Tag Archives: LauraMaryYoga

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GlowFlowLululemon2016

 

Glow Flow was a BLAST this year. Power Yoga Hawaii held their first ever "Glow Flow Remixed" at the Republik (the most popular concert venue/club in Honolulu). I was honored to teach the event. With an amazing sound system, an LED light, and glow painted bodies - we got our yoga on.

I made sure to request that some Justin Beiber remixes made the evening's playlist, and Dorian (DJ extraordinaire and owner of Power Yoga Hawaii happily obliged). It was so fun to move and flow freely to live music, in a club, with amazing energy, and we can't forget the glow paint.

Here is a clip of me teaching, Dorian DJ-ing, the rocking ambiance, and the flowing yogis.

With Gratitude,

laura mary

 

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day 1 - gratitude list

 

#AugustLifestyleChallenge, DAY 1, August 1st - Write a gratitude list. In the words author Melody Beattie, “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

Today, the challenge is to write a gratitude list. I want you today to begin a gratitude practice. Here is how:

  1. Write down 5 people in your life to whom you are grateful. Imagine their faces as you think about them.
  2. Write down 5 positives in the negative. Life is one big choice, success seeds disruptions, loving risks loss, creating risks failure. For example, adversity powers transformation. Look at your struggles as necessary hiccups or full-on face plants placed in your life to help you grow. What went right when things when wrong?
  3. Write down 5 pieces of gratitude in the mundane. This could be your comfy bedspread, the palm trees outside, 8-hours of sleep, or the aroma of your morning coffee. Cultivate gratitude for the simple things.
  4. Say thank you to 5 people who seek your help. By asking for your help, they improve your self-esteem and it encourages you to act with virtue. Also, research suggests it improves our physical and emotional well-being. Loved ones can be counted twice, because it’s a reciprocal relationship of giving and receiving love.
  5. Write down 5 aspects of your life that you are blessed to have...for millions of others don’t have what you do. Think...food, clean water, children, friends, eyesight, a job, teeth, a healthy heart, a car, or a roof over your head. If these aspects of your life were taken away what would life be like? Fill up with gratitude.

***Be as specific as possible gratitude works best when you are able to find something tangible and real. Be grateful for your significant other for the lovely flowers they gave you on your birthday, for your coworker who greeted you with a smile yesterday when you needed it the most, the list will go on and on. Have fun!

Don’t forget to tag me (@lauramaryyoga) and #AugustLifestyleChallenge and your local supporters: @lululemon, @drinkjugolife, @noelanihawaii, @poweryogahawaii, @corepoweryoga, @bananbowls, and @dreamfloathawaii. Happy Day 1 of the challenge, I will post daily the night before!! Reach out to me with questions at [email protected].

A gratitude practice does not mean that every day from now on is going to be roses and butterflies, no. It means that you will notice the abundant blessings around you and by doing so you will feel contentment (santosha) in the moment. Each of us has a happiness set point to which we will gravitate towards throughout of lives (Brickman & Campbell, 2013).

No matter how much we acquire or whatever feats we reach, you won’t feel lasting happiness. Our brain is wired to continue acquiring more, researchers refer to this as the hedonic treadmill. Others propose a model of happiness as a thermostat, where after we acquire something, our expectations adapt to the new state, and happiness falls back to the same level as before. Though research also suggests that this fleeting happiness has the benefit of keeping people motivated to incrementally seek higher goals, a gratitude practice can enhance the whole experience.

Practicing gratitude for what we have (even as we acquire more) helps your mind, moment-to-moment find happiness. Most strikingly, 40% of the variation in happiness is determined by intentional activities (Diener, Lucas & Scollon, 2013) aka a gratitude list. One of the simplest and most rewarding intentional activities you can do each day to increase happiness is...a daily gratitude practice. On an even more awesome note, happiness that originates in gratitude makes your loved ones happier (Amit Sood, 2013). Your efforts will multiply the effect for your whole family.  

What are you waiting for? Start your gratitude list today!

With Gratitude,

laura mary

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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

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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

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The Beauty of Beach Yoga in Hawaii

Truth be told, practicing beach yoga in San Diego is what really got me “hooked” on yoga. I would walk home after my weekly outdoor practice with a big smile plastered to my face and a new outlook and clear perspective on my day. That might sound like the typical aftermath feeling of everyone’s yoga practice, but let me explain how it is so much more.

The experience of practicing yoga outside, with the ocean in front you, the sun on your face, and the ocean air to breathe is incredibly refreshing. Your body craves the pure oxygen, is drawn to the beautiful views, and appreciates the energizing boost of vitamin D from the sun. The peaceful feeling and deep respect that comes from interacting with the environment inspires and empowers you to get outside more – because it feels good!

Simply moving your mat outside adds quite a few challenges to your practice as well. The uneven terrain challenges your balance and core work. Every posture is brought to the next level, and small musculature adjustments throughout your whole body need to happen in order to maintain alignment and balance. If holding a handstand on solid, flat ground in the studio is easy, take your mat outside once a week to deepen your practice; you won’t be disappointed with the challenge.

In yoga class, teachers often speak about gratitude. Sometimes the comments might resonate with you, other times they might not. Beach yoga fills up your cup with gratitude…better yet, your cup is simply overflowing with gratitude by the end of class. Rather than think about gratitude as a broad idea or intention for class, gratitude is simply woven into the experience of soaking up such a gorgeous and heart warming experience: yoga outdoors. I am constantly thinking, “Wow this is my life, how lucky am I?” It’s easy to forget that we live in a breathtaking paradise, but a great way to remember that your life is real and you are in fact the one living this incredibly beautiful life is to try a beach yoga class.

Not only is the outdoor yoga experience awe inspiring, it also serves as a great reminder of how yoga began: outside in the elements, teacher to student, with the breath being the foundation of the whole practice. Students feel more inspired to take full inhalations of fresh ocean air at the beach. This provides clean oxygen to the body and will help to energize you all day long. Additionally, simply seeing the majestic and strong mountains as you hold mountain pose (tadasana) helps remind students to be strong, stable, and bold like a mountain. Balancing in tree pose (vrksasana) can often be humbling; however, while holding tree pose and simultaneously witnessing the trees sway in the wind, students are reminded that their tree might sway and that it’s fine, they can still be strong.

Beach yoga is tranquil and challenging. An outdoor yoga practice will leave you feeling more connected to your environment. It will force gratitude upon you, as it is impossible to not feel grateful for such a wonderful experience. Oceanfront sunset yoga in Hawaii, does it get any better?

Laura Mary Flynn, Master of Public Health (MPH) and certified yoga instructor teaches private yoga (at your home), corporate yoga (at your office), studio classes (at Power Yoga Hawaii in Kahala), and sunset beach yoga (at Magic Island every Thursday night 5:30pm). Please visit her website for the beach yoga location (www.lauramaryflynn.com/yoga/beach-yoga/). Laura Mary is the editor-in-chief of Laura Mary Healthy Living (www.lauramaryflynn.com/newsletter). Email Laura Mary with any inquiries [email protected].

With Love,

laura mary