April 24, 2025 • 52 mins
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Dance powerhouse Yvonne Ng joins Lisa Hopkins to explore the art of living in the moment through movement, creativity and mindfulness. Their conversation weaves through decades of friendship and dance collaboration to reveal insights about authenticity, presence and embracing uncertainty.
• From entrepreneurs in university dance programs to established artists, Lisa and Yvonne reflect on their 35+ year friendship
• Movement described as "the largest and most important language we have" for understanding ourselves and our relationship to the world
• Embracing imposter syndrome as evidence you're challenging yourself in meaningful ways
• Living in the moment isn't always serene meditation – it includes accepting "monkey mind," doubts, and all emotional states
• The importance of private downtime and setting boundaries around rest and rejuvenation
• Learning from mistakes without letting them define you
• The wisdom of awareness without judgment – creating space between stimulus and response
• Finding gratitude in everyday experiences like "eating breakfast" and "flushing toilets"
✨ Tune in to rediscover what it means to hold space for others, stay present with yourself, and find flow in unexpected places.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Lisa Hopkins (00:01):
This is the Stop Time Podcast.
I'm your host, Lisa Hopkins,and I'm here to engage you in
thought-provoking, motivationalconversations around practicing
the art of living in the moment.
I'm a certified life coach andI'm excited to dig deep and
offer insights into embracingwho we are and where we are at,
(00:30):
where we are at my next guestwell, this one's really special.
My next guest is someone I'veknown since our days in the
dance program at York Universityin 1987.
A true powerhouse, then and now, in the performing arts.
Born and raised in Singapore,she is the founder and artistic
director of Princess Productions, home to Tiger Princess Dance
Projects and the acclaimed DanceMade in Canada, Feto Canada
(00:52):
Festival.
Her work has toured globally toplaces like Ireland, Italy,
Australia and China, featuringcollaborations with renowned
choreographers.
Her dedication extends beyondthe stage.
She's a certified open sourceforms and Ashtanga yoga teacher
and, through her arts educationprogram Swallowing Clouds and
Moving Stories, she's empoweringyouth and intergenerational
(01:15):
participants alike.
Her incredible contributionshave earned her prestigious
awards, including the 2022Walter Carson Prize and the
Jacqueline Lemieux Award.
With a career spanningchoreography, education and
global impact, she is a livingtestament to the power of
creative possibility.
Please join me in welcoming myfriend and my original muse,
(01:39):
Yvonne Ng.
Welcome Yvonne.
Yvonne Ng (01:42):
Thank you.
Is that what you're going tosay?
Oh, my God, you wrote that.
Oh, wow, you make me sound more.
That's so, not me.
Oh, thank you so much.
Lisa Hopkins (01:56):
It came from you, no, and listen, it's, you know,
to the listeners, it's I don'tknow.
Life goes, goes by quickly onthe one hand, on the other hand
not at all, Like when I saw youpre-show and you were gesturing
it.
Suddenly it's flooding back tome all the things that I
choreographed for you, that youdanced so brilliantly, that you
(02:17):
know, just again, for thelisteners, we were the original
entrepreneurs, like in Canada atthe time, especially well, well
, at least from my perspective,in a university program, a very
conservative university danceprogram, you don't really do
stuff out of the box, right, youdo what you're told.
But there were three of usYvonne Carey and I, yes, who
(02:39):
were like man, we just have somuch we want to do, right.
And, and as I remember it, you,you were like the kind of, I
want to say, brains.
You were the organized one.
Yvonne Ng (02:53):
I bought a book.
I did I actually I saved it.
It's, I think, I think one ofthe dance organizations
published it and it's prettymuch how to run a company.
I bought a book, oh my God, andit's got it's like a not those
(03:14):
big things that you know, thosebig binders you can get like,
and it's got those hard rings.
And it went from how to start abank account, which we did yes,
which we did with three dollarsI remember, I remember, yeah,
how to like hire someone,definitions of roles, so that
(03:34):
was also very helpful because weneeded to know who was going to
do what um, and then the thingsabout boards and yeah, boards,
and so on and so forth.
That's why we decided no boards, remember, yep, because we had
homework on top of all.
That's like no, no, we got tograduate too.
No board, and I think we justmade it like a small, like
(03:55):
private company yeah yeah likewe were such neophytes.
Lisa Hopkins (04:00):
We just knew that we loved to dance, we really
liked each other and and at thetime it's interesting because,
if I remember correctly, at thetime you proclaimed that you
didn't really like tochoreograph.
Is that true?
Do I remember that correct?
Yvonne Ng (04:13):
yeah, yeah, yeah, I really didn't want to
choreograph because I just I, Iwanted to dance, I liked being
amused and it's exactly that I.
I liked being, um, sort of thatconduit, I liked being in that
person's world and understandingthat world and becoming that
world or interpreting thatvision, and also was another way
(04:34):
of for me, was another way ofgetting to know that person
Right.
And you know, years later on,it did take me that long, but
years later after I realized why.
Because I also didn't havehomework.
So if I did all the managementstuff, which is essentially what
(04:56):
I did and I went to the studio,my homework was staying fit,
training, practicing what Icouldn't get right in the
rehearsal, like you know, doingmy job as a dancer and a
performer, understanding whatthat was as the artistry of it
all, and then when, and thenthat could be on my own time,
(05:18):
you know whatever that was andin the studio and all of that.
And then when I had to stopdoing that and I had to turn to
like let's organize all of therest of the other cogs of the
wheel, right, it's like that.
I didn't, it didn't split mybrains, it actually was less
tiring.
(05:38):
As a choreographer, your workalso extends, you know, and you
know this, this like it extendsbeyond just being in the studio
yeah right, letting it mull,allowing it to simmer, allowing
to prepare, being kind of readyfor the next day and knowing
what's going to happen next, ortuning into yourself in a
different kind of way and um, soit's just, we're all tuning
(06:00):
into ourselves in different ways, but I found it was just, we're
all tuning into ourselves indifferent ways, but I found it
was yeah, and I didn't feel likeI had anything to say at that
point, but I felt I could saythings that I needed to say
through the vision of yourself,right, yourself.
And I think Carrie did a coupleof things too.
Lisa Hopkins (06:21):
Right, yeah, yeah, that's so cool.
Hey, what did you learn aboutme through working with me?
Because you, you were inbasically everything I did yes,
I did.
Yvonne Ng (06:31):
Yes, uh, well, you learn.
You learn a lot aboutchoreography, um, decision
making, letting go, um beinginspired by the moment.
Um, obviously, you can't.
You can't always know what.
You know what's what thechoreographer, what what lisa
hopkins is thinking like deepinside, but also also what
(06:54):
inspires and what theaspirations and the way they
like to paint with bodies.
You know, you learn about that.
But of course, you learn aboutpersonalities too.
That you were always reallywarm, always really encouraging,
very positive.
You know and you also able totake us.
You were also able to connectus to ourselves.
(07:15):
So we never were, we neverthought that we could never do
other things.
Does that make sense?
If anything, you are smartenough to tap into who we are so
that we rise above ourselves.
Lisa Hopkins (07:31):
It really means a lot to hear that.
I remember feeling whenever Iwas in the studio is my
connection with the dancer orthe actor or the human right.
So it's not so surprising thathere I am doing this or working
with humans, you know in otherways, as a coach, and so when
(07:51):
you described it I was like, ohmy gosh, it's holding space and
the conduit, or not the conduit,but the vehicle was dance right
, whereas now I work with people, the vehicle, or the tapestry,
or the canvas the canvas is islife, if you want.
Yvonne Ng (08:13):
Yes, yes, yes, yeah.
And of course, bottom line isthat you're a wonderful
choreographer, a really greatchoreographer, brilliant.
You always had lots ofinteresting, innovative ideas.
Like you were never.
Like you know, we never went inthis studio going.
I don't know if she's going tolike you know, never.
(08:34):
We never doubted you.
I don't think any of us didever doubted you and it was
always surprising ideas and,yeah, challenging Right
surprising ideas and, yeah,challenging, right, you
challenged us, but we never, wenever.
We never doubted that wecouldn't do it either.
It was always a positive thing.
(08:55):
There was never tension.
You also created an environment.
You create an environment thatwe all were really there for
each other, you know.
Lisa Hopkins (09:07):
Yeah.
Yvonne Ng (09:07):
Right, and we were all different dancers, but you
and it's brilliant that you areable to bring us to our best-
selves.
Lisa Hopkins (09:25):
It's not not everybody can do that.
I think it's as you say itagain now through my lens as a
coach.
It's how I look at my clients,right?
I see the brilliance in themthat they cannot see.
So I'm not trying to shape theminto something that I think
they can do, but rather theyinspire me, just as you inspired
me, right.
So you know you talk about mychoreography, but it's like that
(09:47):
to me, it was a synthesis,meaning it was trust.
I created a safe space for youso that I too could feel safe,
right?
Because if you, if we don't allfeel safe, then you can't tap
into whatever it is.
I was never as you know, neversomeone who would come in with
something on paper and say thenit goes like this and then it
goes like that.
Yvonne Ng (10:07):
But normally I was always surprised.
It was so great.
Lisa Hopkins (10:09):
It's all in there, yes, it was weird, but it came
out because of you guys, like itwas definitely inside of me,
but it was not so structured andplanned out.
Sometimes it might just be aphrase or a concept or something
, and you know.
On the other, on the other hand, I wasn't depending on you to
(10:30):
figure it out either.
Yvonne Ng (10:32):
It was all.
You're so musical, you're somusical.
I was always in awe of that.
You're so musical.
It didn't seem like.
You know I have a hard timecounting, I mean not that I
can't count, but I just neverliked it.
But you never made it seem likewe always had to be so strapped
to it and yet it was verymusical.
(10:54):
You know not that we always.
It was never like it.
Sorry, and I don't want to givea sense that it's not, it was
not a transliteration of things,but there was a musicality to
the way you choreograph, the wayyour choreography sat with the
music or was accompanied by themusic or was married to the
music or you know all of thosethings, and that was always so
(11:16):
fun.
Lisa Hopkins (11:17):
If you had to choose one highlight and one low
light from your life journey sofar, what would those be and
why?
Yeah?
Yvonne Ng (11:26):
Oh, I don't know, I've never sort of had one more
than another in terms ofhighlights.
I feel very I do say I mean Ihave to say I do feel quite
fortunate, very blessed andprivileged that I've had like
really wonderful opportunitiesto be with, like yourself, you
(11:48):
know, like if we had gone in adifferent year wouldn't have met
, we wouldn't have had dance,allegro, all of the things that
I think we've all become, thewhole enterprising thing
probably wouldn't have beennurtured.
We were also very lucky andfortunate.
Fortunate that when we wantedto do what we wanted to do the
(12:09):
department they either werereally going I don't know if
this is going to work for them,but we're going to encourage
them or we're just going to sitback and see how it all goes.
