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GoDeeperYogaRetreat

I am so excited to offer a 5-night, 6-day long retreat on the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii. The retreat is set on the north shore in Kapa'au from May 27th - June 1st, 2016 (Memorial Day Weekend).

I am combining all of my favorite things into one unforgettable week:

  • Daily sweaty yoga sessions morning and evening.
  • Daily sunset meditation/yin.
  • Daily goal coaching (optional).
  • 3 organic meals daily sourced from the site's farm.
  • Swag bag just for you.
  • Hiking (trails throughout the property).
  • Leisure time to journal, read, socialize, connect.
  • Spacious yurt bungalows.
  • Airport transportation.
  • Pool.

Sounds incredible right? It will be if you manage to grab a spot: The trip is OPEN for bookings.

Sign up today: Register Here!

If you have any questions, give me a call at (339)222-2903 or send me an email at [email protected]!

Do you think you can make it?

Laura Mary

2 Comments

chia seed parfait

Chia seeds pack a punch when it comes to nutrition. One ounce of chia seeds is equivalent to 18% of your daily calcium need. They are loaded with fiber, antioxidants, and omega-3 fatty acids. As you know, both dietary fiber and omega-3 fatty acids are used to help lower blood pressure and generally to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke (cardiovascular disease). Start your day with this deliciously healthy chia seed parfait. You can make it the night before and let it sit over night, it will be the perfect breakfast! Just so you know, I am calling it a parfait because I like that word better than pudding. If you layer the fruit within it becomes more parfait-like! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons of chia seeds

1 cup of almond milk

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon of maple syrup

1 dash of cinnamon

*Add as many blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and bananas  as you like to top the parfait with or layer within the parfait, up to you!

Directions

Combine all of the ingredients and mix together. Place the parfait (sealed) in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours. To be honest, I take it out sooner to get started, because it is just so good! Check the texture of the parfait, and consume once you've reached your desired texture, you might want to add more almond milk or chia seeds depending on what you like. Option to serve with fresh fruit on top and an extra dash of cinnamon.

**You may need to consult your doctor if you eat this regularly, as it has been known to lower your blood pressure. If you take blood pressure medicine, consult your doctor.**

With Love,

laura mary

 

 

NotWhattheDoctorOrdered

I have a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree. In graduate school, I learned all about the structure of health care in the United States and internationally. It is my opinion that a requirement or practicum experience (though unethical), should have been to create a fake injury and attempt to bounce our way through the real-life hurdles of Health Care in America. Alright, so I don’t really think this should have been a requirement, but I can say that I’ve learned so much from my experiences this past year. Given the recent article published in the Star Advertiser on Sunday, January 24th, 2016, I wanted to share some of my thoughts and opinions with you.

Where do I begin? I’ve rewritten the first sentence of this opinion piece several times. Mainly because it is such a personal and heated topic for me, as I have both been personally impacted and I have so much compassion for those who are in potentially life and death situations and are denied MRI scan privileges. Here is what is going on: “Hawaii Medical Service Association is imposing a new pre-authorization requirement that doctors say is delaying critical imaging tests and resulting in harmful consequences for patients.” (Kristen Consillio, January 24th, 2016).

Denying MRI scans, CT scans, and cardiac-related procedures to lower costs is a big mistake. Dr. Christopher Marsh, a Honolulu-based internal medicine physician says, “Now HMSA routinely denies most heart and X-ray tests. They think or assume your doctor doesn’t know what he/she is doing, and is too stupid to competently order tests on our own. Or is a criminal, gaming the system, and benefiting illegally from ordering tests.” Now instead of your doctor making the decision on whether you get to have an MRI, an Arizona-based company is making the decision for you. Of course this delays the whole entire process, and for many patients, they can’t afford to wait. If they are at high risk for a heart attack, they can’t wait the 30-days to get approval for a “potentially life-saving, commonly accepted heart test,” said Marsh a Honolulu doctor.

I think it is interesting that Elisa Yadao, HMSA senior vice president points out “Millions of health care dollars are spent each year on unnecessary medical care that doesn’t improve the community’s health and well-being,” why are MRI scans and other image scans cut from coverage? Has HMSA analyzed total spending for pharmaceutical drugs? Drugs which often mask symptoms of a larger problem. Sure, I could take a pain-killer drug to mask my ankle pain, but that wouldn’t fix the problem (torn tendon) and it might cause other problems (drug addiction, constipation, etc.). Denying privileges for a diagnostic procedure seems unjust to me.

