Meet April Maple of Temporal Alchemist

Today we’d like to introduce you to April Maple.

April, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have been a musician for 17 years, with a Bachelor’s in Flute Performance at Northern Arizona University and Masters at Longy School of Music. I am a 200 hour Registered Yoga Alliance Certified instructor, through Mudra Yoga Studio. I also love to articulate feelings through writing, dancing ecstatically, conquering mountains, living freely and dynamically, spending quality time, dressing up, going on treasure hunts for food, van parts, hot springs, ancient instruments, and thrifty items! One day, I realized all my interests lead to the same work: to find our true, authentic selves.

​Temporal commonly refers to time but also relates to worldly affairs. Alchemy refers to transmutation; changing from one form to another. Transmutation allows us to form into something more viable for all the settings we find ourselves in this chaotic life. Presence, breathing, mindful movement, and sound healing are the methods I use to find one-pointedness with time. I also believe worldly affairs, or earthly embodiment is a beautiful self-expressive and playful way to achieve freedom of the mind.

I aim to live unencumbered by convention, with passion and compassion, redesigning myself every day. Most importantly, my work is to help everyone breathe easier and not take it all too seriously!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The reason my path has not been a smooth road is because I am creating my own map. I knew I wanted to continue music, but I was not sure how. I figured out many things I did not want to do first. The universe certainly loves throwing obstacles your way, but if it feels like a true calling, it does not feel insurmountable. It is an ongoing effort to recondition thoughts I had about what I should be doing in my career, and how I should live and present myself in this world.

I ended graduate school with terrible back pain, depression, and a mind to mend. I took a year off from playing music, and I moved from Boston to Denver with no job prospects or friends. There were significant transitions every time my workload would increase so much that I had to drop one of my side jobs. This year I was able to go completely freelance by teaching music privately, yoga classes, curating events, workshops, and sound healing sessions. I also moved into my van in March and have had to find different ways to stay grounded and stable. I still question why I took such a difficult route sometimes, but I am grateful to have this eccentric life. I stay engaged, and I hope to inspire others to create their own map of living as well. Some of us have trouble existing in the current socio-economic system and have to work harder to find a way that works for us.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
My business is multifaceted, and it keeps me on my toes! I teach music privately to students 5 and up. I teach yoga at apartment complexes and restorative sound healing at a yoga studio. In my restorative classes, I add the live music element, incorporating flute, tank drum, singing bowls, and ambient sounds. I also do one-on-one sound immersion sessions in my van. The van is a wonderful sensory capsule that has multi-colored lights, live sounds/music instruments, and a comfortable bed. In the sessions, we go as in-depth as the client wants as we converse about each other’s lives. I speak about myself as a reflection with honesty and vulnerability as well. Depending on their level of experience with meditation, I guide them through their senses to drop them into a deeply relaxed state.

I also use essential oils and optional touch to further use their bodily sensations to stay present. I have had a client begin recovering from insomnia. I also curate Sensory Download gatherings with music projects Nothing is Everything in different locations (Mercury Cafe, Spectra Art Space, Corner Beet, Lumonics). We engage the audience by having them come share poetry as we make music to it, jam with instruments, and dance, while sharing food, seeing live painters, and receiving tarot readings. Every gathering has been different, and we improvise the music the whole time. I want to see Denver have more gatherings that are a co-creation, blurring the lines between audience and performer. I want to get together and be okay with doing nothing or feeling deep emotions in front of each other. I experience time very slowly, which gives me a lot of space to create, feel, think, and remember. My desire is to share that feeling of time as a tool for transmutation with others.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Write, Revise, and Improvise. I dream up the next thing I want to create, no holds barred on how difficult or ridiculous it may be. I have a set of beliefs that allow me and others around me to exist with ease. I revise often, not holding onto said beliefs too tightly, remaining open to possibilities and ideas. The ability to reframe situations allows me to be flexible to the flux of life and its consistent inconsistencies. In between the writing and revising, I utilize the rules to improvise. For example, if one of my beliefs is not to take anything personally, I apply that to conversations with others, which is a form of improvisation with words. If my dream is to remain open and inflow, I improvise my music without my thinking mind in the way. These three steps can be applied to every facet of life, and it gives me the creative freedom to interact fully, authentically, and spontaneously.

Pricing:

• Private Lesson $60/hr
• Nothing is Everything, 3 hours of music, $1500
• Sensory Immersions $60/hr
• Private Yoga Session $50/hr
• Sensory Download Gatherings $30
• 2 hour Group Sound Healing Meditations/Workshops/Restorative Yoga $35

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.temporalchemist.com/
• Phone: 702.283.8282
• Email: aprilmymaple@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aprilmymaple/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aprilalala
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/__iseverything/

Image Credit:
Makayla Dooley
Ammar Saadiq
Willym Brown
Kim Doyle
Zay Alejandro Camara Rios

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