But do you know what I mean?
Lisa Hopkins (12:21):
Like we were very fortunate that the department
was didn't say no, I mean you'vehad an incredible career.
I mean, yeah, we had a reallycool start.
But look what you've done.
Like, are you able to sort ofacknowledge, like tell, tell,
you know, Yvonne and Lisa andCarrie, back when we're sitting
(12:41):
on the floor in the studio, youknow, in 1987 or whenever that
was, you know holy shit.
Like look, look what I did.
I mean, I mean, what would you?
What's going on there?
Like, what are you really proudof?
Yvonne Ng (12:54):
oh.
Lisa Hopkins (12:55):
I'm proud of you.
I mean where I'm sitting it's.
I mean I'm not surprised at all.
You know, I remember peoplealways saying oh you know, your
friend Yvonne is doing reallywell in the scene and in Canada.
I go, yeah'm not surprised, youknow, but what surprised you?
Or what you know?
Talk to me a little bit aboutthat journey.
Yvonne Ng (13:15):
It's a journey that's hard to talk about because
you're still kind of on thatjourney.
I, I think it's.
You know, sometimes I I thinkit's because I'm not quite the
planner.
I may be the like.
I like organizing things andmaking sure once I, you know,
once certain things are decidedon, I can plan, but I'm not like
(13:37):
a long term planner.
I don't have huge expectations.
You know people.
So I've always, I am kind ofcurious about now, only now, am
I curious about this whole idea,about you say it and you
manifest it and then it becomesthe, the dream and the reality.
I've never done that.
(13:57):
I've never sort of sat and wentoh, I want this career for
myself, I'm gonna manifest it no, you just did it yeah me too.
Lisa Hopkins (14:07):
I I get that.
Yvonne Ng (14:08):
I understand, I relate to that, I get that yeah,
okay, good, because I alwaysfeel like an imposter, because
it feels like you know, like the, the, what's it?
Uh, then there's a phrase, likeall the, the chant and the
mantra is about you know,manifesting your life and your
dream into reality.
It's like I just didn't.
I think I knew, I knew I lovedto dance.
(14:30):
I knew I still love to dance.
I know that I'm the happiestwhen there's a sense of
engagement.
You know whether it's it'smostly within the studio, but if
(14:55):
, if not within the studio, inand amongst the people that I
have that are close to me, nearand far.
And the one thing that you saidis also it's also been a part of
my life is that I never thinkthat people it's also been a
part of my life is that I neverthink that people, my
friendships with people, kind ofpeter off.
I think of it as waxing andwaning.
(15:16):
Yeah, you know so.
So, um, on that side note, it'slike I have friends that I I'm
still friends with, with friendsthat I've known since I was
four.
Yeah, we're still in contact.
We pick whenever we see eachother, just like this, we pick
up like it never, like the time,never you know, there was no
(15:39):
time in between.
And yet I think I I think I'malso not unrealistic in the
sense that I don't.
I know that we've all liveddifferent lives and we may not
have a lot in common.
Like you know, I don't have alot in common with some of my
school friends.
I know I have more in commonwith you.
You know, with most of myuniversity friends I have way
(16:00):
more in common with but that'sno strike against my primary
school, kindergarten, primaryschool and secondary school
friends.
I've known people since primaryschool all the way through
secondary school, kindergarten,primary school and secondary
school.
I've known people since primaryschool all the way through
secondary school 16 years and weall went to the same.
And now when we see each other,yeah, but we are all.
It's not like we have hugelydifferent values, but we
(16:22):
probably have different values.
But when I look back I thinkit's just sort of my attitude
towards life.
But I don't have like one big,like motto that says, oh, this
is how you should live your lifeand this is how it will be.
I think I always think I'm anoptimistic, pessimist.
(16:45):
That's how I see my life andI've been.
Yeah, work ethic, I guess youknow I do treasure the people
that have been a part of my life, like yourself.
Yeah, I don't know, I don'tknow how to talk about my
journey, except I do feel thatI'm okay to dive into things.
(17:11):
I think maybe that's it.
I never look back to think howcome I've led the life that I've
led.
I think I'm good with saying yesto things.
I'm pretty open to saying yesto things and I'll dive deep.
I mean, after I say yes tothings, I go, oh God, why did I
say yes?
But then I'm like too late,should have thought about it
(17:32):
before.
You did that.
Um, yeah, and then yeah, Iguess it's committing as well
after you say yes.
So I guess I'm not sure how youwould explain that, but I don't
have like a leading umphilosophy that I kind of, or
some philosophy that I live by.
Yeah, no ups, sorry, no upsthat stand out the most I guess
(17:57):
living oh, you know what maybeis the is the fact that Canada
said yes to me.
Lisa Hopkins (18:05):
That Canada said yes to you.
Yeah, fair enough Fair enough.
Yvonne Ng (18:07):
Yeah, canada said yes to you.
Yeah, fair enough Fair enough,yeah, but probably that's the
biggest high, you know, and thenmy X is the low, but then the
low can become a high, you know,and then everything else in
between.
I think it's us all justworking at it.
Lisa Hopkins (18:27):
No, no, but it tracks based on what I know
about you, because it's sort ofcoming back to light this sort
of you're not.
You're not analytical or youdon't want to be analytical.
I think you probably areanalytical, um, but I don't
think that's a space that youlike per se to be in.
You prefer just to be in it.
(18:48):
You prefer to be trying themovement, if you want, or or you
know, in the rehearsal.
As opposed to talking aboutbeing in the rehearsal or
reviewing how the rehearsal went.
You just like being in therehearsal.
Is that right?
Yvonne Ng (19:00):
yes, yeah, yeah, and it's not like I'm opposed to
debriefing or prepping.
I love both ends of it.
But I think the experiencethat's probably why I'm, you
know like, I love movement and Ifeel like movement is the
largest and the most importantlanguage that we have, you know
like, no, yeah in our bodieshelps me understand who I am and
(19:26):
my relationship to the worldand also, in a way, the world is
and not like the way that theworld has to be right.
It's not that, but it allows meto respect what's happening
around in and around the worldand try to have generosity and
generosity and sensitivity towhat's happening but how does,
(19:47):
how does judgment show up foryou?
Lisa Hopkins (19:48):
I'm curious, both internally and externally, like
what's the balance there for you?
Yvonne Ng (19:55):
uh, experience in life, yeah, and I think that's
also depends on the situation.
Depending on the situation,whether you know, uh, god,
that's, that's kind of broad, soI have to find a situation.
It's really a situational sortof scenario.
Lisa Hopkins (20:12):
But do you tend to default to judgment when you
don't understand something Mostof us do, right, most of us do.
And I use judgment broadly, I'mnot saying judgment like oh,
that's horrible, or in that kindof thing, more like where we,
where we file it right, where wesuddenly go oh gosh, yeah.
Yvonne Ng (20:30):
Yeah, we probably you know what I probably do.
I probably would not alwaysproud of that, depending on
where it lives and lies, andthen I have to revisit it and
also, I think it's also, andit's a hard one.
It's a hard one because of egos, where sometimes you have to
admit to yourself that you knowthat you've made that mistake
(20:53):
and you should take it out andmove it somewhere else or
re-examine it.
Lisa Hopkins (20:58):
But, yeah, yes, but you probably, based on what
you've told me, have a reallygood relationship with if things
go wrong, because you haveexperience having learned a.
With if things go wrong becauseyou you have experience having
learned a lot from things goingwrong, like when you talked
about your lowest right, yourlowest moment, which is is, you
(21:19):
know, not often somethingsomeone wouldn't want to think
about, right, they're like thankgod it's gone, but you're able
to trans, you know, transmit ortransform that into no.
That was actually probably mybiggest learning moment and that
was a big opening for me.
So it would make sense thatwhen something potentially
negative comes your way, thatyou don't immediately recoil,
(21:40):
but that you kind of go okay,like you're strong in yourself,
right, because you've learned alot.
Yvonne Ng (21:47):
Yeah, yeah, I wish I could say I don't immediately
recoil, but that's not true.
I do all of that.
I feel like sometimes, whenthose things happen, I'm like
the injured animal that likes tohide in the bush and take care
of itself.
I do that, but I know that thatcan't be permanent and I know
(22:08):
that few things.
I know that I can be betterthan myself.
Yep, whatever that is at thatmoment and that time in that
year or whatever, so that it'snot to always learn from.
But it's the building blocks.
Yeah, right, I can't pretendthat it never happened, right,
it happened so, but it's abuilding block.
And what?
What do I do with it?
(22:28):
I can make that block stronger,you know, or I can, can crush
it and dust it, but it's still.
It needs to be an act, right?
So even if I crush it, it stillhas to.
I guess it's the intention ofwhat I'm going to do with all
that, of that situation, theexperience and the choices that
I made at that time, the choicesthat I made at that time.
Lisa Hopkins (22:47):
What lights you up ?
I know you from the other end,right, I know you from being my
muse, but it sounds like nowyou've created a lot of things
where you're working with otherpeople who may or may not be
your muses, or at least bringingsome of your visions to light.
So I'm curious to know if Iwere working with you, what
would I expect?
What kind of environment wouldyou provide?
(23:07):
What kind of environment wouldyou provide?
What kind of work do you getexcited to do?
Yvonne Ng (23:16):
I have to lay those foundations on the folks that I
danced for or danced with,including yourself.
So, creating the environmenthas I've had good experiences.
Creating the environment hasI've had good experiences.
I've had not so good ones, butthen you learn from that of.
You know, like, what do you notwant to create for the?
(23:37):
You know for yourself theconditions of the room, the
conditions of the space.
Each time, I tend to do thingsthat scare me.
I don't know why, and I don'tmean to do that consciously and
I don't mean to do thatconsciously.
I tend to become interested inhow things are interpreted
(24:01):
through language, not justphysical, but spoken.
I'm interested in how we are ashumans, individually, from
where we are, where we are now,where we came from.
I've come to terms with whichis part of my process as well
(24:22):
that I'm always rehashing myoriginal idea.
So you know, we always go inand go.
I've got a great idea.
I've never done this before.
And then, if you think for andif, if you know, if I give
myself a moment to contemplateit, I go oh, wait a minute.
Yeah, I think I did that kindof in a different form, but very
similar.
So I've also, uh.
And then, you know, in the pastI would just, like you know,
(24:42):
slap myself and like, no, let'snot do that, you know, and uh.
But I've also started to learnto embrace that as well as a way
of learning, because, you know,maybe the way out is to keep
doing it until you get out.
And then, lo and behold, youhave a different way of thinking
.
I don't know, so I'm stilldiscovering.
(25:03):
I think mostly I feel like animposter, but I think, you know,
I don't think I'm the only one.
It's not an original thought.
I think a lot of people feelthat.
But I, you know, like I dowhenever I facilitate class or
anything, I always feel like animposter.
