For me, when I was listening to it, if you're feeling something and you want to help if that feeling— you as an individual, you want to express that feeling, I think your music can help underpin that and help find words and bring the feelings up to the surface. And I think that's what the owner of the Café Nero did, and that's why you've got so many pieces on different TV programs. Thank you. Well, maybe, you know, when I write music, for example, uh, I sometimes think Well, now it's changing, but when I started, I was always thinking, what kind of energy, what kind of feeling, what kind of emotion I want to convey? You know, is it love, is it despair? Or I have some compositions I could just visualize the raindrops going down on the window, that feeling, you know, of the great day and been a lot. So it's always sort of— it's an energy state, and then I, and then I put it into music. And how do you choose which is the best one? Because now you're writing, uh, something amazing, you're composing. It's an expression, it's not a case of, you know, deliberately— it, it comes from within, doesn't it? The actual act of creation. Can you give me some words that can explain how that comes through? No, I know, I knew I was asking for the Holy Grail, but you know, it's quite— well, you know, sometimes I— or sometimes I, I work in different ways. So sometimes I just record, I put the record button and I play a lot of different— I said, well, I have this idea, this idea, or that and that, and then I record a bunch and then I listen it sometimes like in a few days and I think, oh, is there anything I really like. Sometimes I now do it in another way because people sometimes commission me music, so I have to be more specific. And then I think, okay, I want this energy, but now I want to have this structure. So it's a little bit more— I'm trying to organize myself, to shape myself a little bit more, but it still comes mainly from playing. It's not like I take a piece of pen and paper and start writing with the hand, you know. One part at a time. No, it's not like that. And you sit at the piano and it comes through? Yes. And it's— that's amazing. What, what were your parents like? What was your mother like and what was your father like? Uh, they're amazing people, very, very different. And well, my, my mother is very, very creative, uh, but she also have a very strong sense of mind I guess both mathematicians. And so my mother, she also writes beautiful poems and she writes beautiful stories and she played piano, but because she's also, I think, a bit of, or used to be a perfectionist, and she thought I will never gonna be as good as, you know, our great-grandmother Regina, or obviously like Vladimir. And so she gave up. So she's very, she has amazing talent, taste in music. So I would always trust her judgment, and especially if she listens to— I'm talking about classical music, piano classical music— she has very, very good taste. She, yes. And then my father, he had to choose actually to go into maths or music because he won some piano competitions, and he played piano, he played guitar, he used to sing. So he was more expressive, but then he also went into mathematics. So they studied together, my parents, in university. He was very well known in my city as a professor of mathematics. I don't know, they had a very good sense— well, my dad passed away, my mom is still here very much so, but they had very good sense of humor and our house was always open. We always had lots of guests and people and a lot of very interesting conversations and gatherings in our house, in our flat. And how did you cope when your father died? It was interesting because he died in— he was dying in America and I was in London. And I got a call and my mom said, look, you need to come. He's in hospital. And she called me at 11:30 at night. At 5 AM, I was on the plane. And the last 10 days I spent with him in hospital, and he literally died in my arms, which is quite— it's a very strong experience. But it's, apart from being tragic, I think in some ways it's kind of healing experience because We had time to be together very close for the last 10 days. And then I wanted to stay in America, but I actually had my tour. I had my American debut tour, a New York tour in 3 weeks. And my mother said, okay, because in our culture we do funeral very early when someone dies. So after the funeral, she said, go back to London. You have to go back to America in 2 weeks to perform. So it was— I, yes, I think it was— it obviously took time, it took time, but I think music, my work, helped me. Yeah. And, um, coming back to that moment, as you said, it was healing. And that moment when you're with your father, uh, towards the end— and I've experienced the same thing, um, with various people, not only my own mother, but it was— I wasn't quite there when she was dying, but that moment is so profound and so important, isn't it? And I always think that even if you don't get on with your parents, to be there at that moment, just to give comfort, it's not only for them but for you as well. Ah, absolutely. I think, um, for me it was very important because obviously we lived in different