Meet Sienna George

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sienna George and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sienna, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
My work life balance has significantly changed over the years as a hot yoga teacher and musician. The biggest thing for me has been pacing and hydration. Most days, I teach 1-4 hot yoga classes, practice, then have some sort of gig or concert in the evening. I am up from 6am-midnight most every day. My passion for what I do keeps me alive, alert, and enthusiastic, but the days when I don’t drink enough water, I struggle mentally and physically. Balance for me comes with a connection to the breath. When I am tuned into my breath, I am connected to the rhythm of my life. It’s hard to treat yourself badly when you are focused on your breath, so I make sure every day to take several moments to connect to my breath and come back to myself.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am an upright bass player. I just moved back to Long Beach, CA, where I was born and raised, and play a variety of genres and shows on a daily basis. I am firstly a classical musician, performing with Long Beach Symphony, San Gabriel Symphony, among studio work. I also sing and play bass, leading several ensembles, playing jazz, Western swing, Gypsy jazz, brazilian music, country music, as well as original music. In the early days of my career I was met with judgement or doubt for being a female bassist. I felt I was not taken as seriously as some of my male colleagues, but I always knew there was nothing I could say to change that. The only thing I can do is play my music, be present and proud of myself. The less I felt I had to prove, the more I felt respect and inclusion in the music community. I’ve consistently noticed how the best musicians rarely talk about their achievements, rather they are the most curious people and best listeners. They have the patience, the pulse on life to know when it is time to shine, and when it is time to be apart of the greater music of life, in a form of harmony.

I am a yoga teacher by day. I teach vinyasa, hatha, restorative, sculpt yoga, as well as hot yoga. I have begun to teach yoga and seminars on yoga for classical musicians, showing them the importance of finding balance and connection of body and mind outside of playing music. I truly think one of my callings in this world is to share yoga with people and learn how it can better your life, or find solutions to your challenges, physical or mental. Yoga is not only a physical practice, but a practice of breath and philosophy. People often don’t realize that you don’t need to step on a yoga mat to do yoga.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would start most every day with a surfing adventure. We could surf my hometown spot, the Seal Beach Jetty, followed by a smoothie at Tru Nature in Long Beach, or breakfast burritos from Ma & Pa’s. I love having fun in an active way. When friends visit town, I will always take them to Long Beach Rising, a fantastic and hip climbing gym with yoga classes, pole dancing classes, and saunas. As for food, I would take them for Vietnamese food, in the fruit markets of little Vietnam, Ethiopian food at Merkato in West Hollywood, live jazz at Cafe Tondo and the best cocktails in the city at Apotheke. I would take them on a day excursion to Vasquez Rocks to feel like they are on mars, strolling and coffee around Topanga to take a step back to the 70s, then down south to Joshua Tree to see the stars, and a bit further south to Jacumba Hot springs for live music and beautiful healing waters. Finally, I would take them swing dancing in an Elks Lodge or jiving at my favorite tiki bar of all time, Bamboo Club in Long Beach

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I dedicate my shoutout to my bass professor Orin O’Brien. She born and raised in Los Angeles just like me, and the first female musician in the NY Philharmonic. Orin gave me all the joy and technique that allows me to play bass professionally as I do today. When I moved to NYC to study at Manhattan School of Music, she took me under her wing musically and emotionally and gave me so much strength and inspiration to believe in my voice while calling back to the several decade tradition of the music we play. There’s a documentary about her on Netflix called “The Only Girl in the Orchestra,” which won the Oscar for best short documentary this year. You can find me in the film as well.

Website: https://Siennageo.com

Instagram: https://Instagram.com/sienna.geo

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@siennageorge5913?si=T5j7-tml3Y9TQOkC

Image Credits
Photos by Gabriel Madie