HMSA argues that having this pre-authorization process in place will “further reduce the number of unnecessary tests, therefore improving patient safety and more efficiently controlling costs.” Will costs really improve if physicians who want to truly protect their patients send their patients instead to the Emergency Room, because they feel obliged to based on the Hippocratic Oath, first do no harm. In the words of Marsh, “I have no stake in ordering these tests. In most of these cases it would be malpractice not to get them. It’s been a huge stress and strain on our staff and it harms patient care.” Patients are suffering by having care delayed in an effort to save HMSA money.

Here is a little back story to explain why this is an issue of concern for me. Last April 2015 my ankle really started bothering me. For a few months, I dealt with the pain and discomfort because I’ve had it in the past and I didn’t want to deal with the headache of health insurance and simply couldn’t afford to pay out of pocket fees for doctor visits and procedures. In June 2015, I finally had to see a doctor. I had an X-ray, which as you know an X-ray can only reveal so much. I was misdiagnosed with arthritis of all things, I kind of moped around saddened by the poor treatment options and outcomes for such a diagnosis. However, I really had a hunch that my problem was tendon related, because when I moved my ankle joint, I heard and felt a clicking.

In order to get an MRI, even pre HMSA’s pre-authorization requirement, it was a costly and inconvenient process that would likely deter those who didn’t have a real problem. I had to first go to my internist to get a referral for both the MRI and to see an orthopedic surgeon, talk about unnecessary spending. I got my MRI, and the report revealed a long list of tissue problems with my ankle. It also revealed that the bones were healthy and arthritis free. It was clear from the MRI report that I needed to have reconstructive surgery to repair a large longitudinal split tear in my tendon (which was the clicking noise I heard) and that I needed to essentially tighten the stretched out ligaments from my history of ankle trauma (broken fibula and tibia, and countless sprains through high school sports and college). In short, if I hadn’t received my MRI, I would have not only worsened the torn peroneus brevis tendon but with very little stability in the ankle due to stretched ligaments, I could have broken a bone, or worse really started to develop arthritis. It seemed to me, that even before this pre-authorization business, there were already several hurdles in place for patients who were clinically advised to get an MRI.

My MRI corrected the false arthritis diagnosis I had received and the fact is without the MRI, I would be in a lot worse shape, both mentally and physically. I am thankful, I jumped through the health insurance loop before this pre-authorization rule was put into place. Because had I decided a few months later to begin the process of diagnosing and designing a treatment plan for my ankle, it would have begun (by necessity of HMSA) with physical therapy for one month. Before any joint MRI, HMSA is requiring the patient to have physical therapy for four weeks. According to Linda Rasmussen, a Kailua orthopedic surgeon, “This is a major problem. The PT will cost more than the MRI or knee surgery. The insurance companies are spending more money trying to micromanage physician decisions. This leaves less money for direct patient care. It is a huge waste of money.” Not to mention, as the Star Advertiser pointed out, it is impacting the finances of imaging centers because fewer tests are approved.

Doctors simply do not have time to deal with the administrative headache of all of this pre-authorization, not to mention they don’t get paid for it, and it undermines their expertise and medical practice. Dr. Scott McCaffrey, an occupational medicine specialist and president-elect of Hawaii Medical Association says, “This new measure is undermining the economic well-being of major imaging centers in our state as well as the hospitals. For all those reasons it’s neither good medicine nor good cost control.” So this begs the question, why? Perhaps this new rule will deter those that are in bearable pain to continue trudging through their pain, until next year when perhaps the rule will change and their condition or ailments have likely worsened, and all for what? A few dollars (perhaps) saved in 2016; HMSA will be paying thrice that in 2017, thrice!

Before the Star Advertiser published “Not What the Doctor Ordered” on January 24th, 2016, I found out first hand about the poor rule change. After compensating from my right ankle pain and bearing more weight on my left ankle, changing my standing posture, my normal gait, etc., my left ankle (the formerly healthy one), was really achy and bothering me. I went to see a local orthopedic surgeon and he said, I’d need an MRI, however, he broke the news to me on December 7th, that I would first need to go through 4-weeks of PT prior to receiving an MRI. Now, I was not about to do this for many reasons, one being that I was healing my right ankle and beginning PT for that in a few weeks. Furthermore, I had just paid my entire $6k plus deductible and was not about pay the $1k plus fee for an MRI after 4 additional weeks of PT. As an HMSA member, who had actually met the full deductible (how many people actually meet it?), I felt it was unfair for the pre-authorization rule to be instated 1-month before the year end. On January 1st my deductible was to be reset to zero and I would be responsible for any services thereafter. If I am unable to switch health insurance coverage any time outside of open-enrollment, HMSA shouldn’t be able to change the stipulations of the plan I signed up for outside of that same time period. It’s only fair.