But whenever I enter a studioand you know, I brought people
into work for me as dancers orother collaborators I do feel
(25:25):
like an imposter.
There's so much to discover.
Every time I think I knowsomething, or not even know
something, but barely knowsomething.
I learned something else.
Yeah, and it always surprisesme, and I'm sure you've had that
too but even as a dancer,dancing for other people, aside
from even making work, is thatevery time you perform, or it's
(25:45):
being performed or the piece isbeing performed by others, you
learn something else, yep, yourinteraction with it, your
behavior in it, your performancein it.
It's just kind of it's soexpansive and so
multi-dimensional, right, and itsounds so zany, but it is.
(26:11):
It is like I always think it'spossible, you know, and I, and I
believe that it is possible,and people I know I'm not the
only one you know so I kind ofam thankful for that the
imposter syndrome piece.
Lisa Hopkins (26:32):
you know, I don't think imposter syndrome is a bad
thing.
I think that's a.
I think it's a sign that you'reyou're playing in a place where
you're challenging yourself sothat you can learn and that you
can honor your values.
So, of course, you're animposter because you're probably
doing something you haven'tdone before I mean not when
you're teaching a class, butit's that same energy, right?
Which is that you've nevertaught that class before.
(26:54):
So I really get this sense thatyou were very much.
And it circles beautifully intoour segues, beautifully into
our, you know, sounds likethat's living in the moment.
You know, living in the momentis like the tagline of the
podcast, right?
I mean, is that?
Is there anything else you'dlike to add about what living in
the moment means to you?
Yvonne Ng (27:13):
I've been kind of thinking about this lately.
It's so funny you brought thisup living in the moment.
Living in the moment is alsoforgiving myself when I have
like, as they would say, monkeymind you know and and embracing
that.
Or living in the moment is whenI don't know what the heck I'm
(27:34):
doing and and I have these selfdoubts.
It's allowing myself to be inthose places too, because I
think we I think we are also ina place where we're selling this
idea of living in the moment asif it's some magical thing.
But I really think that livingin the moment is what that might
(27:58):
be.
It could be very busy or itcould be very quiet, it could be
really nothing, it could be alot of fear and and and I know
that, yeah, because maybe I'mmisinterpreting like you know
all the stuff that I see outthere.
But you know, the whole livingin the moment always seems like
it has to be like the zen, thiswhat we call zen.
(28:20):
So I do this because you knowthe zen quiet like this hum, but
sometimes we have a brain.
The brain doesn't stop thinking.
It's such a task to keep itquiet and it's possible.
And those moments come when allthe yeah.
(28:41):
I find that those moments come,particularly in the studio,
when things are coming togetherand it feels like this you know
sort of yeah, alignment, yeah, Idon't even think it's a quiet,
it's like an alignment, it'sjust yeah, yeah.
Lisa Hopkins (29:03):
I love that.
I love that.
I mean, I agree with you.
I don't think living in themoment needs to connotate being
quiet or stopping or meditatingor any of those things.
However, I do think that,because the moments are always
there and we're always in, we'reto be living in, we are we are
living in in many moments, andand for me I think it's the
(29:32):
awareness piece, I think it'sit's the gold is when, no matter
what it is, whether it's good,bad, ugly or otherwise, or quiet
or loud or whatever that you,that you're aware that that's
where you are and that's onlywhere you are, and that's okay.
There's no judgment, but it'sjust, it's just living in the
(29:53):
moment.
It just makes everything richer.
I mean, it might make a fightlouder or it might make the
negative stronger, but theawareness piece allows you, I
think, to sort of I don't knowif you want be the observer of
yourself too, right.
So that's where the quoteunquote stop happens, right,
which is when you realize thatyou know we're just going like
(30:14):
this and you know there's nojudgment about what this is, but
you can actually look at it tooand go, this is just, this is a
moment, let's, you know, let'skind of bring it all together,
right, instead of being all overthe place.
And it's and again, not thatbeing all over the place isn't
also a moment Like we feel likethat, like you said, all the
(30:35):
time.
You know what I'm saying, yeah,yeah.
So I think it's awareness, Ithink, literally I think yeah.
Yvonne Ng (30:42):
Yeah, I do agree, you're right.
Yeah, yeah, yes, it is thatawareness and it's allowing for
that to be okay.
Yeah, because I think thatallows us to really embrace, you
know, and but actually to Godand now I'm going to repeat, to
(31:03):
actually be living at that timewhatever it needs and requires,
we can give it all our attentionright as well.
Yeah, and yeah, yeah.
Lisa Hopkins (31:14):
Or we can take no action on it.
I mean, I think it's right, Imean I think I think that's what
we do is that we were alwaysmaking these quick, quick
actions, judgments, decisions,thoughts, and then we act, react
.
You know, the thought causes anemotion, the emotion causes an
action and I think the awarenesspiece is just to have the
(31:34):
awareness period awarenesswithout judgment, awareness
without analyzing, awareness,just that.
I have awareness right nowexactly yeah yeah, and I also.
Yvonne Ng (31:47):
It's also kind of leads to this idea of because I
think this is becoming populartoo is that this idea of letting
go right, the this piece ofletting go and and you know it's
funny the living in the moment,that moment, and the awareness,
noticing what you like, youknow, you notice and just and
and just being aware of what'saround is so much, um, principal
(32:11):
concept of that of open sourceforms and letting go as well,
that's.
But, you can also take it to theextreme.
Well it is.
And yet, at the same time,sometimes we take all these
sound bites and make it like athing oh yeah, the only way to
live is to let.
Lisa Hopkins (32:26):
Oh, yeah, oh yes, so.
Yvonne Ng (32:29):
So I kind of the same thing of you know.
I may have forgiven, you knowall those different aspects, you
know from the lowest point inmy life, but I am not going to
forget.
It doesn't mean I'm not lettinggo, I am, I've let it go.
But not forgetting is not touse it as ammunition, but it's
as a building block and itdoesn't mean that it has to just
(32:52):
be there.
But it's something that I amnot going to, I'm not I'm aware
of, and it's something that I amnot going to, I'm not I'm aware
of and something I can tap intoif I'm feeling really low.
It's like look I, I hadresilience, look, I can still.
You know, maybe I'm a littletired today, whatever, but the
letting go, I know, is somethingthat's coming up over and over
and over.
I hear it all the time now andit's also making me nervous,
(33:15):
this idea of letting go,particularly since, particularly
as I I think we're also in aplace where, you know, um, my,
our elders are passing, so we'rekind of dealing with their
physical and um, their physical,their physicalness and their
belongings and also ourattachments to it and how we're
(33:36):
you, you know, but the yeah andand I know people are kind of
throwing it around like oh letgo, let go.
It's like yeah but, there'swisdom is what I'm kind of
trying to lead to is that you're?
having a sense of wisdom.
It's making the yeah, havingthe wisdom to make choices, of
(33:58):
knowing what choice to make whenlike the type of choices that
you have to make.
Sorry, that's what I'm tryingto get at and that's that's a
hard one, because not everybodyis.
It's hard to be wise wisdom isa result.
Lisa Hopkins (34:09):
It's not.
It's not really, it's notreally a verb yeah you know what
I mean.
I mean it's a result ofexperience and and of not being
attached not a lot of experienceand still not very wise, but
yes, yes yeah, yeah, yeah,that's true.
Yeah, that's true.
It's so interesting.
There's a, there's a littlechapter in my book about that,
(34:30):
about flow and about this wholekind of what you're saying about
like there's a whole industrymade around, like what flow is
supposed to be.
I'm with you on the way thingsget thrown around, but I will
let that go, because that'sgoing to happen when people try
to capitalize on something whichyou know, which is actually
ancient wisdom, but that hasbeen turned into, you know, into
(34:52):
commerce.
So there's a you know, for mein my work that's definitely
there's a real distinction there.
That's really important.
But I realized that if I justconnect to my values, my true
values, and continue on withoutany sort of caveats of oh, but
that's not me, but rather justbe me, that I will attract the
(35:12):
clients.
I will attract the, you know,the people that listen to what I
say as something that resonateswith them and therefore it
becomes.
It becomes their wisdom, if youwant, not mine, but but it
becomes.
You know it's.
It's like dance, it's like it'slike when we, you know, I get
this movement comes out of me,but then it becomes, it's
synthesis, right, you?
Then you dance it.
(35:33):
It becomes something different.
And then someone sees you danceit, then you dance it, it
becomes something different.
And then someone sees you danceit, it becomes something
different again.
And when I see someone seeingyou, you know, dancing, my thing
, like it just keeps goingforever and that's beautiful,
right, that's the infinitenature, I think, of, well, of
(35:53):
everything.
I mean dances.
You know, we can talk aboutdance because we, that's our
language.
I mean there is somethingbeautiful and primal, obviously,
about what we do as dancersthat nobody can take away from
us.
I mean, I don't dance every day.
Well, I dance kind of formyself every day, but I don't,
you know, like it's not part ofmy routine per se, but it's such
a big part of me and it'llnever go away.
(36:15):
You know it's, uh, I know thatlike I, you know, even when I,
where I stand somewhere or somepeople, just say, wow, you know,
you have a physicality, right,but it's, it's, it's a
groundedness, right, it's a.
It's not a carriage, it's, butit's, it's a centeredness.
At least, that's what I cameaway from, that's what I'm so
grateful for with dance, becauseit's rooted in my, in my gut,
(36:38):
in my body, in my heart, in mysoul, in my mind in all of it,
you know.
Yvonne Ng (36:45):
Yes, I do know, Of course, you do All that, all
that.
Say that for me.
Yes, it is, but I do believe inall of that, yeah.
Lisa Hopkins (36:54):
All right.
So how do you?
How do you recharge Huh, how doyou recharge Huh?
Yvonne Ng (36:59):
How do I recharge?
Lisa Hopkins (37:01):
Yeah.
Yvonne Ng (37:04):
I sleep, for sure.
I recharge by sleeping.
I recharge by giving myselftime.
I recharge by also not tellingpeople that I give myself time.
But I know I give myself time.
You know there's this wholeidea of like, oh, you should
just learn to say no, I can't dothis or this or that.
(37:25):
And then you know you feelguilty.
I do say no, but I also do justkeep my time to myself so that
I don't have to explain myself.
So I do give back to myself.
That's how I recharge.
And then what happens in thosemoments or those times are just
(37:50):
resting, resting and I sleep.
I really try and sleep.
I can sleep within sevenminutes of laying down.
Lisa Hopkins (38:01):
You're lucky.
Yvonne Ng (38:03):
Yeah, I know Sorry.
Lisa Hopkins (38:05):
I wish I could do that.
Yvonne Ng (38:06):
Really, oh, I give a lot of time to myself to do the
whatever, whether it's reading,meditation, being outside hikes,
gardens yeah, but but don'ttell anybody.
Cut this, I'm kidding, I'mjoking.