countries, so we— I didn't spend that much time with my parents. So I think it was a very good closure There were disagreements because, you know, you always have disagreements with your parents. Of course. So whatever disagreements we had, I think we had a very good closure, and I think that was very healing for me. I don't know how it was for him, but I hope that that also brought some kind of help. I think from my experience, it's the only thing that really matters to anybody when they are towards their end is their relationships. People have this fantasy about— they strive for money, they strive for acquiring things, and they strive for other material existences. But fundamentally, it's relationships. How, how do I leave the world? How do I leave my relationships? How can I make my connections better? What have I done? How can 'Can I heal anything?' I get a strong sense of that towards the end of somebody's life. They never say, 'I wish I'd got a watch,' or, 'I wish I'd bought another yacht.' It's always, 'Oh, I wish I could make up with this person or that person.' If you get the same sense— well, absolutely. But I think now, um, even, you know, this disaster situation in Ukraine just shows was, because I mean, it's terrible. But what the only good thing I can see from this situation, how it united people, how it united people from different backgrounds, you know, different view, different cultural experiences, and how the strong connections between people are helping people and healing people. And what— it works both ways because obviously people in Ukraine needs to be healed, but I think we here in the West, we are so traumatized by the whole experience, and by doing something and joining forces, this kind of helps us. So I think, yes, the relationship is the most important thing. Yeah. So coming, coming to this point, because it is so powerful, and I know that you, as your piano yoga is a method of healing, you talk about energy, which is so profound. And energy can be transmitted, and it's how it's transmitted— good energy and bad energy, if you like. But the power of energy is underestimated. But as you say, my parents are Polish, and my mother was actually born in what was then Lvov, which is now Lviv, in the Ukraine. My father from Poznań. So that whole coming together of countries to help each other, I don't think they bonded by the politics, they're bonded by the pain of loss, of trauma, of terrorism, the whole feeling of, oh my goodness, how can we help the people that are being affected by this? Is that the impression you get? Absolutely, yes, of course. Uh, trauma and desire to— yes, trauma, and I think desire to help so much, of course. Of course. Now it's incredible, sorry, it's just incredible what Polish people are doing for Ukrainians. It's just— and I think if I'm right, they're gonna even— something's gonna happen, like they're gonna not dissolve completely the borders between Ukraine and Poland, but there was some agreement now on the political level to soften the rules. So because the nation, the Polish nation, absolutely embraced Ukrainians and helped like no other. Yeah, and don't you think it's wonderful? And for you, you're here in the UK, and I know you travel and you give concerts, but you're also helping, aren't you? Yes. I mean, I remember the day when the war started, I was woken up at 5 AM because we have a group chat with some friends from Kharkiv, and at 6 o'clock we already were trying to do something, send funds, etc. But I've been doing quite a lot of concerts and my particular desire, which I now finally it's manifesting, I wanted to help my city because there's a lot of amazing help, there's a lot of very big charities, but I wanted to help directly to my city with the matters and things which are not getting helped. By the big charities, because obviously you cannot help everybody or help at the same time. So I teamed up with an amazing charity in Kharkiv. And ironically, what happened is the woman— I only found out after— the woman who runs this charity, she used to be a student of my father at the university. Incredible. And it's called Kharkiv with You. And now, and so they work I was helping with medication because they work with— they needed medication for clinics and hospitals. And now I'm helping them with children because they work with different groups of children on different levels. And right now what we are focusing on is trying to— because there's a lot of, you know, life is still going on. The war or not war, life is going on. And They had these groups of kids which, you know, with cancer and different very, very serious health conditions who have been accepted to hospitals in Europe for treatment, which is incredible. But it's 120 kids. Kharkiv doesn't have enough funds to transport them and arrange for, you know, because obviously kids need to come with at least one parent. And so I've been helping them with that. And I, as of last month, I finally managed to open my own foundation. It's called Support Kharkiv Foundation. It's a UK charity, and I'm very much involved in, you know, helping them. Can we— can you just say that again and spell out the— spell the name? So it's