Just because 30% of imaging is “non-value-added,” doesn’t mean I am apart of that 30%. What about the 70% who need the MRI? Especially given that my last MRI was certainly adding value in the form of a concrete diagnosis and a full reconstructive surgery. If I said to my local orthopedic, okay, I will acquiesce in order to get the MRI, I will do 4-weeks of PT; this poor decision could potentially worsen my condition. I wasn’t born yesterday, without an MRI and knowledge of my condition, I will not begin PT. Perhaps this is what HMSA is hoping for: no logical person will take a shot in the dark and begin PT without a definitive diagnosis. This strategy will lead to cost savings in the short-term, but inevitably delayed treatment costs in the long-term which are likely to be higher due to postponed treatment.

In 2015, I had my first real interaction with health insurance companies and the process of navigating myself through the mess of it. I’ve learned to read between the lines, to ask for everything in writing, to confirm coverage prior to any and all procedures, and more than anything to stand up for myself. As a paying customer, you deserve to be treated adequately and with respect. If you have a question, ask! This year was a huge learning experience for me. I have an MPH degree and it was a headache to get answers. If you don’t stand up for yourself, no one else will.

As a country we need to make health care coverage easier to navigate, for everyone; if we all have to purchase health insurance, we should actually be able to get coverage when we need it, and it shouldn’t be a battle between you and the physicians versus the insurance company. We need to work together to make all parties happy. That is my two cents, fingers crossed that HMSA changes this ludicrous pre-authorization rule before people really get hurt.

I know this wasn't my typical "happy, life is good, I love yoga and vegan food" type of post, but it needed to be said. I hope you enjoyed!

With Love,

laura mary

 

handstand

 

We are all blessed with a powerful mind-body connection. Sometimes we lose touch and disconnect. Whether our disconnection happens by consuming food until our stomach hurts, playing a sport despite having an injury which should have sidelined us, or acting in one way when our gut is recommending another course of action, we’ve all been there and can relate. Sometimes we are connected. We can meditate ourselves into a state of peace, love, and abundance. As we move through life, it’s likely that we are transitioning in and out of this connected state of mind and body. Yoga is the practice of connecting the mind and body, of ‘yoke’-ing, of finding a union between the mind, body, and soul. I am a firm believer in the idea that we are all in a practice, practice not perfection. Inevitably, we will fall out of connection, and in those moments there is a valuable lesson to be learned. It’s up to us to constantly be checking ourselves in order to stay in the flow of connection. If we stay vigilant, not only do we learn the lesson, but we can then bring ourselves back to connection. Allow me to explain what I mean.

When I was a little girl, I slammed my middle finger in a door...three times. The first time it happened, I had stitches. The second time was at a field trip to a Japanese restaurant. The third time was in the hinge of a large, dense fire door that led to my family’s garage. Upon further thinking, I believe it was four times because there was also a car door slamming incident in there somewhere. Anyways, as you can imagine, in my finger’s attempt to heal, I had a vicious sore grow. I was still quite young, all of this middle finger trauma happened in elementary school. I went to the doctor, he froze off the growth and I was left with a small wound.

I will never forget what the doctor said at this visit. He said, “I want you to look at this finger, everyday, and say, I hate you wound and I want you to go away.” At first I thought the doctor was joking, I laughed, but he was not joking. My homework was to in fact look at my finger and repeat this saying several times a day. He had me repeat the saying in front of him a few times to practice and he made sure I made eye contact with my finger. The doctor was very clear and adamant on this homework assignment and even pointed out how effective this treatment had proven with patients in the past. My wound healed and I thought it was because of my persistent requests for the wound to go away, I had followed my doctor’s instructions and done my homework.