So you can leave this part inso I do give billy.
Lisa Hopkins (38:28):
She's very, very busy.
She doesn't do any of thosethings, she only works.
She says yes to everything.
Yvonne Ng (38:33):
You're so funny but you know, I've also known that
in order for me to rest is alsoto do it privately yep right, I
think that's what it is, so Idon't make a pronouncement of
like I need to sit in themorning, I need to this.
I you know I I will um, dance,workout and do all of those
(38:54):
things, but it's my private time, that I don't feel any
obligation to share with folks.
But I think it's not because I'mselfish or anything, but I feel
like it allows me to reallyrest because of that, or to
rejuvenate, or to fill up,because it's a combination right
.
It's like to rest, torejuvenate, to refresh, to
(39:15):
rethink, to contemplate, to bebored.
I also like to sit torejuvenate, to refresh, to
rethink, to contemplate, to bebored.
Lisa Hopkins (39:18):
I also like to sit and just stare let me ask you
I've never asked anybody this.
Usually I ask people.
Most people think that yvonneis, but the truth is.
But I'm not going to ask youthat.
I'm going to ask you to finishthis phrase at the end of the
day.
I know.
Yvonne Ng (39:41):
Oh, at the end of the day, I know that I have a home
to go to.
At the end of the day, I know Ihave myself to come home to.
(40:01):
At the end of the day, it allkind of goes back like this it's
okay, don't analyze it, justkeep saying it.
Keep doing it At the end of theday, I know I can sit in my
backyard and be quiet.
At the end of the day, I'm alsoreally it's taken me a while,
but it's but it's been the lastI would say 10 years that I can
(40:25):
be all right with the fact that,um, I can be.
I'm all right with the factthat I need a lot of quiet time
and I can come home.
Oh boy, at the end of the day,I know I can go in my fridge and
pull up a glass of wine too,and, yeah, I don't know Whenever
(40:50):
I think of that, I think at theend of the day, I think I know
I can always come back home tome in a way, whatever that is
metaphorically, I know.
I can always come back home tome in a way, whatever that is
metaphorically, because I thinkone of the things that I have
recognized for myself and alsoembrace most people think that
I'm always buzzing around, butit kind of ties back to what I
do when I need to refresh isthat I'm not hugely social.
(41:16):
I'm not an extrovert as I thinkmost people think I am.
I need a lot of downtime and Ithink that's why I'm always okay
to have my downtime as my owntime and I never feel guilty to
take that.
(41:36):
So yeah, I don't know whatwould yours be At the end of the
day, Lisa Hopkins.
Lisa Hopkins (41:47):
At the end of the day, I know that I will have
done the best I can.
Yvonne Ng (41:58):
That's amazing.
Lisa Hopkins (42:00):
And it doesn't always look the same, and that's
okay.
Yvonne Ng (42:04):
Yeah, I like your answer better Because it's so
true.
Lisa Hopkins (42:09):
You can take my answer.
You can take my answer, I cantake your answer.
Yvonne Ng (42:11):
Okay, at the end of the day, well, I guess it is
true, but you know, I don't knowwhen my day ends because my day
is always different.
So I think that's partly it too.
Lisa Hopkins (42:25):
OK, but you're analyzing it good, because I
mean, think of it metaphoricallyright At the end of the day.
Yvonne Ng (42:28):
Yeah, I know After all is said.
Lisa Hopkins (42:30):
Maybe it'd be easier, you know, after all is
said and done.
Yvonne Ng (42:34):
Yeah, after all is said and done.
Lisa Hopkins (42:36):
Yeah, do you know?
Yvonne Ng (42:36):
what was really beautiful.
I'm going to pause there, okay.
Yes, you know what?
Lisa Hopkins (42:39):
was really beautiful is before you started
analyzing it all, like when youreally started saying it, before
you started saying before therewere caveats.
Yes, your energy shiftedcompletely.
You were very centered, youactually physically went there.
It was really beautiful, verycentered you actually physically
?
Went there.
It was really beautiful.
Yvonne Ng (42:57):
I just want to point that out.
Oh, thank you, but then yourbrain came in.
Yes, I know Like it's yeah, sosometimes take the time you need
.
Lisa Hopkins (43:02):
Even you know what .
If I, if you were my client, Iwould say take the time that you
need.
You know that time that you dogive yourself, and I want to
honor you for that, becausethat's amazing.
You know what you need and youtake it.
That's great.
You don't like that.
(43:22):
Maybe you have to sneak aroundand do it or whatever.
I get that, but at the end ofthe day, you do do it, and so I
want to honor you for that.
But what I, what I wouldencourage you to do, is to apply
that, not in such a uh, only tojust like at the end of the day
or physically like that, butlike in in a conversation or or
like take the time you need Buzzif you want to buzz, but don't
(43:42):
buzz if just because you do.
You know what I mean.
Yvonne Ng (43:46):
Yeah, I do Like seriously.
Lisa Hopkins (43:48):
You deserve that, you know we all deserve that and
things will shift if you dothat.
Things will shift for you andcertainly for others, because
they're so used to seeing you acertain way.
But you know how to do that foryourself.
But do that for yourself incontext with others.
For you, though not for themfor you, and see what happens.
(44:09):
That's what I would say to you.
Yvonne Ng (44:12):
Okay, I'm taking it in and I'm looking at you now.
Thank you, yeah, you're welcome.
Lisa Hopkins (44:17):
Okay, I'm taking it in and I'm looking at you now
.
Thank you, yeah, you're welcome.
Okay, I'm going to say whatmakes you, and then I'm going to
say one word, and then you saywhatever comes to mind.
There's no right or wrong.
There's no right or wrong.
Yvonne Ng (44:28):
There is until until.
Okay, yes, go ahead.
There's no right or wrong.
Lisa Hopkins (44:34):
It's a game.
I know you don't like games.
There's's no winning or losing,so it's not even a game, it's
just.
It just is what it is.
So make it whatever you want itto be okay.
So you can use space if youwant.
You can do rapid fire if youwant, you can just say this is
stupid.
If you want, you can dowhatever you want.
So what makes you?
What makes you hungry?
Yvonne Ng (44:57):
The meal that I'm eating.
Lisa Hopkins (45:00):
Fair.
What makes you sad?
Yvonne Ng (45:05):
People's judgment, you know yeah.
Lisa Hopkins (45:10):
What inspires you?
Yvonne Ng (45:13):
People.
Lisa Hopkins (45:15):
What frustrates you?
Yvonne Ng (45:17):
It's all wrapped in one.
Lisa Hopkins (45:18):
It's all wrapped in one.
Yvonne Ng (45:19):
I include myself in it too, right.
Lisa Hopkins (45:21):
Like I frustrate myself.
Yvonne Ng (45:23):
I can't.
Sometimes I slap myself forthinking the things that I've
been trying to like.
You know, shift, yeah, but it'shuman and it's you know, it's a
learning game.
Lisa Hopkins (45:34):
What makes you laugh?
Yvonne Ng (45:37):
Oh people, what makes you laugh?
Oh, oh people, uh, uh.
What makes me laugh?
Um, living things, really, likeyou know, people, usually
little kids, uh, I don't knowcomedy, many things make me
laugh.
Actually, what makes you?
(45:58):
Angry opening the news to thatthe aggravation of I you know,
and sometimes even myself,haven't we learned?
Haven't I learned long enough?
Why do I keep um, revertingback to this, so you know, I can
say that safely.
I can say that about what I seearound us sometimes too.
(46:19):
Yeah, um, yeah, that's what.
Lisa Hopkins (46:22):
Yeah yeah, and finally, what are you grateful
for?
Yvonne Ng (46:27):
oh, the life that I'm living.
I don't know any other thing.
So I am grateful that I am, forthe thinking talking blob that
I am and the potential andpossibility that I get to meet
(46:55):
and be with, and even myself.
You know, know all of it.
That's exciting.
I always find that excitingpossibilities.
Uh, did I?
Lisa Hopkins (47:06):
did I?
So what are the top threethings that happened so far
today?
Yvonne Ng (47:10):
eating my breakfast, like I'm always amazed at how,
how fortunate I am to wake upand go.
I got food.
Yeah, you know, um.
And uh, another thing.
Okay, this is, uh, sorry, notthat flushing a toilet, because
yesterday happened to be worldtoilet day, so you never really
(47:31):
think about it.
But you know, um, talking toyou that's not three, there's
more.
Talking to you is three.
In talking to you, the flood ofgood memories of the time that
we had.
That was joyful, not to saythat it wasn't hard and it
didn't come with its ups anddowns.
(47:51):
We all had that in our liferight together, had that in our
life right together.
But looking back, I would saythat yeah, um, you know being we
were, I don't know.
I always think that I'm reallyfortunate that I got into the,
into york the time that I did.
It could have been any otheryear, but I didn't get into, you
know, the year that was beforeus or the year after us.
(48:14):
We got into our year and we'reall still friends yeah and I
can't I don't know if it's justall of us wanting to, because
it's effort, effort in what wehave to make the effort.
But you know, I'm still friendswith different people.
I think that yeah, so so that'salso a top thing that's
(48:37):
happened.
So thank you for that, thankyou for the invitation.
Lisa Hopkins (48:41):
And what's something that you're looking
forward to today, and then alsowhat's something you're looking
forward to in the future.
Yvonne Ng (48:48):
Well, later today I am going to connect with someone
who used to work with us.
So it's nice to catch up.
A yorkie, oh cool.
Yeah, so also nice to see wherethey're at.
They're younger than us, soit's I'm excited to see, to see
her, just because, yeah, I knowthat she's she's kind of moved
(49:09):
on and she's got big things inlife and so it's kind of it's
always great, yeah.
Yeah, their lives have grownand changed and I'm like, yay,
so I am looking forward to that.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to inthe future.
Oh boy, that's a wholelong-term thing.
I guess short-term future isprobably I love Christmas.
(49:32):
I don't know if you know this,but I love Christmas.
And I know that I celebrateChristmas just because I happen
to be born into Catholicism.
Is that how you use Catholicism?
Yes, so I'm not a goodpracticing religious person, but
I like the pageantry, I likethe coming together, I like the
(49:55):
excuse of coming together Nice,and so I am looking forward to
that, because it's also going tobe a break as well.
Lisa Hopkins (50:03):
Yeah.
Yvonne Ng (50:07):
So people's brains tend to wind down, so it's a
lovely time to connect with manypeople.
They seem to have space.
People seem to have space foreach other.
Lisa Hopkins (50:17):
Yeah.
Yvonne Ng (50:17):
So, even if it's once a year, so I kind of look
forward to that.
Lisa Hopkins (50:22):
I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to
talk to me today.
Really it's been really special, truly.
Yvonne Ng (50:29):
It's been very special for me too and I'm
really so grateful that, likeyou know, invited me, because
it's been a while.
