Embrace Uncertainty, It’s Ok!

by LOLO MIND BODY SOUL, posted in Health, Uncategorized

Naturally, we don’t like uncertainty. Love, health, money, relationships, weight, jobs, death, it’s all uncertain. We are uncertain about everything. And its all OK. Although for most it’s not that easy. Uncertainty is uncomfortable. That level of uncomfortableness can be different form person to person. It’s a place we avoid visiting. Sometimes by creating a plan B or C.  Not knowing the outcome of certain things is stressful. Uncertainty brings fears.  There isn’t a person that I’ve met that isn’t or hasn’t been bothered by something they are uncertain about. Myself included. Now, if this relationship we have with uncertainty wasn’t so negative on us physically and emotionally, I wouldn’t be blogging about it. But it is. I’ve grown so much over the last 10 years and have had a positive experience embracing uncertainty. Letting go of a specific outcome or expectation has opened me up in ways I couldn’t imagine. It’s freed up space in my life to live it to it’s fullest. I’ve learned to relax into uncertainty rather than stress about it. I’ll be honest, it’s a practice for me like many other things, but its possible. And you can too.

Carrying the  fears of uncertainty is like having a shadow over you. Unwanted weight bringing you down. It creates the stress response in the body. This decreases digestion, calorie burning, and a physiologically, chemically and cellular wearing down of the weakest links in your body. Chronic low-level stress of uncertainty depletes the human system and leads to unwanted symptoms and behaviors. Especially around food. When we relax into uncertainty, stress releases and health happens! Science tells us that when we are in the relaxed state, the prefrontal cortex of the brain is stimulated and active. Wisdom happens. 🙂

So I invite you to practice accepting the uncertainties in your life and relax into it. No matter what it is. It’s here whether we like it or not. Will it be a practice? Yes. Will it be uncomfortable? Yes. Will it be worth it? YES! Its part of your beautiful and soulful Journey in this world and the more we fight it and try to control it, the more we will struggle physically, emotionally and spiritually. Just think….If you can control the outcome and be 100% certain about the things you are uncertain of, what will you do with that? What are you going to do with that perfect weight or perfect job or perfect body or perfect health? Will it really matter that much? If we embrace uncertainty and focus more on what we are going to give, what we are going to create, and attract in this world, we embrace our purpose. And that is the ultimate spiritual growth. It can feel a bit risky, but I encourage to take the leap. Don’t worry you won’t fall. You’ll learn, grow and love.

LOts of LOve,

Lauren

Let Your Soul Guide You…

by LOLO MIND BODY SOUL, posted in Health, Uncategorized

Your soul being is your Core.  It’s the real you underneath, roles and responsibilities, posessions, job, status and appearance. Our body is just the shell that carries this beautiful existance around, and will often be used as a tool for to communicate your soul’s needs, wants and desires.  It’s inate ability to guide us often times goes unnoticed.

Your working yourself to death to pay for the fancy house, private school, toys, etc, and your soul is telling you to scale down and simplify. Your soul doesn’t want to go to church anymore, but you should. Or maybe your are not going to church and your soul is saying you should.  You’ve spent years training for your job, the money is good and its secure, but your soul is telling you to leave.  Any time we don’t listen to the body and soul, it only gets louder.

For most people their soul has been guiding them for years and they haven’t been listening.  Because we are so full of judgment, we take our soul’s guidance for granted. When this happens, our bodies can send symptoms like anxiety, depression, digestive issues, etc. So often I hear clients tell me, ” I don’t understand where or why this anxiety or depression is inside me.” “Where is it coming from? I have a good job, a nice house, loving family, I live a good life”. But deep inside there is an unhappiness.  We allow the ego to take over and start to live our life in a way society dictates.  Letting go of ego guides to true self and here we can really tune in to the soul’s guidance.

Listening to the calling of your soul can be a little scary.  So we ignore it. It can guide us completely out of our comfort zone and require an act of great courage. I Remember before I started my own coaching business, how scary and exilerating it was. I kept asking myself, “Will I have enough clients to pay my expenses?  Can I really help them, the way I think I can? What about the kids? With our family dynamic, will I be abe to balance my home, kids and work?” As I sit hear today, writing I can admit, It took a few months to find the balance but I did it. And listening to my soul has been a beautiful and gratifying journey for me.

You see, the soul doesn’t care about certainty, only freedom. This sense of freedom is exhilerating! I have the pleasure of being a stay at home mom to my beatiful boys and run my business part time. Exactly what my soul was calling me to do.  The energy within the body is amplified when your are in your true calling. Your soul energy :).

How do you know where your soul is guiding you? Your soul could be guiding you through, dreams, visions, thoughts, people you run into and “meant to be moments”, billboards, signs, etc.  That moment when something specific catches your attention. Next time this happens to you, tune in. Listen to your soul, hear what it has to say. Pay attention the energy within your body and don’t disregard. Your soul’s calling will not happen over night.  It may take many years, months, many jobs, and many people along the way, but it is the core of your being, and listenting to the messages it brings will take you on a beautiful journey.