Flash forward 20 years and here I am getting ankle surgery. You would think as a yogi, I would have the utmost trust in the process, in my body’s ability to heal, and that perhaps everything went beautifully. Surprise, it went much better as an 8-year-old than it did as a 28-year old. As an 8-year old, I was blindly following the instructions of my doctor, I had complete faith in adults, in my parents, and in the process. As a 28-year, I wanted answers. I wanted to know how every single ligament was detached and reattached, what the tendon repair process entailed, where the incisions would be made, what the healing process looked like, what the pain level was supposed to be, should I really say yes to the nerve block, and exactly how high should I be elevating my ankle? The list went on and on...I was kind of a nightmare patient. Well, maybe I was, maybe all adults are this way, maybe this was normal, I didn’t know. What I did know was that as an adult, I could see how socialized I was to fear. I had become socialized to the fear that something might go wrong. And it did.

My ankle became incredibly swollen and I had to remove the splint cast early due to pressure, which caused more swelling. Did I create this through my worrisome and distrusting thinking? Perhaps. The truth is, I was scared. I didn’t like the feeling of not being in control of my body. As an athlete, I didn’t like not being able to walk and disliked having to ask for everything. I didn’t like not knowing what the trajectory of normal healing was, I had no point of reference for myself. I wasn’t present. I didn’t want to have surgery, I needed to have surgery. There was no choice, and consequently, my mind was wandering and filled with doubts. Even with my best attempts to stay positive it was hard. I was a bit of a head case through the initial healing phase, until my doctor stepped in. He gave me a crystal clear speech on positivity. Here is a summary of what he told me:

You know this from your profession as a yoga instructor - the mind and body are linked. You need to be positive. You need this positivity for your healing. Stop doubting. Trust the process. If you have a negative thought, throw it away. Be positive.

After my doctor finished his speech, I took a quick glance at the list of questions I was prepared to ask him (not the most positive list) and decided that perhaps I better flip the page over. I turned over a new page, literally and figuratively.

And there began my practice, keyword - practice. I wanted to bring back connection. I had lost my mind-body connection. From that moment on, I went about my day with the intention of maintaining positivity throughout. Whenever I slipped away from my positive healing thoughts, my Mom stepped in and reminded me to maintain my positive outlook. Guess what, it worked and continues to work! Day by day I am getting better. Whether this is magic, the placebo effect, or time, it is working.

Thinking is medicine and the placebo effect demonstrates this because 30% of patients who receive a sugar pill rather than a prescription drug have a positive response to treatment. The thought and belief that you are getting better, makes you better! There is so much power in your thinking. As a yogi, I know that your thoughts become things. You create the world you live in through your thoughts. Your thoughts, create the lens with which you view the world. Currently, I have no option but to trust the process. If something went wrong, it already went wrong, and me worrying about how the surgery was performed while I was knocked out under anesthesia will only hurt the healing process. I knew that I needed to be present, and I needed to bring myself back into the space of connectedness in order to properly heal. Simply by disconnecting and worrying, I was doing a disservice to the healing process.

I am so thankful that my doctor stepped in and gave me a dose of my own yogic medicine, he reminded me that my thoughts matter. I found agency in my healing because I decided to embrace positivity in order to expedite my healing process. Because I understood that powerful thoughts have the ability to transform and create the world I live in. Just as I did as an 8-year old, I decided to again speak out loud to myself, “You are doing great! Heal ankle, heal, heal, heal!”.

Positive psychology was founded on this principle, the idea that we can change our negative thoughts, simply by focusing instead on positive growth. It has proven to be an effective treatment for illness. Different researchers are connecting patients’ relationships to spirituality with positive healing related to chemical changes in disease, from cancer, to HIV, to minor wound healing. The effect of positive thinking in the healing process is profound.

As I reflect on the healing experience of my minor wound as an 8-year old and compare it to my major ankle reconstructive surgery as a 28-year old, I am able to borrow the characteristics I demonstrated from my 8-year old self (trust, belief, and love over fear) and practice them now. As an 8-year old, I was unencumbered with fear, I trusted that the world was good and just and that everything would happen as it was intended to. Moreover, through the repetition of my healing mantras, my 8-year old self, unknowingly reinforced a devout belief in the healing energy of my body and mind; my 28-year old self is knowingly applying that principle - that the body was built to heal - through the repetition of similar healing mantras. I am no longer standing in my own way. I’ve realigned my mind, body, and spirit. I’ve said yes to embracing the gnarly healing process. I don’t want to inhibit my own healing. Honestly, because I felt more connected to my body, I allowed, pressure free, the healing to take over. I took pressure off of myself, because I held the positive belief that my body is functioning with my own best interest in mind. There is nothing I needed to control. I needed to let go. I needed to believe. I needed to maintain my body, mind, and spirit connection in order to facilitate healing. My body is not separate from my mind, nor my soul. They are all connected. We are all connected.

