“Whatever comes to you is a source of happiness.”

Yen Lu Wong grew up in Hong Kong, China. She attributes her longevity to her genes, lifestyle, mindset and connection to Buddha. Yen Lu is a movement artist, dancer and choreographer.

Yen Lu’s stage life began at a young age. She was a performer with the Chinese Peking Opera, a performance stage art that includes acrobatics, martial arts and music. In addition to traditional Chinese performance art, Yen Lu also practiced ballet as a young child in Hong Kong.

When she was growing up, Hong Kong was a British colony and traditions such as afternoon tea and ballet were commonplace. The first time she saw Margaret O’Brien perform on screen in “The Unfinished Dance,” Yen Lu was inspired to learn ballet. Through her studies, teachings and collaborations, she created her own dance expression that continues to inspire her today.

Yen Lu lives her life as a fluid movement. Her definition of a life well lived is, “Take one day at a time and when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” She believes happiness is a mindset and a choice. “Don’t do anything that doesn’t make you happy,” she says. 

Every morning, Yen Lu greets the day with Qigong, a series of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. Through Qigong, Yen Lu is able to connect her mind and body helping her focus on the day ahead.

Yen Lu believes in the power of movement. She believes that integrating movement into one’s day changes both mindset and attitude. “People rarely think of motion and emotion as being connected,” she says. “However, motion is the foundation of our being.” She incorporates movement into her lifestyle through Taiji (tai chi) and walking. Yen Lu emphasizes that movement should not have to include an elevated heart rate and sweating— movement is natural and connects our mind and our body.