called Support Kharkiv Foundation, and it's on my website, all the information. Uh, it's a UK-based mini trust. We are working with a really big trust called Giving Works, and it's a— with this charity which I opened, it's all government aid supported. So, you know, if people donate, they can actually— government aids, you know, I think it's 25% on top. So it's incredible. And so what I do through my UK charity, I work with the charity in Kharkiv And right now we are helping kids. And if people want to find out more, the information is on my website. And I also have a campaign on GoFundMe, and there is a link. And what is your website, please? My website is genia— I will spell it in a minute— genia-music.com. And Genia is G for George, E for Easter, N for November, I for iron, A for apple. Hyphen music.com, hyphen music.com. And it's a wonderful website, by the way, um, in itself. But I think this is where the power of composition, with the power of creativity, can actually blend out into the world and make enough— given a— create an effect in the world and be so supportive and healing. Because I believe that creativity is generous. I don't think you can actually be creative and not be generous. I think it just has to be generous, it has to open up, it has to keep delivering, it has to keep giving. And that's exactly what you've done here, you know, sort of. And now you're helping people that couldn't help themselves, and that's so powerful. Well, thank you. You know, I think we're all trying to do the best we can do, and, um, I mean, I'm very fortunate that I have certain following, people who go to my concerts or people who listen to my music or people who attend my piano yoga workshops and masterclasses. And I'm very, very, very grateful to all these people because they have been very generous. They have been donating either through concerts or through private funds, private donations, or GoFundMe, and it's been incredible. So Very, very, very grateful. You have become the conduit for so many people, and you found that area that you can help with. And children, of course, are the ones that we reach out to. And as you say, they need a parent to be with them, um, you know, to help them, to support them, to comfort them, who actually, you know, just be there. Because in the '50s, when children were put into hospitals, they— parents weren't even allowed to go in. Now they've understood that the parent has to be there to help heal the child. And that is so powerful, and you're actually making that happen. So that's from your website. But also, can I move on to your piano yoga? Absolutely. Tell me about that. Well, piano yoga, again, it's not like one day I woken up and said, oh, I'm gonna create piano yoga. Piano yoga actually was created, um, you're gonna be very shocked, It was at the end of the last century, kind of the start of it. Because when I was studying, I am quite petite and I have very small, well, not very, but quite small hands. And so my teachers, piano teachers always told me, please, certain pieces in piano repertoire you should never play because it's not gonna do any good for your career. And one of those pieces was Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini. Oh, I love that. Me too. And I just thought, you know what, this is the piece I want to play, and if I want to call myself a professional concert pianist, I need to be able to play what I want to play. And I was quite cheeky. I had an arrangement with— appointment with the conductor, with the orchestra in Ukraine, actually. And he was, he didn't know about all this. So he said, what do you want to play? I said, I want to play Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on the Sea by Paganini. And so I had a date and then I opened the music and I thought, oh my goodness, how am I gonna, how am I going to play it? Because the chords were so big and it needed so much power. And at that time I knew that I wasn't, I wasn't able to play it because my stretch wasn't good enough. And physically I wasn't as strong as needed to be to play it. But I had— I was very naive because I believed that there is a system which already exists which will help you to stretch your hands. And I just thought I just need to find it. And so I started looking for it, you know, and in those times the internet wasn't as big as now, but I did internet and libraries and music shops and And so I could find separate exercises, but I couldn't find a program. And then I was looking and looking, and then it was 6 months before the date. And then I thought, well, either I have to do something or I have to pull out because, you know, I need to really decide. And then I said, okay, I'm going to create this program myself because I was so, so, I so wanted to play this piece of music. Absolutely crazy. I don't know if now I wouldn't done it, but possibly yes. Um, and, and I started developing it, and then I said, okay, how am I going to— how am I going to approach it? And at that time I was already practicing yoga, but as an amateur, you know, like a normal person. And I had an incredible teacher. You see, teacher is very, very important. And I thought, how about I borrow the ideas