Tag Archives: improvisation

The Journey of Yoga and Healing Sounds – Class at Prajna Center in Belmont

The air is thick with the scent of lavender, heavy with the warmth of bodies at rest. A single strand of white lights twists, dances, curls along the floor where it meets the rising wall, hinting at the outer boundary of the otherwise darkened room.

I rise from a state of complete rest, quiet inside my body, after a Restorative Yoga class with John. I am curious about what sounds I will invite into the already perfect silence and stillness enveloping me. I set up my sacred space, an altar to my joy, my circle of support, my ability to love and to transform, to play and to create.

I settle in to the energy of these objects on my altar, which bring me peace and freedom even as I step closer to the edge of vulnerability in the open space.

The sound of the shruti box calms me, grounds me with a gentle yet firm foundation. It is both undulating and constant, a launching pad into the infinite as well as a soft place to land and be nurtured.

I invite sounds from all who are in the room. Immediately we are one – a chorus. Singers who don’t need to know the song, who simply listen and offer what comes naturally from within. A sigh, an exhale, a melodious note – it doesn’t matter. We are in this space together, experiencing this magic together. We enter the practice as one. Continue reading →

Be Careful What You Wish For…

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Last year I made a vision board for who I am and how I feel when I express my creativity. I had devoted 2010 to my Core of Peace, and I was setting a new intention for 2011.

I didn’t know exactly HOW my creativity would be expressed. But by making the vision board I connected with images and words that captured how I knew it would FEEL to be in that place of expression.

I let go of the HOW, because I didn’t – and couldn’t – know at the time what the exact steps would be.

I breathed deeply into the feelings of my own creativity, and allowed images to attract me without needing an explanation or a meaning or a concept. They were just images that I loved, for no “reason” at all.

Here is the vision board I made:

I have it as the wallpaper image on my laptop, so every time I open my computer, the images enter my consciousness. Most days, I don’t sit and deliberately stare at every image on my screen, but I know they are there.

I haven’t thought about that vision board in many months. I have gone about the business of living, of staying in my Core of Peace, of letting some things go, and picking up other things, of planting seeds and watching them grow, all the while noticing that I cannot force growth to happen any faster than it already is.

Last night I looked at it again.

It was with a sense of amazement that I noticed how many of the images had actually come into my reality during 2011. In other words, my visions had come true! Continue reading →

Solving the Puzzle of the Universe

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A few days ago I solved the puzzle of the universe.

It came in a box. There were 500 pieces and a neat image of the final product – what the solution was supposed to look like.

I had a partner while I was doing it. We didn’t discuss how we were going to tackle the problem, we just started working on it, each in our own way. There were no words. Things just began when they began, and ended when they ended.

I noticed that I wanted to follow some instructions that were somewhere in the back of my head about “how to” solve a puzzle like this.

“Start with the edges and corners,” was one set of instructions.

“Find the colored pieces first,” was another.

I tried both of those, but the puzzle was just so big, so complicated, with so many parts, that I quickly got frustrated with each of those approaches. I made a tiny bit of progress, but immediately got stuck following those two paths. Continue reading →

Confessions of a Closet Musician

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I still feel jealous whenever I see a musician performing onstage. I know, I call myself a “life coach” so I should be more evolved than that. But I’m not. I do know, however, that noticing my feeling of jealousy is a juicy nugget of treasure to show me the thoughts that are keeping me imprisoned. So I start to do the work.

Even now, that I am actually living a life of sharing my music in the world, there is an old, fear-driven part of my brain, which hasn’t quite let go of its hold over my essential self, that is yelling in my ear, “You’ll never make it in this world as a musician! It’s just too hard to make a living! You’ll never be respected! You’ll have to work too hard! It’ll never be worth it!”

Ever notice that the people who say these things are the ones whose lives have actually proven these beliefs to be true? I haven’t found a successful performing artist who has said, “Forget it. It’s too hard. For all the effort I put in, it’s not worth it.” (On the other hand, for some reason, I’ve met plenty of doctors who’ve said this to me.) The reality – the truth – is there are many examples of people whose lives prove these beliefs NOT to be true.

What’s the difference between these two groups of people? Is it talent? Is it luck? Is it genetics? Is it a mystery? Continue reading →

Studying Creativity Scientifically: A Surgeon Studies The Brain On Improv

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Special thanks to my fellow life coach Amy Williams for sharing this with me.

A very cool TEDx talk by a surgeon combining his passions for music and the brain:

Essential Self Extravaganza

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As 2010 came to a close, I realized that over the past year, I have had the opportunity to become part of three brand new communities (without even changing my physical address). As I embarked on life coach training, certification in music and sound healing, and improvisation as a violinist in the local “open mic” scene, I was welcomed into three totally new worlds for me.

As I crisscrossed the Bay Area and the internet interacting with these distinct groups, it occurred to me that no single place brought together people with such wide-ranging interests. What fun it would be if someone could create a space and purpose for gathering that would allow the expression and sharing of all these creative souls! I realized that I could be that person!

