Stories From Our Community: Chad Lawson, Steinway Artist & Composer
As we’ve navigated the shifting and chaotic tides of this past year, a few things have emerged to the surface. One, daily movement is essential to our health. Two, meditation is your best friend when quiet moments are hard to find. And three, music is the glue that can hold us all together.
Steinway artist, composer, and Alo Moves member Chad Lawson knows this very well. He refers to his outdoor runs as “mental showers” — a way to cleanse the mind and welcome in new creative ideas. His daily 20-minute Transcendental Meditation practice keeps him grounded between performances, studio sessions, and the noise from everyday life. And the community response to his music has been overwhelming, if not heavy at times. People share how his music soothes their daily anxiety, how it lulls them into much-needed sleep, and how it helps them cope with the passing of their loved ones. Their emotional response was the catalyst for Lawson to create the Calm It Down podcast, an encouraging and uplifting space where listeners can settle in and find peace, even if it’s only for 15 minutes.
We spoke to Lawson about his health and fitness journey, how he finds creative inspiration as a composer, and how music can help us all stay connected.
What are your favorite ways to move and stay active?
Well, I should probably give a bit of a quick history. I was what I like to call “made on a Friday” — it refers to automobiles that are lemons. They were made on Friday because everyone was ready for the weekend and had already mentally checked out. And while I wasn’t “in the shop” so to speak, I have had a litany of health setbacks in my years, one particularly being ulcerative colitis. (To which I finally got the upper hand by yanking my entire large intestines out after three surgeries. And while I pleaded for them to reserve the busted colon, allowing me to induce my vengeance by stomping on it, they stated with a deadpan face, “We shouldn’t do that.”)
Thus began my entire transition into proper health. With this new chapter of life, I realized I couldn’t return to my life as a single musician living in NYC eating a slice of pizza accompanied by a Snapple twice a day. I was 32 at the time, not 22. I had to change.
After touring with a little-known artist named Julio Iglesias, I decided that New York was for two types of people: the really young or the really rich. And being that I was neither of those, it was time to head south to my home state of North Carolina. Upon my return to the Tar Heel State, a musician friend recommended a Chinese reflexologist. At the time I was having tremendous night sweats and wanted to start looking into more of a holistic approach to health.
“Run,” he said.
“I’m sorry?” I replied.
“You need to run. You need to sweat. Your body is trying to release toxins and this is the only way it can. Run.”
I’m a lifelong runner to be honest. I wrestled in high school but have always loved running. Never competitive — I run because I enjoy the quiet space and this is where most of my creative ideas originate. I call it a “mental shower.” But I never found the time nor the place to do long steady runs in Brooklyn without stopping every block waiting for lights or the yellow cabs. But in North Carolina, I had ample space to stretch and sweat.
With anything, once we take the initial step, our mind says, “Oh, I love this. Can we please do this more?” So I began finding more avenues of fitness. Subconsciously I was hoping to relive my high school wrestling days and enrolled into Krav Maga, which included a great deal of CrossFit as well. After two years I wanted something a bit more methodical, so I moved over to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and found my home, if you will. It was challenging, exhausting, and inspiring all in one massively sweaty hour segment.
But as everyone has experienced, Covid hit, and that meant going indoors. I could still run as I live close to a remote greenway with countless trails, but I wanted something more than running. I wanted fitness, and as a devout practitioner of Transcendental Meditation (TM), I began looking for something that perhaps didn’t involve choke holds and leg locks: yoga.
What drew you to Alo Moves?
Once Covid hit, I was flipping through Facebook like the rest of the world and saw the Alo Moves ad with Josh Kramer (honestly, who HADN’T seen that ad. Brilliant work on behalf of the social media team!). What I loved about the ad is while Josh is obviously in incredible shape, it wasn’t the over-the-top-there’s-no-way-I’ll-ever-look-like-that kind of shape. I have a relatively small build. My family DNA is not what one would call “muscular.” I have a runner’s build. But what drew me to trying Josh’s The Limit series were numerous things.
First, honesty. I love Josh’s approach to leading. He comes off as genuine, kind, and incredibly real. There are times where he’s like “My muscles are giving out, c’mon guys, let’s do this!” I found that honesty so refreshing. He’s showing us, “Look, this is challenging, but if something is worth doing then it’s going to be challenging.”