It's really been amazing justreconnecting with you.
It feels the same and yetdifferent I agree, it's a new
chapter.
Lisa Hopkins (50:44):
I've been speaking today with yvonne ung.
Thanks so much for listening.
Stay safe and healthy, everyone, and remember to live in the
moment.
In music, stop time is thatbeautiful moment where the band
is suspended in rhythmic unison,supporting the soloist to
express their individuality Inthe moment.
(51:06):
I encourage you to take thattime and create your own rhythm.
Until next time, I'm LisaHopkins.
Thanks for listening.
This is the Stop Time Podcast.
I'm your host, Lisa Hopkins,and I'm here to engage you in
thought-provoking, motivationalconversations around practicing
the art of living in the moment.
I'm a certified life coach andI'm excited to dig deep and
offer insights into embracingwho we are and where we are at,
(00:30):
where we are at my next guestwell, this one's really special.
My next guest is someone I'veknown since our days in the
dance program at York Universityin 1987.
A true powerhouse, then and now, in the performing arts.
Born and raised in Singapore,she is the founder and artistic
director of Princess Productions, home to Tiger Princess Dance
Projects and the acclaimed DanceMade in Canada, Feto Canada
(00:52):
Festival.
Her work has toured globally toplaces like Ireland, Italy,
Australia and China, featuringcollaborations with renowned
choreographers.
Her dedication extends beyondthe stage.
She's a certified open sourceforms and Ashtanga yoga teacher
and, through her arts educationprogram Swallowing Clouds and
Moving Stories, she's empoweringyouth and intergenerational
(01:15):
participants alike.
Her incredible contributionshave earned her prestigious
awards, including the 2022Walter Carson Prize and the
Jacqueline Lemieux Award.
With a career spanningchoreography, education and
global impact, she is a livingtestament to the power of
creative possibility.
Please join me in welcoming myfriend and my original muse,
(01:39):
Yvonne Ng.
Welcome Yvonne.
Yvonne Ng (01:42):
Thank you.
Is that what you're going tosay?
Oh, my God, you wrote that.
Oh, wow, you make me sound more.
That's so, not me.
Oh, thank you so much.
Lisa Hopkins (01:56):
It came from you, no, and listen, it's, you know,
to the listeners, it's I don'tknow.
Life goes, goes by quickly onthe one hand, on the other hand
not at all, Like when I saw youpre-show and you were gesturing
it.
Suddenly it's flooding back tome all the things that I
choreographed for you, that youdanced so brilliantly, that you
(02:17):
know, just again, for thelisteners, we were the original
entrepreneurs, like in Canada atthe time, especially well, well
, at least from my perspective,in a university program, a very
conservative university danceprogram, you don't really do
stuff out of the box, right, youdo what you're told.
But there were three of usYvonne Carey and I, yes, who
(02:39):
were like man, we just have somuch we want to do, right.
And, and as I remember it, you,you were like the kind of, I
want to say, brains.
You were the organized one.
Yvonne Ng (02:53):
I bought a book.
I did I actually I saved it.
It's, I think, I think one ofthe dance organizations
published it and it's prettymuch how to run a company.
I bought a book, oh my God, andit's got it's like a not those
(03:14):
big things that you know, thosebig binders you can get like,
and it's got those hard rings.
And it went from how to start abank account, which we did yes,
which we did with three dollarsI remember, I remember, yeah,
how to like hire someone,definitions of roles, so that
(03:34):
was also very helpful because weneeded to know who was going to
do what um, and then the thingsabout boards and yeah, boards,
and so on and so forth.
That's why we decided no boards, remember, yep, because we had
homework on top of all.
That's like no, no, we got tograduate too.
No board, and I think we justmade it like a small, like
(03:55):
private company yeah yeah likewe were such neophytes.
Lisa Hopkins (04:00):
We just knew that we loved to dance, we really
liked each other and and at thetime it's interesting because,
if I remember correctly, at thetime you proclaimed that you
didn't really like tochoreograph.
Is that true?
Do I remember that correct?
Yvonne Ng (04:13):
yeah, yeah, yeah, I really didn't want to
choreograph because I just I, Iwanted to dance, I liked being
amused and it's exactly that I.
I liked being, um, sort of thatconduit, I liked being in that
person's world and understandingthat world and becoming that
world or interpreting thatvision, and also was another way
(04:34):
of for me, was another way ofgetting to know that person
Right.
And you know, years later on,it did take me that long, but
years later after I realized why.
Because I also didn't havehomework.
So if I did all the managementstuff, which is essentially what
(04:56):
I did and I went to the studio,my homework was staying fit,
training, practicing what Icouldn't get right in the
rehearsal, like you know, doingmy job as a dancer and a
performer, understanding whatthat was as the artistry of it
all, and then when, and thenthat could be on my own time,
(05:18):
you know whatever that was andin the studio and all of that.
And then when I had to stopdoing that and I had to turn to
like let's organize all of therest of the other cogs of the
wheel, right, it's like that.
I didn't, it didn't split mybrains, it actually was less
tiring.
(05:38):
As a choreographer, your workalso extends, you know, and you
know this, this like it extendsbeyond just being in the studio
yeah right, letting it mull,allowing it to simmer, allowing
to prepare, being kind of readyfor the next day and knowing
what's going to happen next, ortuning into yourself in a
different kind of way and um, soit's just, we're all tuning
(06:00):
into ourselves in different ways, but I found it was just, we're
all tuning into ourselves indifferent ways, but I found it
was yeah, and I didn't feel likeI had anything to say at that
point, but I felt I could saythings that I needed to say
through the vision of yourself,right, yourself.
And I think Carrie did a coupleof things too.
Lisa Hopkins (06:21):
Right, yeah, yeah, that's so cool.
Hey, what did you learn aboutme through working with me?
Because you, you were inbasically everything I did yes,
I did.
Yvonne Ng (06:31):
Yes, uh, well, you learn.
You learn a lot aboutchoreography, um, decision
making, letting go, um beinginspired by the moment.
Um, obviously, you can't.
You can't always know what.
You know what's what thechoreographer, what what lisa
hopkins is thinking like deepinside, but also also what
(06:54):
inspires and what theaspirations and the way they
like to paint with bodies.
You know, you learn about that.
But of course, you learn aboutpersonalities too.
That you were always reallywarm, always really encouraging,
very positive.
You know and you also able totake us.
You were also able to connectus to ourselves.
(07:15):
So we never were, we neverthought that we could never do
other things.
Does that make sense?
If anything, you are smartenough to tap into who we are so
that we rise above ourselves.
Lisa Hopkins (07:31):
It really means a lot to hear that.
I remember feeling whenever Iwas in the studio is my
connection with the dancer orthe actor or the human right.
So it's not so surprising thathere I am doing this or working
with humans, you know in otherways, as a coach, and so when
(07:51):
you described it I was like, ohmy gosh, it's holding space and
the conduit, or not the conduit,but the vehicle was dance right
, whereas now I work with people, the vehicle, or the tapestry,
or the canvas the canvas is islife, if you want.
Yvonne Ng (08:13):
Yes, yes, yes, yeah.
And of course, bottom line isthat you're a wonderful
choreographer, a really greatchoreographer, brilliant.
You always had lots ofinteresting, innovative ideas.
Like you were never.
Like you know, we never went inthis studio going.
I don't know if she's going tolike you know, never.
(08:34):
We never doubted you.
I don't think any of us didever doubted you and it was
always surprising ideas and,yeah, challenging Right
surprising ideas and, yeah,challenging, right, you
challenged us, but we never, wenever.
We never doubted that wecouldn't do it either.
It was always a positive thing.
(08:55):
There was never tension.
You also created an environment.
You create an environment thatwe all were really there for
each other, you know.
Lisa Hopkins (09:07):
Yeah.
Yvonne Ng (09:07):
Right, and we were all different dancers, but you
and it's brilliant that you areable to bring us to our best-
selves.
Lisa Hopkins (09:25):
It's not not everybody can do that.
I think it's as you say itagain now through my lens as a
coach.
It's how I look at my clients,right?
I see the brilliance in themthat they cannot see.
So I'm not trying to shape theminto something that I think
they can do, but rather theyinspire me, just as you inspired
me, right.
So you know you talk about mychoreography, but it's like that
(09:47):
to me, it was a synthesis,meaning it was trust.
I created a safe space for youso that I too could feel safe,
right?
Because if you, if we don't allfeel safe, then you can't tap
into whatever it is.
I was never as you know, neversomeone who would come in with
something on paper and say thenit goes like this and then it
goes like that.
Yvonne Ng (10:07):
But normally I was always surprised.
It was so great.
Lisa Hopkins (10:09):
It's all in there, yes, it was weird, but it came
out because of you guys, like itwas definitely inside of me,
but it was not so structured andplanned out.
Sometimes it might just be aphrase or a concept or something
, and you know.
On the other, on the other hand, I wasn't depending on you to
(10:30):
figure it out either.
Yvonne Ng (10:32):
It was all.
You're so musical, you're somusical.
I was always in awe of that.
You're so musical.
It didn't seem like.
You know I have a hard timecounting, I mean not that I
can't count, but I just neverliked it.
But you never made it seem likewe always had to be so strapped
to it and yet it was verymusical.
(10:54):
You know not that we always.
It was never like it.
Sorry, and I don't want to givea sense that it's not, it was
not a transliteration of things,but there was a musicality to
the way you choreograph, the wayyour choreography sat with the
music or was accompanied by themusic or was married to the
music or you know all of thosethings, and that was always so
(11:16):
fun.
Lisa Hopkins (11:17):
If you had to choose one highlight and one low
light from your life journey sofar, what would those be and
why?
Yeah?
Yvonne Ng (11:26):
Oh, I don't know, I've never sort of had one more
than another in terms ofhighlights.
I feel very I do say I mean Ihave to say I do feel quite
fortunate, very blessed andprivileged that I've had like
really wonderful opportunitiesto be with, like yourself, you
(11:48):
know, like if we had gone in adifferent year wouldn't have met
, we wouldn't have had dance,allegro, all of the things that
I think we've all become, thewhole enterprising thing
probably wouldn't have beennurtured.
We were also very lucky andfortunate.
Fortunate that when we wantedto do what we wanted to do the
(12:09):
department they either werereally going I don't know if
this is going to work for them,but we're going to encourage
them or we're just going to sitback and see how it all goes.
But do you know what I mean?
Lisa Hopkins (12:21):
Like we were very fortunate that the department
was didn't say no, I mean you'vehad an incredible career.
I mean, yeah, we had a reallycool start.
But look what you've done.
Like, are you able to sort ofacknowledge, like tell, tell,
you know, Yvonne and Lisa andCarrie, back when we're sitting
(12:41):
on the floor in the studio, youknow, in 1987 or whenever that
was, you know holy shit.
Like look, look what I did.
I mean, I mean, what would you?