which she gives me? Because I healed my back with, you know, because I used to practice for hours and hours. And the reason I turned to yoga in the place because I started having pains in my back and I needed to be fixed by doctors. And while I was in my early 20s and I thought, no, no, no, this is like not right. So yoga really healed my body and I felt stronger. And I said, how about I use this idea and just apply it to my hands and a bit of arms? And so I started to experiment and that was the beginning of Piano Yoga. And to cut the long story short, I created the exercises at first for myself, and they allowed me to do what I wanted to do, to go on the stage and perform Rachmaninoff Rhapsody. Oh, amazing! That is such a wonderful story. Uh, Jung always talks about the wound being the healer, and the healer then goes on to heal others. But you've actually created a system, and people come to you for that system. How long does it take? What are the workshops? Well, they're different, you see, because now I developed it so much. Because when I was developing it, uh, lots of people ask me again to help. And then I start making adjustment because we are all unique. And as you said at the beginning of the program, it's a union with your body, with you, and with your soul. And we all have different bodies, you know. So I had to do a lot of adjustments. And then the more I was going into it, I realized that I need more training. So I took 2 years of my career and I started as a yoga teacher in London, and I have a diploma from British Wheel of Yoga. But to go to come back to Piano Yoga, so it's a method which works on 3 levels. It works on the physical level, so it's exercises to stretch the hands. This is the people can do it when they do my course, and my course they can either get a book or they can have a video course with the same. And that is one thing which they can do. And of course I do some workshops, but you can't in one workshop straight ahead. I mean, it's ridiculous. I can give some tips, but what also Piano Yoga does is also works on the mind. So deals with things like stage fright, performance issues, uh, like concentration, how to organize your practice. So for this, I do different workshops and masterclasses. And again, during the COVID times, I even released very, very 4.5-hour video tutorial on how to organize your practice. Yeah, because, you know, at that time when COVID started, lots of people didn't have their piano teachers, people were lost, and I got so many calls, and I said, okay, I'm gonna do that. And so it's quite, it's quite long, but so that, but this also comes with that yogic, you know, perspective. So it's, and what is that perspective? What is your perspective that you start to this program? Uh, my perspective is, as I mentioned, that, uh, we are all different. We want to achieve something on a professional level, let's say professional level, certain level which is we kind of know where we want to get. But the problem with a lot of traditional training, as beautiful as it is, it can work for you only if you fit physically and mentally into this program. So for example, if we forget— well, physically we can understand, because if someone has a weakness, let's say in the right shoulder or left arm or whatever, you know, they may not be able to do certain exercises or certain traditional way of achieving something. But it doesn't mean that they cannot get there. They can, but you just need to know. And what, uh, not only I tell people what they need to know, but actually my main goal to teach them to understand it themselves so they can tell it to themselves and they can observe their body and learn how to manage certain things. So that's a kind of a physical aspect of it. But the mental aspect is also very important because as beautiful as, for example, a Russian piano school— well, Eastern European, let's say, piano school— is, in terms of results. We all know that, you know, a lot of piano players come, great piano players come from that part of the world. It worked mainly with people who are very strong, not only physically but also mentally, you know. So what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, you know. And I don't agree with that because I think there's a lot of very, very talented talented people. And I had actually a case when the girl reached out to me. She was initially, she was from Moscow and she also went to the Guildhall. She got a scholarship, they paid for her, and she was quite poor because obviously, you know, she came from the back of the woods and she didn't have a work permit, so she could only practice when she had access to the piano. And so her practice became very— she couldn't practice really properly. And she overplayed her hands when she was doing her exam. Her muscle jammed and she had to take her hands off. And can you imagine what happened? They kicked her out of the school. And so, not— and she came to me, she was completely broken, uh, physically she was broken because she really damaged her hand big time, but mentally she was broken. She came to me and she said, I think I'm gonna give up playing piano because I, I'm clearly not good enough, and