Second, time. I’m a concert pianist and composer, but with that comes an immense amount of expectations where work is concerned. My new album, You Finally Knew, releases this month (September 2020) on Decca/Universal Records. At the same time, I’m scoring for various film/TV commercials, holding countless Zoom calls since international travel has been grounded, and hosting a podcast called Calm It Down focusing on emotional health and helping people with their anxieties, etc. — all while being a husband and a father of two kids under 10. Add this to my Transcendental Meditation of 20 minutes each morning and evening, and my time is maxed! So when I saw Josh’s classes were only 15 minutes each, I said, “No way, this can’t be true. And if so, what good are they?!” Well, I ate those words rather quickly.
When I have a window, I love following Patrick Beach’s classes or Dylan Werner’s. And while it takes me about an hour to pick myself up from the floor after Patrick’s classes, I’m completely invigorated. But I usually don’t have the luxury, especially when touring, as most of my concerts are outside of the United States (meaning early morning trains or flights and late nights on a daily basis). So for me, even if I’m not motivated, I know I can do a 15-minute class and not feel as if I need to move my entire schedule back.
I will say that 95% of the classes on Alo Moves that I participate in are from simply searching classes that are 20 minutes or less. I really appreciate Alo Moves offering these and hope they continue to add more.
Who are your favorite Alo Moves instructors, and what do you enjoy about these classes?
As I mentioned earlier, I really enjoy Josh’s classes. I’ve actually had the opportunity to connect with him personally and he is as genuine as you would hope. I approached Josh about doing a guided Savasana and we also hosted a conversation around music and yoga on Amazon Music’s Twitch Channel in April of this year.
Another class I really, really enjoy is Plasticity: Fascial Stretching by Dylan Werner. I love to learn the why rather than just the how of things, and this series is absolutely perfect for this. Dylan has such a depth of knowledge and I love learning the science behind his techniques.
And finally, Patrick Beach. Honestly, I aspire to get through his Full Body Strength workouts without crying! No, to be honest, it’s incredibly challenging but again, not out of reach. I love his relaxed demeanor and how he invites us to be patient in our practice as these techniques take months to years to acquire.
How does your movement and meditation practice help you as a musician?
The first would be confidence. I notice that the better I feel about myself, the better I can bring that feeling into my music, which then in turn the audience feels. If music, art, or creativity stems from feelings, then before I even consider sitting at the piano, I ask myself, “Am I able to let go and explore musically? Or am I in a funk of how I feel about myself and what I’m trying to do?”
Additionally, Transcendental Meditation brought me to a level of mental clarity that I had never experienced before, as its purpose is to calm the distractions that our mind is constantly chasing; those random thoughts from “Did I leave the coffee pot on?” to “Is what I’m playing actually good?” (self doubt).
On a spiritual note, I’m a believer in the teachings of Christ and his manifestation of empathy and forgiveness for everyone. Unfortunately, I feel most of his message has been lost in the noise of politics and the abhorrent abuse and selfish skewing of his teachings but, as an individual, his culture of compassion and grace I bring into my personal life and as an artist. How can I emotionally sow into the lives of others with my craft if I cannot embrace them without judgement or with sincere empathy? My daily hope is to be of clear mind, clear heart, and clear body (the meaning of whole health).
Can you talk about the role music plays in relieving stress?
Most of us know the benefits of calming music and its effect on relieving stress and anxieties. A little over a year ago, I wanted to learn why this happens. I began reading as many peer reviewed articles/journals on the subject matter and have become obsessed with this subject. Studies from Oxford Press and Harvard state how listening to calming music for 3-5 minutes elevates our mood. It increases our BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), which is basically the “happy hormone” in our body.
And while there are other activities that elevate this happy hormone such as exercise, being outdoors in nature, and sharing time with friends, music is the only activity that is passive. It’s the easiest way to feel good about yourself!
I receive countless emails and messages about how my music is helping people with their anxieties and emotional struggles. This year in particular, it seems not a day goes by where I don’t hear “you are helping me through the most anxious time of my life” or “I watched my spouse breathe their last few breaths as I felt the emotional embrace with your music playing.” Heavy, heavy, heavy stuff that we are all going through. This was also the reasoning in my creating the Calm it Down podcast. I wanted to go deeper in helping listeners any way I possibly could. So, what better way than creating a podcast that is half story, half visualization/guidance. The response has been overwhelming and I could not be more grateful. As an extreme empath by nature, I had to do something to help people deal with the climate we are going through this year.
Are there any similarities between “the flow state” you find while playing music and the flow state you might experience in other activities such as meditation or movement?