What's going on there?
Like, what are you really proudof?
Yvonne Ng (12:54):
oh.
Lisa Hopkins (12:55):
I'm proud of you.
I mean where I'm sitting it's.
I mean I'm not surprised at all.
You know, I remember peoplealways saying oh you know, your
friend Yvonne is doing reallywell in the scene and in Canada.
I go, yeah'm not surprised, youknow, but what surprised you?
Or what you know?
Talk to me a little bit aboutthat journey.
Yvonne Ng (13:15):
It's a journey that's hard to talk about because
you're still kind of on thatjourney.
I, I think it's.
You know, sometimes I I thinkit's because I'm not quite the
planner.
I may be the like.
I like organizing things andmaking sure once I, you know,
once certain things are decidedon, I can plan, but I'm not like
(13:37):
a long term planner.
I don't have huge expectations.
You know people.
So I've always, I am kind ofcurious about now, only now, am
I curious about this whole idea,about you say it and you
manifest it and then it becomesthe, the dream and the reality.
I've never done that.
(13:57):
I've never sort of sat and wentoh, I want this career for
myself, I'm gonna manifest it no, you just did it yeah me too.
Lisa Hopkins (14:07):
I I get that.
Yvonne Ng (14:08):
I understand, I relate to that, I get that yeah,
okay, good, because I alwaysfeel like an imposter, because
it feels like you know, like the, the, what's it?
Uh, then there's a phrase, likeall the, the chant and the
mantra is about you know,manifesting your life and your
dream into reality.
It's like I just didn't.
I think I knew, I knew I lovedto dance.
(14:30):
I knew I still love to dance.
I know that I'm the happiestwhen there's a sense of
engagement.
You know whether it's it'smostly within the studio, but if
(14:55):
, if not within the studio, inand amongst the people that I
have that are close to me, nearand far.
And the one thing that you saidis also it's also been a part of
my life is that I never thinkthat people it's also been a
part of my life is that I neverthink that people, my
friendships with people, kind ofpeter off.
I think of it as waxing andwaning.
(15:16):
Yeah, you know so.
So, um, on that side note, it'slike I have friends that I I'm
still friends with, with friendsthat I've known since I was
four.
Yeah, we're still in contact.
We pick whenever we see eachother, just like this, we pick
up like it never, like the time,never you know, there was no
(15:39):
time in between.
And yet I think I I think I'malso not unrealistic in the
sense that I don't.
I know that we've all liveddifferent lives and we may not
have a lot in common.
Like you know, I don't have alot in common with some of my
school friends.
I know I have more in commonwith you.
You know, with most of myuniversity friends I have way
(16:00):
more in common with but that'sno strike against my primary
school, kindergarten, primaryschool and secondary school
friends.
I've known people since primaryschool all the way through
secondary school, kindergarten,primary school and secondary
school.
I've known people since primaryschool all the way through
secondary school 16 years and weall went to the same.
And now when we see each other,yeah, but we are all.
It's not like we have hugelydifferent values, but we
(16:22):
probably have different values.
But when I look back I thinkit's just sort of my attitude
towards life.
But I don't have like one big,like motto that says, oh, this
is how you should live your lifeand this is how it will be.
I think I always think I'm anoptimistic, pessimist.
(16:45):
That's how I see my life andI've been.
Yeah, work ethic, I guess youknow I do treasure the people
that have been a part of my life, like yourself.
Yeah, I don't know, I don'tknow how to talk about my
journey, except I do feel thatI'm okay to dive into things.
(17:11):
I think maybe that's it.
I never look back to think howcome I've led the life that I've
led.
I think I'm good with saying yesto things.
I'm pretty open to saying yesto things and I'll dive deep.
I mean, after I say yes tothings, I go, oh God, why did I
say yes?
But then I'm like too late,should have thought about it
(17:32):
before.
You did that.
Um, yeah, and then yeah, Iguess it's committing as well
after you say yes.
So I guess I'm not sure how youwould explain that, but I don't
have like a leading umphilosophy that I kind of, or
some philosophy that I live by.
Yeah, no ups, sorry, no upsthat stand out the most I guess
(17:57):
living oh, you know what maybeis the is the fact that Canada
said yes to me.
Lisa Hopkins (18:05):
That Canada said yes to you.
Yeah, fair enough Fair enough.
Yvonne Ng (18:07):
Yeah, canada said yes to you.
Yeah, fair enough Fair enough,yeah, but probably that's the
biggest high, you know, and thenmy X is the low, but then the
low can become a high, you know,and then everything else in
between.
I think it's us all justworking at it.
Lisa Hopkins (18:27):
No, no, but it tracks based on what I know
about you, because it's sort ofcoming back to light this sort
of you're not.
You're not analytical or youdon't want to be analytical.
I think you probably areanalytical, um, but I don't
think that's a space that youlike per se to be in.
You prefer just to be in it.
(18:48):
You prefer to be trying themovement, if you want, or or you
know, in the rehearsal.
As opposed to talking aboutbeing in the rehearsal or
reviewing how the rehearsal went.
You just like being in therehearsal.
Is that right?
Yvonne Ng (19:00):
yes, yeah, yeah, and it's not like I'm opposed to
debriefing or prepping.
I love both ends of it.
But I think the experiencethat's probably why I'm, you
know like, I love movement and Ifeel like movement is the
largest and the most importantlanguage that we have, you know
like, no, yeah in our bodieshelps me understand who I am and
(19:26):
my relationship to the worldand also, in a way, the world is
and not like the way that theworld has to be right.
It's not that, but it allows meto respect what's happening
around in and around the worldand try to have generosity and
generosity and sensitivity towhat's happening but how does,
(19:47):
how does judgment show up foryou?
Lisa Hopkins (19:48):
I'm curious, both internally and externally, like
what's the balance there for you?
Yvonne Ng (19:55):
uh, experience in life, yeah, and I think that's
also depends on the situation.
Depending on the situation,whether you know, uh, god,
that's, that's kind of broad, soI have to find a situation.
It's really a situational sortof scenario.
Lisa Hopkins (20:12):
But do you tend to default to judgment when you
don't understand something Mostof us do, right, most of us do.
And I use judgment broadly, I'mnot saying judgment like oh,
that's horrible, or in that kindof thing, more like where we,
where we file it right, where wesuddenly go oh gosh, yeah.
Yvonne Ng (20:30):
Yeah, we probably you know what I probably do.
I probably would not alwaysproud of that, depending on
where it lives and lies, andthen I have to revisit it and
also, I think it's also, andit's a hard one.
It's a hard one because of egos, where sometimes you have to
admit to yourself that you knowthat you've made that mistake
(20:53):
and you should take it out andmove it somewhere else or
re-examine it.
Lisa Hopkins (20:58):
But, yeah, yes, but you probably, based on what
you've told me, have a reallygood relationship with if things
go wrong, because you haveexperience having learned a.
With if things go wrong becauseyou you have experience having
learned a lot from things goingwrong, like when you talked
about your lowest right, yourlowest moment, which is is, you
(21:19):
know, not often somethingsomeone wouldn't want to think
about, right, they're like thankgod it's gone, but you're able
to trans, you know, transmit ortransform that into no.
That was actually probably mybiggest learning moment and that
was a big opening for me.
So it would make sense thatwhen something potentially
negative comes your way, thatyou don't immediately recoil,
(21:40):
but that you kind of go okay,like you're strong in yourself,
right, because you've learned alot.
Yvonne Ng (21:47):
Yeah, yeah, I wish I could say I don't immediately
recoil, but that's not true.
I do all of that.
I feel like sometimes, whenthose things happen, I'm like
the injured animal that likes tohide in the bush and take care
of itself.
I do that, but I know that thatcan't be permanent and I know
(22:08):
that few things.
I know that I can be betterthan myself.
Yep, whatever that is at thatmoment and that time in that
year or whatever, so that it'snot to always learn from.
But it's the building blocks.
Yeah, right, I can't pretendthat it never happened, right,
it happened so, but it's abuilding block.
And what?
What do I do with it?
(22:28):
I can make that block stronger,you know, or I can, can crush
it and dust it, but it's still.
It needs to be an act, right?
So even if I crush it, it stillhas to.
I guess it's the intention ofwhat I'm going to do with all
that, of that situation, theexperience and the choices that
I made at that time, the choicesthat I made at that time.
Lisa Hopkins (22:47):
What lights you up ?
I know you from the other end,right, I know you from being my
muse, but it sounds like nowyou've created a lot of things
where you're working with otherpeople who may or may not be
your muses, or at least bringingsome of your visions to light.
So I'm curious to know if Iwere working with you, what
would I expect?
What kind of environment wouldyou provide?
(23:07):
What kind of environment wouldyou provide?
What kind of work do you getexcited to do?
Yvonne Ng (23:16):
I have to lay those foundations on the folks that I
danced for or danced with,including yourself.
So, creating the environmenthas I've had good experiences.
Creating the environment hasI've had good experiences.
I've had not so good ones, butthen you learn from that of.
You know, like, what do you notwant to create for the?
(23:37):
You know for yourself theconditions of the room, the
conditions of the space.
Each time, I tend to do thingsthat scare me.
I don't know why, and I don'tmean to do that consciously and
I don't mean to do thatconsciously.
I tend to become interested inhow things are interpreted
(24:01):
through language, not justphysical, but spoken.
I'm interested in how we are ashumans, individually, from
where we are, where we are now,where we came from.
I've come to terms with whichis part of my process as well
(24:22):
that I'm always rehashing myoriginal idea.
So you know, we always go inand go.
I've got a great idea.
I've never done this before.
And then, if you think for andif, if you know, if I give
myself a moment to contemplateit, I go oh, wait a minute.
Yeah, I think I did that kindof in a different form, but very
similar.
So I've also, uh.
And then, you know, in the pastI would just, like you know,
(24:42):
slap myself and like, no, let'snot do that, you know, and uh.
But I've also started to learnto embrace that as well as a way
of learning, because, you know,maybe the way out is to keep
doing it until you get out.
And then, lo and behold, youhave a different way of thinking
.
I don't know, so I'm stilldiscovering.
(25:03):
I think mostly I feel like animposter, but I think, you know,
I don't think I'm the only one.
It's not an original thought.
I think a lot of people feelthat.
But I, you know, like I dowhenever I facilitate class or
anything, I always feel like animposter.
But whenever I enter a studioand you know, I brought people
into work for me as dancers orother collaborators I do feel
(25:25):
like an imposter.
There's so much to discover.
Every time I think I knowsomething, or not even know
something, but barely knowsomething.
I learned something else.
Yeah, and it always surprisesme, and I'm sure you've had that
too but even as a dancer,dancing for other people, aside
from even making work, is thatevery time you perform, or it's
(25:45):
being performed or the piece isbeing performed by others, you
learn something else, yep, yourinteraction with it, your
behavior in it, your performancein it.