now physically I can't play. But she said, "Zhenya, I don't know what else I can do," because she was also at the special school for gifted children when she was young. She said, "That's all I can do." And I said, "Okay, why don't you play for me?" And she started playing, and I remember that was the only— a very rare cry, but that was a time when I almost cried because her musicianship was incredible, incredible. So in front of me was absolutely broken artist playing with the broken heart, broken spirit, but I could hear how incredible she was. So I said, like, just relax, let's just start working with you. So we work with her for a year, and to cut a long story short, she got into Trinity College of Music a year later, she got her diploma, and now she's living in Singapore, she's teaching, she's playing, and she's very happy. Oh, so, um, such a wonderful story. It's so powerful as a story. But was it— can I just ask about this? Because when somebody is broken like that and they can't, you know, and they're struggling, uh, was it that all the stress was going into her hands? Is that what happened with her? Well, she initially— well, there are two things. All stress going into not only hands, you know, into the body. Basically, when I work on piano yoga, uh, I never work— I never start with hands, I always start— well, I always like scan the body, assess the body, and I scan the feet. But the stress can go in a different part of the body, and then, you know, as a residue, it obviously will affect the hands. But she also clearly at the beginning damaged her muscles because her practice— sometimes she would practice for 10 hours if she gets— well, maybe 8, but she will get access to the piano, and then she wouldn't have access and she wouldn't practice. So it was not good, you know. So are you saying that you need to have that regularity? Oh, absolutely, yeah. Because this is what, you know, um, you are a master in this area. So the regularity— I'm talking also to people who don't understand the regularity that is needed to keep the body flowing. And as you say, when you do yoga or exercise, it's the regularity of doing it also that helps the body, move the energy. So where does— did you notice, because it's all also a method of healing, uh, did you know, how do you tell when the, uh, the energy is stuck? Can you see that? Do you feel it? Uh, yes, you can see, but I, I like working on it. I'm very practical, you know, when I work with, with people. So, and, and again, different people react differently, you know. Some people, if you talk to them about energy they will look at me and they will think, what is she talking about? So it's not necessarily— it's whatever they can understand. So, but I very often start, especially if I don't know people, you know, um, you don't want to be too invasive and you don't want to scare them. So I always start with the physical. So you look at your body, at the body of the person you're working with, and you can kind of sense where the energy is stuck and you try to open it up. And then, of course, you can work more on the mental, emotional state, etc. But you mainly start with the physical, unless I have very, very clear mind. Until you see someone who is like so stressed or so agitated, or if you know them so well that you already can go straight into the mental, you know, side. How do you calm them down? How do you focus them? Do you give them exercises to do that? Well, it's very interesting. So first of all, they need to be hydrated, by the way. It's very important. It's very silly, but it's very, very important to be hydrated. And the second thing, uh, the everything— basically the shoulders always needs to go down, uh, if they— and very often when people are stressed or tense, they're slightly, they slightly raised, or they kind of, they squashing them, you You know, so you need to release the shoulders, but you also need to connect the feet. And they're very simple exercises, you know, as simple as lift your toes, opens it up really wide, put down one by one, lift your heels, and you can do it even sitting, you know, you don't make a big deal. Lift your heels as high as possible and then lay your feet on the floor and you do it several times. And then the connection to the ground change. One connection to the ground change your inner legs feel different, and then the energy goes from the feet of the body, you know. Yeah, that's so true. It's so fascinating to, to hear that you've broken it down in those areas, because whether you're a pianist, whether you are a musician in that way, these are very helpful techniques for anybody, aren't they? Oh, absolutely. It's not only for musicians, it's for for all of us. And then the second area, so I do feet, then the second area is actually abdominal area. And that's very, very important because, you know, in yoga we believe this is where we store our energy. So our abdominals, if our abdominals are slightly engaged, slightly, it's almost like, it's like I would say, it's like try to do it, I say to a student, and you feel sometimes like a, like a light bulb suddenly lights in your, in your head. You know, you start getting some kind of clarity. So