Ultimately, connection is what this life is all about. We cannot expect to find positive connections with others, when we lose our connection to ourselves. Perhaps this injury was a part of my journey to show me just how powerful the connection we seek in yoga and life can be. Our connection is everything. If we lose it, we must find it again. Just as a healthy ankle is important for optimal health so too is a healthy mind, body, and spirit connection. I lost my connection, because I was in a space of fear and distrust, and I probably slowed my healing down. I had a wakeup call from my Doctor and I found my connection again, and from there my healing took off. If you are in the process of healing, I encourage you to start by focusing on your connection. Reestablish the union of your mind, body, and spirit and watch yourself get better.

Ever more connected now than ever, I can honestly say, running, yoga, hiking, and living, here I come. I’ve opened myself up to love and healing through connection and now the Universe is on board with my decision to heal.

With Gratitude,

laura mary

 

 

PS- I wish I could pay my respects and gratitude to that doctor I had as an 8-year old who instilled in me the beautiful practice of believing in yourself and for demonstrating the powerful mind-body connection. I am forever grateful to my orthopedic surgeon for reinforcing that lesson I learned as an 8-year old and for doing a top notch job with my surgery.

Blog_Rumi

“Keep walking, though there’s no place to get to.

Don’t try to see things through the distances. That’s not for human beings.

Move within, but don’t move the way fear makes you move.

Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened.

Don’t open the door to the study and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.

Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.”

-Rumi

My undergraduate alma mater’s slogan was “creative thought matters,” at the time, I admittedly thought the slogan was a bit silly. As I was more on team jock/science nerd in the division of our liberal arts campus. The large part of my school was composed of artists: musicians, studio artists, writers, and actors. Many go on to New York City and work in theatre or open an art studio.

With every year passing, I find myself more and more aligned with that slogan. Creative thought really does matter. We all have this wonderful and vibrant yet individual creative energy within us that we must unleash. We need to go within in order to not go without, in order to not go without realizing our potential. If you left that creative bulb of energy within merely settle at your core and in your heart, because you fear expressing yourself, you might never find out what you are capable of. For instance, if I had continued taking art classes through high school, who knows what I would be doing now. But I didn’t. None of my friends were enrolled in art classes, and as a teen who was part of a very close knit group of friends, I was scared to break away from that status quo.

Flash forward to college and there I was at a hippy dippy liberal arts school, where the art classes were graded so harshly that majority of students received C’s. In college, my fear was lowering my GPA and thus I never quenched that creative thirst. Post-college, I found myself lost without athletics, I found yoga. Really found yoga. I was committed to a daily practice and I wanted more. I was thirsty for knowledge, and I wanted to quench this spiritual thirst as well. I signed up for yoga teacher training, even though every fiber of my being was terrified. I was always nervous, incredibly nervous, of speaking up in classes from elementary school all the way to college. Despite feeling my stomach twisted up in knots, I managed to hold myself up in front of a class, and share my voice through teaching asanas (postures). The process of teaching yoga and expressing my creative thought, listening to my inner voice, and sharing it all has been incredibly healing for me.

Today, this Rumi quote has reminded me that we all need to stay creative, play music, paint, dance, write, and express ourselves somehow. Tap into the inner world within you, who so badly wants to express, wants to express something to the world. Whatever you do, don’t let fear stop you. Fear of not fitting in, fear of receiving a poor grade, fear of falling, and any other fear that you’ve conjured up in your head. Let it go. Let this creative thought and expression bring your closer to finding what you love, so that what you do on a daily basis is also what you love. Today, go within, so you don’t go without. Namaste.

