Anima Learning

Listen up, people! In Monster Baby #34, Ted and Lisa dig in to the nitty gritty of the world of listening. They start by defining the word itself and noticing how listening is like receiving (2:09) and then brainstorm ways to increase listening bandwidth (6:30). Lisa wonders if attention is a finite resource (9:32) and  [more…] The post Monster Baby #34: Listen Up! appeared first on Ani...

What sorts of intriguing insights show up on a 10-day silent retreat? Ted and Lisa find out in Monster Baby Episode #33.  They start by acknowledging that Ted’s in a period of adjustment (2:23) before considering the benefits of practicing mindfulness in relationship with others (6:58). They note how sharper awareness can help us “lock  [more…] The post Monster Baby #33: 10 Days of Insi...

Regular Monster Baby listeners know that Ted and Lisa love to play. In their latest episode, you learn why. The intrepid pair discuss play as a connector (1:43), whether it makes sense to be playful in such tough times (5:02), and different types of play (7:49). They consider the impacts and qualities of a playful  [more…] The post Monster Baby #32: Press Play appeared first on Anima Le...

Glide down a river of insight as the Monster Baby podcast takes on the topic of flow. Despite her uncertainties, Lisa offers a great San Francisco-based analogy before Ted brings in the Buddhist image of the Windhorse (1:45). The two distinguish between autopilot and flow (9:26) and then dive into three main questions for the  [more…] The post Monster Baby #31: Find the Flow appeared fi...

Coping with a wounded heart can be tough, but mindfulness and improvisation principles and practices can help. In this episode, Ted and Lisa process Ted’s meteoric rise-and-fall romantic connection (2:33), preparing with a little levity in an opening game of Three Things (6:28). Ted recounts the good times and the stunning news of reversal (9:56)  [more…] The post Monster Baby #30...

How does yielding at the right times serve creativity and collaboration? Ted and Lisa start with a game of Sound Ball (1:49) and catch back up after a summer apart (3:47) before jumping into this episode’s topic of “It’s Not You.” (11:02) They explore the connections between humility and humus (14:59) and delineate the difference  [more…] The post Monster Baby #29: It’s Not About...

Lisa and Ted reach across the country to dig deeper into life’s offerings. Lisa shares some perspective from her time at Girl Scout camp and Ted relays a story or two from his trip across country on his way to a training program in Manhattan (1:56) and then the pair get into the topic of  [more…] The post Monster Baby #28: Dig Deeper appeared first on Anima Learning .

What’s spirituality got to do with it anyway? Ted and Lisa take on the thorny task of exploring the realms of spirit and what they have to do with mindfulness and improv. Lisa starts by explaining the Double Bounce Theory and why her coffee and exercise routine might play out in the episode (2:50). Ted  [more…] The post Monster Baby #27 Speaking of Spirituality or Why Lisa Might Be Goin...

Ted and Lisa get curious about curiosity in Monster Baby Episode #26! They laugh their way through the opening challenge of a few Line-at-a-Time Limericks (1:48) and then enter their topic in earnest around the five-minute mark (5:29). They ask whether curiosity is fundamental to effective improv even though most teachers don’t talk about it  [more…] The post Monster Baby #26 Isn’...

In Episode #25, Ted and Lisa dive into the paradoxical wisdom in the Improv maxim “Be Average.” They start with a chat about the San Francisco production of Hamilton and time they each spent with Moms (1:53) before introducing the subject of the day (6:48). They explore the value of just mucking about and the need  [more…] The post Monster Baby #25 Be Average appeared first on Anima Lea...

Time to get present, y’all! Celebrating the one-year anniversary of the first Monster Baby podcast, Ted and Lisa offer Episode #24, a deep dive into presence and its role in our lives. A new warm-up creates some crazy acronyms (1:14) before the co-hosts check in about their prior commitment to try a gratitude practice (5:48).  [more…] The post Monster Baby #24: Get Presence appeared fir...

Episode #23 finds Ted and Lisa taking on an attitude of gratitude. A humorous warm-up (1:46) gets the ball rolling before the co-hosts start to clarify how gratitude differs from simply acknowledging what we like (6:18). They touch on gratitude’s relationship to vulnerability (12:34) and whether we can ever offer enough thanks for some of  [more…] The post Monster Baby #23: Attitude of...

In Episode #22, Ted and Lisa share a conversational cup of courage. A brief and playful check-in (1:59) leads to defining what they mean by courage (4:27) and together, they wonder if Lisa’s courageous to do improv (8:52). Ted considers the last time he felt particularly courageous (11:51) and Lisa shares some stories about dating  [more…] The post Monster Baby #22: A Cup of Courage app...

Ted and Lisa welcome special guest (and Jeopardy contestant-to-be) Troy Steinmetz for a conversation about the wisdom of puzzles. They enter a warm-up game midstream to consider different kinds of puzzles (3:47) before Troy gets the group talking about flow and ideal challenge levels (13:37). Lisa introduces the notion of “futzing about” and puzzling for  [more…] The post Monster Baby #...

For their first podcast of 2017, Lisa and Ted venture into the world of adventure. They demonstrate an adventurous improv game of “What Comes Next?” (1:43), define what they mean by adventure (6:59), and describe why a Keith Johnstone quote (10:07 ) and an exercise called “The Quest” (13:08) get them jazzed about the topic.  [more…] The post Monster Baby #20: Adventure Time! appeared fi...

In the inaugural Monster Baby Mailbag episode, Ted and Lisa (and Lisa’s cats) take questions from a few loyal listeners. They wonder whether Monster Baby friendships are different from other connections (3:49), explore the tension between discovery and invention in both improv and mindfulness (15:32), celebrate an adventurous attitude for choices both large and small (25:28), and marvel  [mor...

What is harmony and what the heck makes it so delicious, both literally and metaphorically? Ted and Lisa start with a modified round of “Three Things!” (2:34) and then explain what made them chose today’s topic (7:08). Ted shares his impressions of Lisa’s erstwhile musical improv group, Lombard Street Experiment (12:06) and the pair considers  [more…] The post Monster Baby #18: Harmony...

After a world-changing, head-spinning Election Day outcome, Lisa and Ted turn to each other to process their emotional turmoil. Lisa relays the experience of her first post-result class at Stanford and asks, “How can we play or teach when we’re in the face of a devastating loss?” (2:28) They discuss how mindful sharing offers one  [more…] The post Monster Baby #17: Post-Election Reflect...

  Lisa and Ted continue their conversation with teacher and mentor, Patricia Ryan Madson, drama teacher and author of the acclaimed Improv Wisdom. In this segment, Patricia explained how she first learned to say “Yes, and” from impro master Ketih Johnstone (1:09) and how one can approach improv games from multiple angles (5:06). The three  [more…] The post Monster Baby #16: A Conve...

  Lisa and Ted welcome their teacher and mentor, Patricia Ryan Madson, drama teacher and author of the acclaimed Improv Wisdom, for a two-part Monster Baby conversation. They explore how mindfulness and improv first joined together in Patricia’s work (3:21) and how the Stanford Improvisors first came into being, both as a learning/performance group and  [more…] The post Monster Bab...