Great Hiking Destinations near Boston

An accomplished violinist based in Boston, Sarah Hadley Yakir studied at the Manhattan School of Music and earned a bachelor of fine arts from New England Conservatory. As a soloist, she has performed with groups including the Mount Holyoke Symphony Orchestra and the Brooklyn Conservatory Orchestra. In her free time, Sara Hadley Yakir enjoys activities such as cooking, traveling, and hiking. 

While Boston is largely known as an urban destination, there are excellent hiking spots within a 75-mile radius of the city. Middlesex Fells Reservation, a 2,500-acre state park featuring more than 100 miles of trails, is just minutes away. Those who don't want to travel far from the city to hike also can take the short trip to Great Blue Hill in Milton. This popular hiking spot is located in the Blue Hills Reservation, which offers 125 miles of trails. 

Some notable hiking destinations a little more outside of the city include Wachusett Mountain. Located near Princeton, Massachusetts, the mountain rises more than 2,000 feet above sea level and is surrounded by a 3,000-acre reservation that features plenty of trails and beautiful scenery. Other great hiking spots include Mount Watatic, Lynn Woods, Deer Island, and Mount Monadnock.

How Yoga Benefits Musicians

An accomplished violinist, Sarah Hadley Yakir has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Mount Holyoke Symphony Orchestra, Brooklyn Conservatory Orchestra, and Sound Symphony Orchestra. Outside of her music career, Sarah Hadley Yakir prevents violin-related injuries through activities such as yoga.

An Indian tradition dating back thousands of years, yoga has grown enormously in popularity in the West over the past few decades, especially as medical researchers have learned more about the practice’s health benefits.

In addition to providing general health benefits such as increased flexibility, cardiovascular health benefits, and weight management, yoga offers several benefits specific to musicians. One of these is correcting the structural imbalances caused by playing an instrument. Whether a violinist, percussionist, flutist, or guitarist, virtually every musician must hold his or her instrument in an unnatural pose for long periods of time while practicing and playing. Yoga helps the practitioner counteract the impact of doing so through poses that focus on balance, strength, and structural alignment.

Musicians can also realize several mental benefits from yoga. Studies have repeatedly shown that a committed yoga practice can improve concentration and focus, which can help the musician both in practice and performance. Additionally, musicians who struggle with anxiety or stage fright may find that yoga’s focus on the breath and mental calm can help with those conditions.

Lake George Music Festival 2018

A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, Sarah Hadley Yakir studying under Donald Weilerstein and Soovin Kim. While there, she performed in local schools where she offered question-and-answer sessions afterward. 

Sarah was invited to attend the 2018 Lake George Music Festival. Every August emerging young professionals and celebrated artists from around the word retreat to Lake George, NY for the LGMF which presents traditional and experimental concerts, open rehearsal, public receptions, informational talks and more! Programs are tantalizingly diverse and span solo, chamber, to large orchestral works. There are fresh interpretations of the classics from Bach to Brahms and Mozart to Mahler; pieces by 20th Century experimentalists such as Xanakis and Reich and premier performances of contemporary works.

Among the highlights from the two-week festival Sarah Hadley Yakir performed in Aaron Copland's TWO PIECES FOR STRING QUARTET, Steven Snowden's TRAVELER NO. 65, THE LIGHT LIST, Amy Beach's PIANO QUINTED in F Sharp Minor, OP 67, and with the Lake George Music Festival Symphony Orchestra's Anton Dvorak's Symphony No.9.