With Love,

laura mary

Dear Holiday Season,

You can be stressful. Almost everyone stresses out about giving gifts. I think it might be genetic that neither me nor my family members stress over gifts. A typical Christmas Eve day involves me and my four brothers pairing up to go out and go shopping for one another. Year after year, we leave our gift purchasing for the last minute and still manage to make an evening mass as per our Christmas Eve traditions. Consider the publishing of this blog post to be extremely ahead of the ball game for me. I have some gifts that I adore and want to share with you all. The gifts featured are my top choices. Consider an appropriate recipient of these presents to be fitting for a yogi/healthy eater/inquisitive thinker/aromatherapy lover/warm weather local/spiritual person of sorts. I know, I know, holidays are not about the gifts, your presence is more important than the presents you give or receive. While that will always be true, if you are buying gifts for family and friends, I wanted to help you out with my top 10 gift ideas. If you are purchasing gifts please consider these mindful presents and the kind companies that provide them. Enjoy.

1. Doterra Deep Blue Rub: This lotion is excellent for athletes, those who have aches and pains, yogi's who want some aromatherapy and or a nice muscle rub pre/post yoga class. I swear by this lotion.

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2. How Not to Die by Michael Greger, MD: Discover the foods scientifically proven to prevent and reverse disease in this must read for anyone who is interested in health and wellness.

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3. Kate Spade Journal: What better way to feel inspired to put the pen to paper than by using a journal with an inspiring quote on the cover, "with freedom, books, flowers and the Moon, who could not be happy?" Kate Spade has several, but really any journal will do!

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4. Jugo Life Juice: A gift certificate to this delicious Oahu juice spot (locations in Honolulu and Kailua) is the perfect gift for someone who wants to stay healthy through the holidays. If you don't live in Hawaii, find your nearest juice shop!

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5. Mala Beads: Whether they are worn as a beautiful piece of jewelry, a great reminder to stay present through your day, or for a meditation technique, these gorgeous beads are a great gift for the mindful yogi. Email [email protected] for orders.

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6. Manduka Props: The best yoga cork block, yoga strap, and yoga mat on the market. As a daily yoga practitioner and teacher, these are my go-to yoga essentials.

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7. Turkish Towel: Cold, traveling, showering, hitting the beach? The turkish towel is adorably stylish and it's multipurpose use makes it a perfect gift.

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8. UltraMana Coffee: 100% organic coffee from Maui. A gift for a coffee connoisseur or simply a daily coffee drinker, this coffee is delightful.

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9. Doterra Oils: These oils are excellent additions to any household. Most are suitable for diffusing, many for consuming, many for topical use. These oils are great gifts for those who are interested in aromatherapy, you can improve the smell of your laundry and spice up your stir fry dish with just a few drops of these magical oils! They are extremely potent and their medicinal value shouldn't be taken lightly. Make sure you read the Doterra PDFs on all of their products.

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10. Yoga Private with Laura Mary: Shameless plug for myself. Gift your family and friends a private yoga session or 10 with yours truly. Together we can dive deeper into your anatomy, your goals, and your yoga/life practice! Book a session with me by emailing [email protected]. Let's get healthy and happy!

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Happy Holidays! I hope you are able to find 1 or 10 beautiful gifts to spread your love and light all over town. As I mentioned earlier, your presence matters the most. What I really want for Christmas is happiness, health, and the presence of the ones I love. Enjoy the sparkly holiday spirit!

With Love,

laura mary

November,

It's been a hot minute since I've updated my blog. My apologies. I am back in Boston, MA because I just got ankle surgery on Friday (wamp, wamp). The good news is that I am on the mend. I arrived on November 1st and my surgery wasn't until November 6th. I had some time during the week to be with friends and to make it to this amazing Urban Oasis every day, twice per day. I've love this restaurant for years. I went to it when it was out in Lowell, MA. This really says a lot, because you know this if you are from Wellesley or Boston, you never head out to Lowell! It just doesn't happen. But I went many years ago, because I heard of this delicious Urban Oasis. Better yet, I heard that the Urban Oasis was heading to Boston. I loved this place so much, I applied to work there before it even opened. I was hired. Mind you, I was still working at McLean Hospital doing psychopharmacology research, taking night classes at Harvard Extension School, and  trying to keep my life balanced. In the end, I decided not to work there, this was before the Cambridge Life Alive opened roughly 5 years ago. Wow, the success that this all RAW vegetarian restaurant has had is amazing. As I mentioned earlier, I went twice per day for their yummy goodness. Below are a few photos of my favorite dishes. YUM!

If you are ever in Cambridge, MA, in Central Square - check them out!

Life Alive (an Urban Oasis)

Miso Soup with a ton of dinosaur kale and tofu. YUM! I order the bowl (aka large).