LOts of LOve,

Lauren

My Journey To India

by LOLO MIND BODY SOUL, posted in Health, Uncategorized

 

I had the most amazing spiritual experience! I traveled to India to study Yoga and Meditation. I spent my time with others from all around the world who were searching and looking for something deeper within their life and within their yoga practice. I went not searching for anything in particular for myself. I gratefully found contentment and happiness within my soul quite some time ago. My travels to lndia were for nothing other than pure, un-altered wisdom and guidance from a practice that I grew to love. Yoga. I wanted to embrace it, understand and experience yoga on a deeper level. Yoga isn’t just about asanas and breathing. It isn’t just about becoming more flexible, or physically fit. We have Americanized it to such, and I knew I would need to go to the country of origin for what was calling me.

Yoga is a way of life. It’s the journey of life. A journey I had already started and embraced and craved for more; not only for myself, but for my beautiful children and whom ever I     could share it with.

I knew I’d come back from school a bit wiser and more experienced, but nothing prepared me for the life changing insight I received. Going into this experience I understood a little where yoga came from, and I understood myself pretty well. My professional practice is completely aligned with yoga. But when you align your passion and spiritual calling together on a level I can’t even begin to explain, you understand SELF in all its glorious depth. I wont get into detail of my personal experience because, well, thats for me.:) I had been walking around subconsciously knowing the yoga was my path.  We are so caught up in doing rather than being. In action rather than awareness. And when we still the natural restlessness of the body we get to know who we really are. We get to know our oneness with infinite intelligence, power and joy.  This experience, this journey, was a complete validation that the yogic life is my true path.  And I must share this! This beautiful, raw, sacred wisdom.

The word Yoga means “union”: of the individual consiousness or soul with the Universal Consiousness or Spirit. Yoga is a group of spiritual, mental, and physical practices or disciplines. And all of these practices have a specific purpose to guiding you to inner peace, to enlightenment. When you truly embrace yoga for what it was meant to be, its life changing. The journey of a Yogi strips down the walls, the delicate layers, the ego, the expectations, the judgment, physically and emotion body and you are left with pure SELF. And how beautiful it is to just BE.

I am forever grateful I had the pleasure of being embraced by yoga in its truest form, this past month. Being away from my family, and in another country, was definitely out of my comfort zone, but I found complete peace within the philosophy and wisdom of the yogic path. I am so grateful for my teachers who brought the wisdom and the light and embraced each and everyone of us. A wisdom I cannot wait to share with others. It was exhilarating. It was My Journey. It was Me. It was Yoga. I am Yoga.

Namaste.

LOts of LOve,

Lauren

Holistic Nutrition & Eating Psychology Coach
Yoga and Meditation Teacher 😉

Living on Adrenaline

by LOLO MIND BODY SOUL, posted in Health, Uncategorized

Just the other day I was visiting someone in the hospital and I drove around for twenty five minutes looking for a parking space. The hospital was packed. The rooms were completely filled. I was overwhelmed with how many sick people there were in my community and this was just one of the two hospitals near me. My heart goes out to each and everyone of them and the universe continues to pull me to make a change.

Holistic Health and Nutrition are far more popular today than ever before. More and more people are turning to nutrition and food to heal their bodies. Yet, we are still facing a crisis in both men and women’s health. It’s time we get to the bottom of it. It is time to look deeper into the “why”.

Both men and women today are living a frantic double shift of work day and night. We are working twice as many hours as our ancestors. I’m witnessing this with both my male and female clients. They are overwhelmed with emails, afraid to take vacation for fear of more work when they return, not saying “No” for fear of what people may think. We are living on adrenaline trying to be all things to all people. And its taking a toll on our health. Its affecting our partners, our children, our siblings, and parents.

So why do we do it? Because we care. It comes from a very beautiful place. We deeply care about the ones we love and want to please them. It’s because we have such beautiful hearts. For some, it’s because a long time ago we made up a story that we were not good enough the way we are. We aren’t pretty enough, slim enough, tall enough, smart enough, on time enough, etc. We spend our lives trying to please everyone so they never have to feel rejected or unloved. Trying to be all things to all people can have physical, mental and emotional consequences.

But is not just the multiple health consequences of living this way thats concerning. Its that we live our life so out of touch with our beautiful hearts. And, lost in a cloud of false belief that we aren’t enough. Too many people have lost their sense of place in this world. too many people have lost their purpose.

But the return to that sense of place is possible. A return to true presence, to true connection with our bodies and with one another. A place where there is gratitude, a place where there is calm, no anxiety, no migraines, no lack of sleep, no depression. It is time for a positive internal transformation. And that time needs to begin RIGHT NOW.

We have about 50 trillion cells in our body. The way they work is to communicate with each other. And they way they communicate is through nutrients. They get these nutrients through food. And when we live life this fast paced and full of adrenaline we compromise the way we nourish ourselves.  We aren’t getting enough nutrients for these basic biochemical processes to function. This could effect our happiness, stress reduction, ability to sleep or your ability to burn body fat. Thus, leading to weight gain and other health issues.