It's just kind of it's soexpansive and so
multi-dimensional, right, and itsounds so zany, but it is.
(26:11):
It is like I always think it'spossible, you know, and I, and I
believe that it is possible,and people I know I'm not the
only one you know so I kind ofam thankful for that the
imposter syndrome piece.
Lisa Hopkins (26:32):
you know, I don't think imposter syndrome is a bad
thing.
I think that's a.
I think it's a sign that you'reyou're playing in a place where
you're challenging yourself sothat you can learn and that you
can honor your values.
So, of course, you're animposter because you're probably
doing something you haven'tdone before I mean not when
you're teaching a class, butit's that same energy, right?
Which is that you've nevertaught that class before.
(26:54):
So I really get this sense thatyou were very much.
And it circles beautifully intoour segues, beautifully into
our, you know, sounds likethat's living in the moment.
You know, living in the momentis like the tagline of the
podcast, right?
I mean, is that?
Is there anything else you'dlike to add about what living in
the moment means to you?
Yvonne Ng (27:13):
I've been kind of thinking about this lately.
It's so funny you brought thisup living in the moment.
Living in the moment is alsoforgiving myself when I have
like, as they would say, monkeymind you know and and embracing
that.
Or living in the moment is whenI don't know what the heck I'm
(27:34):
doing and and I have these selfdoubts.
It's allowing myself to be inthose places too, because I
think we I think we are also ina place where we're selling this
idea of living in the moment asif it's some magical thing.
But I really think that livingin the moment is what that might
(27:58):
be.
It could be very busy or itcould be very quiet, it could be
really nothing, it could be alot of fear and and and I know
that, yeah, because maybe I'mmisinterpreting like you know
all the stuff that I see outthere.
But you know, the whole livingin the moment always seems like
it has to be like the zen, thiswhat we call zen.
(28:20):
So I do this because you knowthe zen quiet like this hum, but
sometimes we have a brain.
The brain doesn't stop thinking.
It's such a task to keep itquiet and it's possible.
And those moments come when allthe yeah.
(28:41):
I find that those moments come,particularly in the studio,
when things are coming togetherand it feels like this you know
sort of yeah, alignment, yeah, Idon't even think it's a quiet,
it's like an alignment, it'sjust yeah, yeah.
Lisa Hopkins (29:03):
I love that.
I love that.
I mean, I agree with you.
I don't think living in themoment needs to connotate being
quiet or stopping or meditatingor any of those things.
However, I do think that,because the moments are always
there and we're always in, we'reto be living in, we are we are
living in in many moments, andand for me I think it's the
(29:32):
awareness piece, I think it'sit's the gold is when, no matter
what it is, whether it's good,bad, ugly or otherwise, or quiet
or loud or whatever that you,that you're aware that that's
where you are and that's onlywhere you are, and that's okay.
There's no judgment, but it'sjust, it's just living in the
(29:53):
moment.
It just makes everything richer.
I mean, it might make a fightlouder or it might make the
negative stronger, but theawareness piece allows you, I
think, to sort of I don't knowif you want be the observer of
yourself too, right.
So that's where the quoteunquote stop happens, right,
which is when you realize thatyou know we're just going like
(30:14):
this and you know there's nojudgment about what this is, but
you can actually look at it tooand go, this is just, this is a
moment, let's, you know, let'skind of bring it all together,
right, instead of being all overthe place.
And it's and again, not thatbeing all over the place isn't
also a moment Like we feel likethat, like you said, all the
(30:35):
time.
You know what I'm saying, yeah,yeah.
So I think it's awareness, Ithink, literally I think yeah.
Yvonne Ng (30:42):
Yeah, I do agree, you're right.
Yeah, yeah, yes, it is thatawareness and it's allowing for
that to be okay.
Yeah, because I think thatallows us to really embrace, you
know, and but actually to Godand now I'm going to repeat, to
(31:03):
actually be living at that timewhatever it needs and requires,
we can give it all our attentionright as well.
Yeah, and yeah, yeah.
Lisa Hopkins (31:14):
Or we can take no action on it.
I mean, I think it's right, Imean I think I think that's what
we do is that we were alwaysmaking these quick, quick
actions, judgments, decisions,thoughts, and then we act, react
.
You know, the thought causes anemotion, the emotion causes an
action and I think the awarenesspiece is just to have the
(31:34):
awareness period awarenesswithout judgment, awareness
without analyzing, awareness,just that.
I have awareness right nowexactly yeah yeah, and I also.
Yvonne Ng (31:47):
It's also kind of leads to this idea of because I
think this is becoming populartoo is that this idea of letting
go right, the this piece ofletting go and and you know it's
funny the living in the moment,that moment, and the awareness,
noticing what you like, youknow, you notice and just and
and just being aware of what'saround is so much, um, principal
(32:11):
concept of that of open sourceforms and letting go as well,
that's.
But, you can also take it to theextreme.
Well it is.
And yet, at the same time,sometimes we take all these
sound bites and make it like athing oh yeah, the only way to
live is to let.
Lisa Hopkins (32:26):
Oh, yeah, oh yes, so.
Yvonne Ng (32:29):
So I kind of the same thing of you know.
I may have forgiven, you knowall those different aspects, you
know from the lowest point inmy life, but I am not going to
forget.
It doesn't mean I'm not lettinggo, I am, I've let it go.
But not forgetting is not touse it as ammunition, but it's
as a building block and itdoesn't mean that it has to just
(32:52):
be there.
But it's something that I amnot going to, I'm not I'm aware
of, and it's something that I amnot going to, I'm not I'm aware
of and something I can tap intoif I'm feeling really low.
It's like look I, I hadresilience, look, I can still.
You know, maybe I'm a littletired today, whatever, but the
letting go, I know, is somethingthat's coming up over and over
and over.
I hear it all the time now andit's also making me nervous,
(33:15):
this idea of letting go,particularly since, particularly
as I I think we're also in aplace where, you know, um, my,
our elders are passing, so we'rekind of dealing with their
physical and um, their physical,their physicalness and their
belongings and also ourattachments to it and how we're
(33:36):
you, you know, but the yeah andand I know people are kind of
throwing it around like oh letgo, let go.
It's like yeah but, there'swisdom is what I'm kind of
trying to lead to is that you're?
having a sense of wisdom.
It's making the yeah, havingthe wisdom to make choices, of
(33:58):
knowing what choice to make whenlike the type of choices that
you have to make.
Sorry, that's what I'm tryingto get at and that's that's a
hard one, because not everybodyis.
It's hard to be wise wisdom isa result.
Lisa Hopkins (34:09):
It's not.
It's not really, it's notreally a verb yeah you know what
I mean.
I mean it's a result ofexperience and and of not being
attached not a lot of experienceand still not very wise, but
yes, yes yeah, yeah, yeah,that's true.
Yeah, that's true.
It's so interesting.
There's a, there's a littlechapter in my book about that,
(34:30):
about flow and about this wholekind of what you're saying about
like there's a whole industrymade around, like what flow is
supposed to be.
I'm with you on the way thingsget thrown around, but I will
let that go, because that'sgoing to happen when people try
to capitalize on something whichyou know, which is actually
ancient wisdom, but that hasbeen turned into, you know, into
(34:52):
commerce.
So there's a you know, for mein my work that's definitely
there's a real distinction there.
That's really important.
But I realized that if I justconnect to my values, my true
values, and continue on withoutany sort of caveats of oh, but
that's not me, but rather justbe me, that I will attract the
(35:12):
clients.
I will attract the, you know,the people that listen to what I
say as something that resonateswith them and therefore it
becomes.
It becomes their wisdom, if youwant, not mine, but but it
becomes.
You know it's.
It's like dance, it's like it'slike when we, you know, I get
this movement comes out of me,but then it becomes, it's
synthesis, right, you?
Then you dance it.
(35:33):
It becomes something different.
And then someone sees you danceit, then you dance it, it
becomes something different.
And then someone sees you danceit, it becomes something
different again.
And when I see someone seeingyou, you know, dancing, my thing
, like it just keeps goingforever and that's beautiful,
right, that's the infinitenature, I think, of, well, of
(35:53):
everything.
I mean dances.
You know, we can talk aboutdance because we, that's our
language.
I mean there is somethingbeautiful and primal, obviously,
about what we do as dancersthat nobody can take away from
us.
I mean, I don't dance every day.
Well, I dance kind of formyself every day, but I don't,
you know, like it's not part ofmy routine per se, but it's such
a big part of me and it'llnever go away.
(36:15):
You know it's, uh, I know thatlike I, you know, even when I,
where I stand somewhere or somepeople, just say, wow, you know,
you have a physicality, right,but it's, it's, it's a
groundedness, right, it's a.
It's not a carriage, it's, butit's, it's a centeredness.
At least, that's what I cameaway from, that's what I'm so
grateful for with dance, becauseit's rooted in my, in my gut,
(36:38):
in my body, in my heart, in mysoul, in my mind in all of it,
you know.
Yvonne Ng (36:45):
Yes, I do know, Of course, you do All that, all
that.
Say that for me.
Yes, it is, but I do believe inall of that, yeah.
Lisa Hopkins (36:54):
All right.
So how do you?
How do you recharge Huh, how doyou recharge Huh?
Yvonne Ng (36:59):
How do I recharge?
Lisa Hopkins (37:01):
Yeah.
Yvonne Ng (37:04):
I sleep, for sure.
I recharge by sleeping.
I recharge by giving myselftime.
I recharge by also not tellingpeople that I give myself time.
But I know I give myself time.
You know there's this wholeidea of like, oh, you should
just learn to say no, I can't dothis or this or that.
(37:25):
And then you know you feelguilty.
I do say no, but I also do justkeep my time to myself so that
I don't have to explain myself.
So I do give back to myself.
That's how I recharge.
And then what happens in thosemoments or those times are just
(37:50):
resting, resting and I sleep.
I really try and sleep.
I can sleep within sevenminutes of laying down.
Lisa Hopkins (38:01):
You're lucky.
Yvonne Ng (38:03):
Yeah, I know Sorry.
Lisa Hopkins (38:05):
I wish I could do that.
Yvonne Ng (38:06):
Really, oh, I give a lot of time to myself to do the
whatever, whether it's reading,meditation, being outside hikes,
gardens yeah, but but don'ttell anybody.
Cut this, I'm kidding, I'mjoking.
So you can leave this part inso I do give billy.
Lisa Hopkins (38:28):
She's very, very busy.
She doesn't do any of thosethings, she only works.
She says yes to everything.
Yvonne Ng (38:33):
You're so funny but you know, I've also known that
in order for me to rest is alsoto do it privately yep right, I
think that's what it is, so Idon't make a pronouncement of
like I need to sit in themorning, I need to this.
I you know I I will um, dance,workout and do all of those
(38:54):
things, but it's my private time, that I don't feel any
obligation to share with folks.