Life Alive

I order the Carrot Cake smoothie, holy heaven. This smoothie is full of so much yummy goodness, it will have you feeling so energized and blissed out, it is unreal. And it actually tastes like a carrot cake. The Carrot Cake smoothie contains hemp protein, carrot juice, banana, ice cream (vegan), rice milk, and cinnamon.

LifeAliveSmoothieLastly, for my main course, though at this point I am quite full, I order the adventurer (size bowl). This entree has the biggest pack for its punch. Chock full of vegetables (corn beets, broccoli and kale), avocado, legumes, sprouted grains, it is amazing. I sub the cheese and add avocado to make it vegan. Instead of the sauce it comes with I use the Nutri-Lemon Flax Sauce.

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If you are reading this and don't live in Boston, MA, worry not. You can use their menu and be inspired to recreated similar dishes. They are so delicious and capable of being replicated. Trust me, I've done it! If you do live in Boston, check them out. You won't be disappointed!

Thanks for reading!

With Love,

laura mary

 

Laura Mary is a brand ambassador for the following companies that support her healthy yoga lifestyle. These are brands that Laura Mary believes in and is proud to represent.

Manduka - My absolute favorite yoga mat to practice on.

Jugo Life Juice - My favorite cold-pressed juice, it's delicious!

UltraMana Coffee - The best way to start your day, yum!

With Love,

laura mary

lmhl-issue-2-volume-1

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Hello August! How is it possible that over half the year is already gone? This was supposed to be the year I rip off all of my band-aids and stand in my own strength, ready to feel and absorb all that the world sends my way. Some of my band-aids have been removed (see: Volume 1, Issue 1 of Laura Mary Healthy Living), others are in the process of being removed. Nonetheless, as the middle of the year has begun to sink in, I’ve focused more on the idea of time. Time is precious. Fleeting. In this year alone, people I love have passed away and been born. Nothing is permanent in life, and especially not time. I am practicing savoring my time, both with myself and with others, and using it efficiently to learn and grow. With that being said, I have some major events to announce that are happening in the month of August.

Starting on August 1st, I am leading a yoga teacher training at Power Yoga Hawaii (see guest post by Valerie Shaindlin, Why You Should Consider Yoga Teacher Training, on page 5). I have never led my own teacher training, so this is a huge step for me. I can’t wait to see all of the students grow into teachers over the 9- week program. Preparation for teacher training has been challenging and humbling, and it has pushed me to be a student again. Just as when I went through training, I feel inspired to continue my svadhyaya (self study). I needed the reminder more than ever to always go back to taking the seat of a student. Learning never ends! When I was asked to lead teacher training, I was nervously excited, and without hesitation I agreed to do it. I, just like everyone else, thrive in the space of challenge. While I am always aiming to deepen my yoga practice, holding my own teacher training has provided a new level of challenge for me.

In the month of August I am holding my first “Social Media Challenge”. If you participate in social media, I’m sure you’ve seen people do these before: 30 days of pictures typically focused on asanas (yoga postures), only one of Patanjali’s ashtanga (Eight Limbs) of Yoga. This one will be a little different in that it will indirectly explore the other seven limbs of Patanjali’s ashtanga. The daily challenges will include tasks like writing a letter to an old friend, or waking up to watch the sunrise. I’ll have prizes from local vendors including Lululemon Ala Moana Center, Lily Lotus, Core Power Yoga, Jugo Life Juicery, and Salty Air Hawaii. Every morning, the daily challenge, along with a few words of inspiration and encouragement, will be posted on my Instagram page and my Facebook page (links in footer). Give me a follow if you’re planning on participating!

Starting on Sunday August 2nd, and every Sunday thereafter, I will be leading a guided meditation at Power Yoga Hawaii – Kahala. Class will be 2 hours long, starting at 6:00 PM, and will consist of 1 hour of vinyasa flow followed by 1 hour of guided meditation. This is a class that I have been aching to work into my schedule for so long now. It’s not only a class style that I enjoy taking myself, but one that will offer immense benefits to my students. Over the last decade or so, meditation has received a boost in scientific research due to the increase in popularity of the practice. Several studies have demonstrated the benefits of mind/body interventions, including reduced stress and enhanced wellness through a relaxation response. Studies have also found that mind/body interventions combat adverse clinical conditions related to stress, such as hypertension, anxiety, diabetes, and aging. It’s no secret that there are clear benefits to practicing meditation, yoga, deep breathing and prayer. According to Herbert Benson, Harvard Medical School professor of medicine at Mass General and co-senior author of a groundbreaking report in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, “now for the first time we’ve identified the key physiological hubs through which these benefits might be induced.” Benson’s study out of Benson-Henry Institute for Mind/Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center found that immediate changes in the expression of genes involved in immune function, energy metabolism and insulin secretion occurred through eliciting the relaxation response (state of deep rest induced through practices such as yoga and meditation). In this class we will explore the potential of yoga and meditation as a form of preventative medicine. I’m beyond excited to offer this mediation class for my students. Feel free to drop in for yoga at 6:00 PM, meditation at 7:00 PM, or both!

