We recently connected with Jonathan Wolf and have shared our conversation below.

Jonathan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

My defining moment in the beginning came on the Big Island of Hawaii. As a fledgling flute maker and 6 year yoga practitioner with one YTT under my belt (Atma Jayam Yoga with DH Parsons), I traveled to a retreat center called Tara Yoga Center. It was a wonderful opportunity to do work exchange on a macadamia nut farm turned into a yoga ashram. My journey there remarkably coincided with meeting Brian Campbell his former wife Szilvia and their 18month daughter Kassidy. Brian is a Forrest Yoga instructor and arrived at Tara Yoga a month after me, bringing with him a group of students from Los Angeles. He invited me to join his event and play my flutes during key moments like pranayama and certainly during an extended svasana. I was a bit nervous as I had really only been playing for my own experience and enjoyment. I had long drawn out notes on the flute for them. As long and solid of a note that I could muster. The natural fluctuations of the breath leaving the body while playing a flute creates its own rhythm. A wavering fluctuation at the end of a note; the timing, creating pregnant pauses between the sounds emitted. Seeing all the humans present in a natural state of relaxation was a natural muse for me. I have no words to describe that feeling. That something was happening between me and my flute that was affecting this sacred atmosphere..

Jonathan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a bit of a wanderer, one connected to his rhythm in life yet one who can find the world around them a bit off step, so to speak! I never considered making flutes and playing music in yoga ceremonies would be part of my life’s work. It just sort of happened! I moved after college to the Big Island of Hawaii in search of understanding life in communities and becoming closer to the land. I explored permaculture design and edible landscaping, which led me to attending a farmer’s market on Sundays. This is where I met a flute maker named Michael Morningsun. I got a flute from them, and about 6 weeks later he invited me to be apprenticed.. I had very little experience using tools or being artistic (accept for dance) at this point, yet I had determination and good note taking skills! After a 3 week endeavor learning, Michael gifted me enough bamboo and tools to start out. I went right into it.

Have you ever had to pivot?

A *pivotal moment* in my life came as I continued to be encouraged as a flute maker and musician, yet being a flute salesman seemed to only bring in so much in the way of fundings. (!)

Even with the flute albums and a bag full of flutes to sell, it simply was insufficient as my only means of income.

The relationship with Brian Campbell blossomed into him becoming a mentor to me, a mentor for my creative endeavors, yoga, and for becoming a bodyworker. After 4 years of visiting Los Angeles with a bag full of flutes, in 2009 I packed up my tools and life in Hawaii in exchange for Los Angeles and a 300hr training at the Shiatsu Massage School of California.

This pivot was huge for me. It led me on a pathway for earning a decent living that dove tailed nicely with yoga, my flutes & intuitive feeling.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Being a flute maker is easy enough for someone dedicated to the process and with good attention to detail. Selling them proved much more challenging! Selling anything can be difficult, and no one likes to be *sold to* as it can drive people away and make them uncomfortable. This is amplified even more in a yoga setting. However! Flutes will not always sell themselves. Often in sales, you’re buying something from someone, someone who can affect your decisions. Once, after having someone show interest in my flutes, I set up a moment – a flute date- to give them a musical show and tell. This person loved them, played them, and then chose to waiver in actually buying one. This individual had enough funds to support my art, it was a difficult moment for me. I was struggling at that time and had yet to become a bodyworker. The psychology of the moment was bizarre, this person seemed to be toying with me emotionally regarding the purchase. I expressed sincerely how much it meant to be supported by others. How challenging it was to be an artist living with beauty yet very little money. This fell on deaf ears too! After this rebuke I showed a moment of frustration, even anger at their dismissiveness. To my surprise, this is what convinced them! When I showed my emotions of distress, they changed course. It was a moment that stuck with me, as so many of my flute dates were indeed wonderful and filled with support. There were just too few of them overall, thank goodness for becoming a bodyworker!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dragon_flutes_rising?igsh=eW9raDF0MXNjNDV3&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/18h2nTY19Z/?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuKwheIcNXuBC7ctVUBZnPcLqqLff5Do7&si=NWHk5HwBOPZkjMs0
• Other: Email: dragonflutesrising@gmail.com

  Bandcamp:
  https://dragonflutesrising.bandcamp.com/album/dragon-flutes-rising

  https://dragonflutesrising.bandcamp.com/album/dragons-flutopia