But I think it's not because I'mselfish or anything, but I feel
like it allows me to reallyrest because of that, or to
rejuvenate, or to fill up,because it's a combination right
.
It's like to rest, torejuvenate, to refresh, to
(39:15):
rethink, to contemplate, to bebored.
I also like to sit torejuvenate, to refresh, to
rethink, to contemplate, to bebored.
Lisa Hopkins (39:18):
I also like to sit and just stare let me ask you
I've never asked anybody this.
Usually I ask people.
Most people think that yvonneis, but the truth is.
But I'm not going to ask youthat.
I'm going to ask you to finishthis phrase at the end of the
day.
I know.
Yvonne Ng (39:41):
Oh, at the end of the day, I know that I have a home
to go to.
At the end of the day, I know Ihave myself to come home to.
(40:01):
At the end of the day, it allkind of goes back like this it's
okay, don't analyze it, justkeep saying it.
Keep doing it At the end of theday, I know I can sit in my
backyard and be quiet.
At the end of the day, I'm alsoreally it's taken me a while,
but it's but it's been the lastI would say 10 years that I can
(40:25):
be all right with the fact that,um, I can be.
I'm all right with the factthat I need a lot of quiet time
and I can come home.
Oh boy, at the end of the day,I know I can go in my fridge and
pull up a glass of wine too,and, yeah, I don't know Whenever
(40:50):
I think of that, I think at theend of the day, I think I know
I can always come back home tome in a way, whatever that is
metaphorically, I know.
I can always come back home tome in a way, whatever that is
metaphorically, because I thinkone of the things that I have
recognized for myself and alsoembrace most people think that
I'm always buzzing around, butit kind of ties back to what I
do when I need to refresh isthat I'm not hugely social.
(41:16):
I'm not an extrovert as I thinkmost people think I am.
I need a lot of downtime and Ithink that's why I'm always okay
to have my downtime as my owntime and I never feel guilty to
take that.
(41:36):
So yeah, I don't know whatwould yours be At the end of the
day, Lisa Hopkins.
Lisa Hopkins (41:47):
At the end of the day, I know that I will have
done the best I can.
Yvonne Ng (41:58):
That's amazing.
Lisa Hopkins (42:00):
And it doesn't always look the same, and that's
okay.
Yvonne Ng (42:04):
Yeah, I like your answer better Because it's so
true.
Lisa Hopkins (42:09):
You can take my answer.
You can take my answer, I cantake your answer.
Yvonne Ng (42:11):
Okay, at the end of the day, well, I guess it is
true, but you know, I don't knowwhen my day ends because my day
is always different.
So I think that's partly it too.
Lisa Hopkins (42:25):
OK, but you're analyzing it good, because I
mean, think of it metaphoricallyright At the end of the day.
Yvonne Ng (42:28):
Yeah, I know After all is said.
Lisa Hopkins (42:30):
Maybe it'd be easier, you know, after all is
said and done.
Yvonne Ng (42:34):
Yeah, after all is said and done.
Lisa Hopkins (42:36):
Yeah, do you know?
Yvonne Ng (42:36):
what was really beautiful.
I'm going to pause there, okay.
Yes, you know what?
Lisa Hopkins (42:39):
was really beautiful is before you started
analyzing it all, like when youreally started saying it, before
you started saying before therewere caveats.
Yes, your energy shiftedcompletely.
You were very centered, youactually physically went there.
It was really beautiful, verycentered you actually physically
?
Went there.
It was really beautiful.
Yvonne Ng (42:57):
I just want to point that out.
Oh, thank you, but then yourbrain came in.
Yes, I know Like it's yeah, sosometimes take the time you need
.
Lisa Hopkins (43:02):
Even you know what .
If I, if you were my client, Iwould say take the time that you
need.
You know that time that you dogive yourself, and I want to
honor you for that, becausethat's amazing.
You know what you need and youtake it.
That's great.
You don't like that.
(43:22):
Maybe you have to sneak aroundand do it or whatever.
I get that, but at the end ofthe day, you do do it, and so I
want to honor you for that.
But what I, what I wouldencourage you to do, is to apply
that, not in such a uh, only tojust like at the end of the day
or physically like that, butlike in in a conversation or or
like take the time you need Buzzif you want to buzz, but don't
(43:42):
buzz if just because you do.
You know what I mean.
Yvonne Ng (43:46):
Yeah, I do Like seriously.
Lisa Hopkins (43:48):
You deserve that, you know we all deserve that and
things will shift if you dothat.
Things will shift for you andcertainly for others, because
they're so used to seeing you acertain way.
But you know how to do that foryourself.
But do that for yourself incontext with others.
For you, though not for themfor you, and see what happens.
(44:09):
That's what I would say to you.
Yvonne Ng (44:12):
Okay, I'm taking it in and I'm looking at you now.
Thank you, yeah, you're welcome.
Lisa Hopkins (44:17):
Okay, I'm taking it in and I'm looking at you now
.
Thank you, yeah, you're welcome.
Okay, I'm going to say whatmakes you, and then I'm going to
say one word, and then you saywhatever comes to mind.
There's no right or wrong.
There's no right or wrong.
Yvonne Ng (44:28):
There is until until.
Okay, yes, go ahead.
There's no right or wrong.
Lisa Hopkins (44:34):
It's a game.
I know you don't like games.
There's's no winning or losing,so it's not even a game, it's
just.
It just is what it is.
So make it whatever you want itto be okay.
So you can use space if youwant.
You can do rapid fire if youwant, you can just say this is
stupid.
If you want, you can dowhatever you want.
So what makes you?
What makes you hungry?
Yvonne Ng (44:57):
The meal that I'm eating.
Lisa Hopkins (45:00):
Fair.
What makes you sad?
Yvonne Ng (45:05):
People's judgment, you know yeah.
Lisa Hopkins (45:10):
What inspires you?
Yvonne Ng (45:13):
People.
Lisa Hopkins (45:15):
What frustrates you?
Yvonne Ng (45:17):
It's all wrapped in one.
Lisa Hopkins (45:18):
It's all wrapped in one.
Yvonne Ng (45:19):
I include myself in it too, right.
Lisa Hopkins (45:21):
Like I frustrate myself.
Yvonne Ng (45:23):
I can't.
Sometimes I slap myself forthinking the things that I've
been trying to like.
You know, shift, yeah, but it'shuman and it's you know, it's a
learning game.
Lisa Hopkins (45:34):
What makes you laugh?
Yvonne Ng (45:37):
Oh people, what makes you laugh?
Oh, oh people, uh, uh.
What makes me laugh?
Um, living things, really, likeyou know, people, usually
little kids, uh, I don't knowcomedy, many things make me
laugh.
Actually, what makes you?
(45:58):
Angry opening the news to thatthe aggravation of I you know,
and sometimes even myself,haven't we learned?
Haven't I learned long enough?
Why do I keep um, revertingback to this, so you know, I can
say that safely.
I can say that about what I seearound us sometimes too.
(46:19):
Yeah, um, yeah, that's what.
Lisa Hopkins (46:22):
Yeah yeah, and finally, what are you grateful
for?
Yvonne Ng (46:27):
oh, the life that I'm living.
I don't know any other thing.
So I am grateful that I am, forthe thinking talking blob that
I am and the potential andpossibility that I get to meet
(46:55):
and be with, and even myself.
You know, know all of it.
That's exciting.
I always find that excitingpossibilities.
Uh, did I?
Lisa Hopkins (47:06):
did I?
So what are the top threethings that happened so far
today?
Yvonne Ng (47:10):
eating my breakfast, like I'm always amazed at how,
how fortunate I am to wake upand go.
I got food.
Yeah, you know, um.
And uh, another thing.
Okay, this is, uh, sorry, notthat flushing a toilet, because
yesterday happened to be worldtoilet day, so you never really
(47:31):
think about it.
But you know, um, talking toyou that's not three, there's
more.
Talking to you is three.
In talking to you, the flood ofgood memories of the time that
we had.
That was joyful, not to saythat it wasn't hard and it
didn't come with its ups anddowns.
(47:51):
We all had that in our liferight together, had that in our
life right together.
But looking back, I would saythat yeah, um, you know being we
were, I don't know.
I always think that I'm reallyfortunate that I got into the,
into york the time that I did.
It could have been any otheryear, but I didn't get into, you
know, the year that was beforeus or the year after us.
(48:14):
We got into our year and we'reall still friends yeah and I
can't I don't know if it's justall of us wanting to, because
it's effort, effort in what wehave to make the effort.
But you know, I'm still friendswith different people.
I think that yeah, so so that'salso a top thing that's
(48:37):
happened.
So thank you for that, thankyou for the invitation.
Lisa Hopkins (48:41):
And what's something that you're looking
forward to today, and then alsowhat's something you're looking
forward to in the future.
Yvonne Ng (48:48):
Well, later today I am going to connect with someone
who used to work with us.
So it's nice to catch up.
A yorkie, oh cool.
Yeah, so also nice to see wherethey're at.
They're younger than us, soit's I'm excited to see, to see
her, just because, yeah, I knowthat she's she's kind of moved
(49:09):
on and she's got big things inlife and so it's kind of it's
always great, yeah.
Yeah, their lives have grownand changed and I'm like, yay,
so I am looking forward to that.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to inthe future.
Oh boy, that's a wholelong-term thing.
I guess short-term future isprobably I love Christmas.
(49:32):
I don't know if you know this,but I love Christmas.
And I know that I celebrateChristmas just because I happen
to be born into Catholicism.
Is that how you use Catholicism?
Yes, so I'm not a goodpracticing religious person, but
I like the pageantry, I likethe coming together, I like the
(49:55):
excuse of coming together Nice,and so I am looking forward to
that, because it's also going tobe a break as well.
Lisa Hopkins (50:03):
Yeah.
Yvonne Ng (50:07):
So people's brains tend to wind down, so it's a
lovely time to connect with manypeople.
They seem to have space.
People seem to have space foreach other.
Lisa Hopkins (50:17):
Yeah.
Yvonne Ng (50:17):
So, even if it's once a year, so I kind of look
forward to that.
Lisa Hopkins (50:22):
I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to
talk to me today.
Really it's been really special, truly.
Yvonne Ng (50:29):
It's been very special for me too and I'm
really so grateful that, likeyou know, invited me, because
it's been a while.
It's really been amazing justreconnecting with you.
It feels the same and yetdifferent I agree, it's a new
chapter.
Lisa Hopkins (50:44):
I've been speaking today with yvonne ung.
Thanks so much for listening.
Stay safe and healthy, everyone, and remember to live in the
moment.
In music, stop time is thatbeautiful moment where the band
is suspended in rhythmic unison,supporting the soloist to
express their individuality Inthe moment.
(51:06):
I encourage you to take thattime and create your own rhythm.
Until next time, I'm LisaHopkins.
Thanks for listening.
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