All these upcoming events, combined with the fact that we are well into the second half of the year, fall into the general theme of this newsletter: why not today? Sometimes changes you make in your life are precipitated by big events,
but why wait for something colossal in to happen to bring about a change or to do something that has been on your mind or that you have wanted to do for a while? Life is too short to not believe in yourself; know that you can do it and spice up your life with some change.

It’s easy to come up with reasons why you can’t change something in your life. You may be afraid of what people may think about you. Or maybe you are not coasting
through life right now. You could already face enough adversity on a daily basis, and the last thing you need is more chaos in your daily routine. If this is the case, you are in a perfect position to make a meaningful change for yourself. A lot of times when life is rocky, we ignore very important and much needed self-care. I am here to encourage you to go the extra mile. What I mean is to try something new that challenges you, something that is for lack of a better word “hard.” It could quite literally mean walking, running, or swimming one extra mile. If, on the other hand, you have a nice routine going for youself right now, work is going well, relationships are just dandy, you follow a fitness/health plan, lah dee dah, maybe it is time to mix it up. Up-level yourself by stepping into a new challenge. What better way to jump into the present moment than to feel the nerves, to focus, and to switch up your routine for the better - to intentionally decide to grow today. The world is your oyster, as they say in New England!

Take some time today to sit and think about one way you can alter your life towards growth. It does not need to be a colossal change either. Small changes add up and are a lot easier to begin and maintain. They also create meaningful patterns for the future. In Small Change by Susan & Larry Terkel, they say, “The power of small change lies in how much easier small changes are to initiate and maintain, and how meaningful are the patterns they create.” Something as simple as saying “I love you,” to finish a phone call to a family member, as my family would do when I was growing up, is a perfect example of a small change you can make. My friends all thought it was funny and cute that my four brothers took part in saying “I love you,” but adding that little phrase to the end of a phone call with a loved one not only reinforces the message for you both, but adds to your life tens of thousands of endearments. Start today and find a new challenge that will enhance one area of your life. Remember, if life is great right now, up-level yourself. If life is plain old hard and already feels like a challenge, find a much needed self-care challenge to spice of your daily routine.

Your challenge is to peruse the space of discomfort by switching up your regular schedule and doing something that serves your heart. Maybe it is waking up in the morning 5 minutes earlier than usual to breathe deeply while moving through a Sun Salutation or two or to meditate so that you can start your day off with a more grounded perspective. Or your challenge could be career and passion oriented as it was for me, or perhaps it is a relationship challenge. You could challenge yourself to do something extra special each day for your partner or best friend, to make their life a little bit sweeter. If you are coasting, it is time to step up and find a challenge.

So how do you react when you face adversity? When something isn’t easy for you? Do you shy away, or do you stand tall with confidence and composure? Though it’s easier said than done, we should all try to thrive on challenge and change. It provides an excellent opportunity to learn about the most important relationship in your life: the one with yourself. The knowledge, strength, or boost in our relationship that we attain from a dedicated effort towards growth is great, but the overall message that our body receives is what’s really powerful. That message – “you can do it, you are good enough, you, yes you, are amazing” – is contagious. Not just for us as individuals, as we become more likely to pursue another challenge and grow but for others who see your power and feel inspired to take initiative in their path of growth as well. Change starts with the individual, sign up, check-in, decide today is the today to GROW, because you can!

With love,

laura mary

Power Yoga Hawaii TT with Laura Mary

 

Aloha Yogis,

I have officially TWO spots left in my 9-week 200-hr yoga teacher training (Yoga Alliance Certified) program at Power Yoga Hawaii. Don't miss this opportunity to go on this spiritual journey with me. Empower yourself, deepen your yoga practice, and change your life.

Email me for inquiries: [email protected]

With Love,

laura mary