Anima Learning

Toward the end of their recently concluded Mindful Play, Playful Mind retreat, Ted and Lisa sit down for an interview with David Treadwell, a writer from Brunswick, Maine. Ted and Lisa get into why they offer such retreats (2:46), what the weekend usually covers (6:03), and how improv skills can lead to a better life (9:03).  [more…] The post Monster Baby #9: The Monster Baby Retreat&#8...

Responding to their first ever Monster Baby listener letter, Ted and Lisa explore the healing powers of mindfulness and improvisation. They warm up with a rousing game of 3 Things! (1:38) and then start digging into their topic (6:25), noting that healing can be like rinsing the bad or filling in the good (11:45). They  [more…] The post Monster Baby #8: How About Healing? appeared first...

Emboldened to try an outdoor “studio”, Ted and Lisa dive into a conversation about rules and who they’re meant for (7:02), whether there are rules in mindfulness (13:06), and how rules provide structure for games, play, and community (20:29). Lisa explains improv’s “CROW” principle and introduces the Awkwardness Clause (26:59) and together with Ted wonders what  [more…] The post Monster...

Inspired by a new workshop they led in western Massachusetts, Ted and Lisa explore why we should talk about positivity (1:25) in improv and mindfulness, how one of Lisa’s improv groups has learned to make positive starts (16:05), and how beginning from gratitude lays the groundwork for transformation. (22:50). They also wonder about the perils  [more…] The post Monster Baby #6: The Powe...

In Episode #5, Ted and Lisa play with the tension between accepting what is and aspiring to excellence, starting with a game of Clover (3:19) and exploring whether mindfulness and improv are easy or hard—and how “hard” often leads to feelings of “not good enough” (7:02). They discuss the importance of a strong biochemical foundation  [more…] The post Monster Baby #5: Aspiration and Acce...

Fresh off a trip to Phillips Exeter Academy, Ted and Lisa hop on the ‘cast to explore the fun and reward of sharing control in improvisation (5:53), Line-at-a-Time Drawing and what it has to do with Lisa’s trip to Buenos Aires (11:21), sharing control with life itself (15:58) and whether this approach is an elaborate  [more…] The post Monster Baby #4: Shared Control appeared first on An...

In Monster Baby Episode #3, Ted and Lisa explore the ways that improv and mindfulness create community (2:25), whether mindfulness generates excessive self-focus (17:36), and the need for a balance between activity and quiet (20:42). From there, they consider how community provides a “tribe” of belonging (29:40), how mindfulness and improv cultivate certain values (35:21),  [more…] The...

  In this second episode, Ted and Lisa dive into defining (or at least describing) mindfulness (3:37), discuss what mindfulness is not (16:53) and then explore how improvisation amplifies or differs from mindfulness (21:06). They close by talking about the tension between honoring our impulses and taking a mindfulness pause before acting (42:26). Thanks for  [more…] The post Monster Bab...

A Monster Baby podcast is born! In this inaugural episode, Ted and Lisa introduce themselves and offer the Monster Baby origin story (1:10) and talk about how mindfulness and improvisation relate to failure (14:53), including whether or not it makes sense to celebrate failure (35:40). Welcome to Monster Baby—we hope you enjoy the curious romp!    [more…] The post Monster Baby Podca...