Before walking on stage I will do my 20 minutes of Transcendental Meditation. This clears my mind of various distractions and is also an emotional reset. Perhaps a flight was cancelled or, like recently, I was touring Europe for 10 days while my luggage never left JFK — those distractions that can derail the purpose of what we do. Once on stage and the performance has begun, my aim is to be at a point where I’m watching my hands as if they are not my own. If my mind is in the right place and if my hands have spent the necessary time on the material that I’m playing, I want to be able to detach myself and almost be an observer. It takes a lot to get to the point and while it’s always the aim, it’s never a certainty as many other factors are included, such as the piano, the audience, the sound, etc. But when everything is just right, there have been a number of shows where I have been so overwhelmed with emotions that I literally will begin to cry while playing. I realize it’s cliché to say, but music has such a tremendous ability to reach areas of us we didn’t even realize needed tending to. I think that’s because we tend to overanalyze and attempt to “fix” what we feel is broken within ourselves. But many times we don’t realize the foundational repairs that are needed until we hear a certain piece of music that takes the cracks in our lives and makes them whole again.
How do you overcome creative blocks as a composer? Also, what are your sources of inspiration?
I tend to look at inspiration in a different light. It pains me to burst the bubble when someone asks “What inspired you with this song?” Going back to the clear mind analogy from earlier, I’m not the type of composer that writes every day. I know many composers have a routine of writing around 45 minutes each day, but that has never worked for me.
I have learned over the years to wait until my mind has written the pieces before I sit at the piano. That doesn’t mean I don’t practice my instrument each day, it just means I wait until the melodies are in my head to the point of almost annoyance!
Case in point, the album The Space Between (2013) was written in one day and recorded the next day. I had the melodies circling in my head over and over and finally sat down, wrote them out, and then recorded them. The importance, not only in writing but in life, is simply waiting until the mind and the body is ready. There’s never a fire. Never a reason to rush. What you give or offer to the world should be done so only when it’s ready.
However, where I do find inspiration is in poetry, with Mary Oliver being one of the biggest influences. I’ll usually record the album and read various works of poetry as I listen with the songs in the background. A certain song will have a certain feel that I’ll find in a poem. With the new album, You Finally Knew, every song title (with the exception of the pieces titled Waltz, Prelude, or Ballade) is inspired by the works of Mary Oliver.
What role does music play in helping people stay connected, and how are you staying connected to your audience during this socially distanced time?
To be frank, with the album releasing I should be everywhere from Toronto to Tokyo. But that is not the case. And while I had some moments of frustration, I really, really wanted to rid the word isolation and replace it with introspection. Obviously I couldn’t travel, and while playing live on Instagram is great, I didn’t feel that I was connecting with people emotionally. I wanted to do something further. And since I was stuck, I decided to turn the idea around and say “Okay, I’ve been given this window to create a new narrative; a new way of connecting with people.” To be honest, I’m almost grateful to have had this season as I don’t know if I would have created these two outlets otherwise.
The first is a weekly series called The Evening Calm held on Facebook every Sunday evening around 9:15 p.m. The reason I chose Facebook is because I can schedule the video to play at that time “locally.” So at 9:15 p.m. in Tokyo the video appears, and at 9:15 p.m. in NYC the video goes live. The whole purpose was to schedule this late in the evening as we begin to transition into sleep from the weekend. That has had a great response and I love doing it. The video is very minimal as my hope was to not “entertain” the audience. The lighting is very dark, and you only see my hands, the piano, and a candle. It’s really meant to create the calm as we’re shutting down for the night.
The second is the podcast, Calm It Down. There are numerous podcasts/apps that are centered around emotional health and guided meditation, but I wanted something a bit more encouraging and uplifting. The first half is a story that allows the listener to settle in and the second half of the podcast is taking the elements from the story and using the techniques through visualization and guidance. I purposefully keep the episodes short (15 minutes max, but most are around 10-12 minutes). The response has been overwhelming with listeners reaching out to share their stories.
When all is said and done, I simply want to help others’ emotional needs and anxieties through music and my interest is in its impact on emotional and mental wellness.
Learn more about Chad Lawson and his music at chadlawson.com. You can also check out Chad Lawson and Naya Rappaport’s guided Savasana meditation with piano at our Tune In Retreat website.
Want to practice some of Chad’s favorite Alo Moves classes mentioned in this story? Access them for free with a 14-day trial to Alo Moves.