I was inspired to create the Essential Self Extravaganza. The name refers to a central concept of Martha Beck’s life coaching approach, which guides us to find and follow the voice of our essential self, versus the social self we so readily construct as an identity to show the world and “fit in” with the rules of our families, religions, cultures, professional group, or demographic.

I had had enough of the typical “holiday party”, where the focus is on the display of our social selves. The typical conversations starting with the question, “So, what do you do?” or “Where are you from?” were familiar to me, yet no longer of interest. Instead of complaining or lamenting about these kinds of parties, I decided (in the empowerment I am growing into) to host my own gathering – the kind of party I would want to attend myself. Continue reading →

Restorative Practice #2…Spontaneity

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Life Coaching with Dr. Lisa Chu – Here’s How I Work With You…

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An Individualized Coaching Relationship

To find out more about the kinds of life situations I help clients with, visit my Coaching page. Here are the details on how I work with you:

I am generally available for one-on-one coaching appointments on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, between the hours of 10am and 4:30pm, Pacific Time.

I work via phone (USA only) or Skype (international) for most coaching interactions. All prices listed below are for phone or Skype coaching.

If you would like to meet in person in Half Moon Bay, California, please let me know this during your free phone consultation.

Free phone consultation (20 minutes)

You hear my voice, I hear your story and how you’d like to transform.
We decide if there’s a good opportunity for us to work together.

Phone Strategy Session (75 minutes) – $100 (applied to first coaching package)

No obligation to continue coaching afterwards
You receive a real coaching session with me
Try out what you’ve learned and see how it works for you in your life
If you decide to continue with a coaching commitment, the $100 fee is applied to your first month of coaching

Starter Coaching Package (three-month initial commitment*, monthly payment)

Four (4) sessions per month (50 minutes each) – $450/month
Two (2) sessions per month (75 minutes each) – $300/month
One (1) session per month (90 minutes) – $195/month

*You decide on the frequency of sessions at the beginning of each month. An initial three (3) month commitment is recommended, starting with one month of weekly sessions to establish a foundation. Payment is due before the first coaching session of each month. Credit card or PayPal is accepted.

Follow-up Strategy Sessions or Coaching Package (after completing Starter Package)

Single phone session (75 minutes) – $150 per session*
Single in-person session (90 minutes) – $185 per session*
Monthly follow-up coaching package (one 90 minute in-person or phone session per month, minimum three-month commitment) – $175/month

*Follow-up single strategy sessions may be scheduled any time after the initial three-month coaching package has been completed. In-person sessions at above rates available only in Half Moon Bay, California.

Please note: all prices are subject to change. Rates listed above are updated as of January 2013.

All appointments must be canceled or rescheduled at least 48 hours in advance, or you will be charged in full for the session.

Ready to discuss your own individualized coaching program with me?

Schedule your free consultation now

The Space of No Thinking

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The creative space is one of NO mind.

This morning, as I was driving to the grocery store, there were these thoughts running through my head:

“What if I could just relax into ACCEPTANCE of myself, exactly as I am right now?”

“What if I could treat myself as if right now, exactly as everything is, it IS all exactly as it should be?”

I was trying to examine my recent thought patterns which were centered around “concern” for a variety of things in my life: was I spending enough time doing the right things, was I doing enough yoga, was I eating enough fruit and vegetables, was I working hard enough on the right things for my business, was I spending too much time on “non-productive” activities….

The list went on and on, and nothing seemed to be “clicking” or “flowing” during the past few weeks until the rare moments when I just let go and did the ONE thing right in front of me.

This morning, I was thinking about the feeling and energy around doing JUST THIS, RIGHT NOW. What is it about that thought which creates flow? It’s certainly not a state of heightened anxiety and pushing and grasping. It’s not an energy of worrying.

It’s exactly the opposite. It’s LETTING GO of all the worrying and relaxing the mind completely. Continue reading →

Original versus Cover Songs: So what’s all the fuss about?

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One of the interesting versions of partisan politics I’ve noticed since joining the local open mic scene is between two apparently opposing camps in the music scene – those who play “original” songs versus those who play “covers”. “Covers” is a term, uttered either under one’s breath with a hint of shame (by the people playing them) or with a distinct tone of disdain and perhaps a spray of saliva on the “c” sound just for emphasis (by those staunch supporters of playing only originals), used to designate music composed by someone other than the performers themselves.

This distinction is a foreign one for me since I grew up in the classical music world, where the Great Composers Of All Time were revered and respected as part of my musical education. Some of these Great Composers were Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, to name a few. I focused all of my attention on training and developing the technique required to execute the intentions conveyed in increasingly complex written notation, leading up to the Great Concertos. These were the truly epic compositions that required a tour de force of virtuosic technique and range of emotional expression imagined to be conveyed by the Great Composer.