it's very important. And of course, we, you know, if you're a piano player, we— abdominals is what holds our back. So it's, it's very important to have it engaged. And then you go to the shoulder. So it's like 3 levels. And that's really powerful. So if, uh, somebody in the morning, that whole abdominal breathing— yeah, breathing. When I was training to sing, which by the way, don't ever ask me to sing, I'm an okay singer, but I did train when I was I was in my 20s, and my singing teacher used to talk all about those muscles to bring up the voice. And all those muscles is what you're talking about in the center of our body, which is so powerful. But do you give them breathing exercises to do? Yes, yes. And although we don't think that breathing— because we do take it for granted, much like our feet, um, you know, we take everything for granted— but if we focus on those, and breathing can be so powerful, take, taking those deep breaths and to, you know, sort of let go and breathe in and breathe out. If somebody is really tense, what's the first thing you give them? Is it the breathing? Well, I don't focus massively on breathing because, you know, some people don't— can— I know some people who cannot even control their breathing. So I just, you know, I talk about in a not very specific way. It's It's the beginning. I think you just say, take a big breath in and out, but no, I don't give techniques straight away. No, no, no. That can really scare people. Yes. You know, so I'm more focused on like a physical, you take a deep breath and then you do your feet, you do your abs and you do shoulders. And then we take a big, big breath. And then it depends because, you know, when we take, for example, hands over head, over shoulders, we ignite the energy, but it may be not appropriate. So I really need to see the person to see what kind of breathing we suggest to them. And Zania, when we're talking here, what is so powerful about the way you're speaking is not only your clarity on what you are hoping to achieve with each client, you're talking about the individuality of your clients, but also you have this compassion for everybody, their individuality. Where does that come from? How did you— where would you say you learned that ability to see the individual? I don't think you— I don't think I've learned it. I think I've always been like this. I don't know. I, I always been surrounded by wonderful friends, wonderful people, and I felt that they appreciated my individuality I mean, some people call me still crazy pianist, but I know they say it was love. But, um, so it's kind of you reciprocate. And I mean, everyone— I think everyone is unique. Yeah, not everybody can see that. But as a healer, which piano yoga— and you sound as if you're very much a healer for people, um, and you can help them move, transition through those spaces from that, you know, that young woman, the broken artist who had thought she'd lost everything in her creativity. You brought it back for her. That's very healing. Do you see yourself as a healer? Um, I see myself more as a facilitator, you know. If I have certain energy to pass, I do it. I don't feel like it's my— it's like, obviously I have some more energy, but I'm more like, yes, So more like that. More is it? But, um, and stage fright, that's a very common problem that people have, I presume. That's much more common than we think, because I always take it for granted that, um, people like yourself, you get so used to it that you go on stage and you must know what you're doing. But you cover— what else do you cover in your— because we're coming to the end of our interview— what else do you cover? Is there— are there things that you cover that for people who don't play the piano already Let's say this already, you've opened up areas that I think on a physical level that are fascinating for anybody, doesn't matter whether they play the piano or not. Well, yeah, I mean, look, playing piano is one of the things, but we all get stressed, we all have issues with, uh, backs and different parts of our bodies, um, and therefore, like, for example, some of my piano students sometimes call me, they said, look, we feel so, so stressed, can we just do a bit of yoga, it would really help. And sometimes, you know, so things like this, it's really, yes. And for example, I did in my workshops, and I had a bit of an audiobook on YouTube actually about it, I talk about and I'm not a food specialist, but I talk about how eating certain foods, certain groups of foods, can affect your stage fright and your nervousness. And that could be useful for anyone, you know, whether you're a public speaker or if, even if you're about to have a big conversation, you're nervous about it. So just to bring our audience to the end of this amazing interview with your incredibly talented. They can get in touch with you on genia-music.com. Can you just repeat that in your own words? Uh, Genia, G-E-N-I-A-music.com. And if they forget it, they can just Google Genia pianist composer or Genia piano yoga. Genia piano yoga, they find me straight away. This has been an amazing interview. Thank you so much. Thank you, Maria. It was a pleasure. Thank you.