So what drives us in our fast paced world we created for ourselves? Adrenaline (caffeine), stress and pressure.  If you don’t believe you are enough you will live your life like you don’t have enough. You will constantly be in pursuit of having and gaining more and more.  True happiness will never be met. By doing this you put your body in a stress response, releasing many chemical reactions that lead to hormone imbalances and symptoms. Often we turn to caffeine, alcohol, and other quick fixes to help. But, this does the opposite. By bringing balance back in to our bodies, we can begin to bring balance into our life, and vise versa.

It’s time to love ourselves first. We’ve all heard that we have to help ourselves before we can be of service to others. It’s true. We need to be present with ourselves to truly be present with the ones we love.  So take a breath, slow down and stop trying to be all things to all people and be present for the ones who matter. Especially YOU.

My mission is to educate and inspire and enhance your health and happiness, and to create a ripple effect that transforms you, your family, your friends and the world.

LOts of LOve,

Lauren

Gratitude, A Spiritual Nutrient

by LOLO MIND BODY SOUL, posted in Health

It’s that time of year again. The time when we count our blessings and feel gratitude. It seems to really take off with social media posts, acts of kindness and verbalizing “Thanks” to loved ones more than usual. The holidays are a great reminder for us all to have gratitude. So why just once a year?

Practicing gratitude regularly has some great health benefits. According to University of California Professor Robert Emmons, “Throughout history philosophers and religious leaders have extolled gratitude as a virtue Integral to health and well-being. Now through a recent movement called positive psychology, mental health professionals are taking a closer look at how virtues such as gratitude can benefit our health.”

Gratitude is acknowledging the goodness in our lives and in this process we realize the world is much bigger than ourselves, whether to other people, nature, or a higher power. When we practice giving thanks on a regular basis, we open ourselves up to a greater happiness. Through gratitude we can greatly improve our health.

According to a 2012 study published Personality and individual Differences, grateful people experience fewer aches and pains and report feeling healthier than other people. They are more likely to take care of their health and exercise more often. They also are more likely to attend regular check ups, which is likely to contribute to longevity.

Robert Emmons, a leading gratitude researcher has conducted multiple studies and his research confirms that gratitude effectively increase happiness and reduces depression.

In a 2012 study by the University of Kentucky, Grateful people were most likely to behave in a prosocial manner even when others behave less kindly. They experienced a more sensitive and empathy towards others and a decreased desire to seek revenge.

Some other health benefits of the act of gratitude include, better sleep, improved self-esteem, and increased mental strength, and reduces stress. Gratitude can also release a variety of toxic emotions, and increase the immune system.

We have the ability to be grateful for what we have but we often forget to practice it. Instead of complaining about the things you deserve or don’t have, be grateful for what you do have. If you bring this simple practice into your daily lives you will see a beautiful transformation in your health and well-being.

Being grateful taps into the spiritual side of us and nurtures us in an amazing way. It’s a much-needed spiritual nutrient that we tend to be deficient in.  I thank you for taking the time tor read this and hope you have a grateful day!

LOts of LOve,

Lauren

Article resources

healthline.com – A Dose of Gratitude: How Being Thankful Can Keep you Happy

psychologytoday.com- 7 Scientifically Proven Benefits of Gratitude

webmd.com – Boost your Health With a Dose of Gratitude

Earthing

by LOLO MIND BODY SOUL, posted in Health

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Have you ever wondered why walking on the beach barefoot left you energized yet calm? Or how being  barefoot on the grass felt so good?

The earth provides so much for us by way of food and water, but did you know it provides us with its natural healing power? When we are barefoot and touch the Earth’s surface we re-connect with the Earth’s natural energy. Its called “Earthing” or being grounded. I read an article “Wearing These Can Sabotage Your Health” by Dr. Mercola about Dr. Oshman’s research into grounding and Dr. Oshman states “When you are grounded, there is a transfer of electrons from the Earth into your body. And these free electrons are probably the most potent anti-oxidants known to man.” Being grounded naturally discharges and prevents chronic inflammation in the body.

Most of us don’t walk around barefoot or even touch the Earths surface anymore. Or if we do, its not often. Through practically all of human history we as humans maintained contact with the earth. We walked barefoot, and slept directly on the ground. Today we live and work mostly insulated from the Earth. We wear rubber shoes, sleep in beds off the ground, live in houses made of wood, work in high rise buildings and we rarely go barefoot outside. We are disconnected. We are deprived of the Earths healing powers.

Earthing offers a simple remedy for the disconnect and its a simple as walking barefoot outside, swimming in the ocean, or sleeping or relaxing indoors on a conductive device designed for indoor use. When you re-connect to the Earths natural surface charge, you restore a natural electrical state in your physiology. We must connect. When we do, there can be many benefits. They include:

reduced inflammation and pain
reduced stress
increase in circulation
increased energy
better sleep
accelerated healing from surgery and injury

“The ground below is alive with natural energies. It always has been and always will. We are electrical beings living on an electrical planet. The movement of nutrients and water in our cells is regulated by electrical fields and each type of cell has a frequency range in which it operates. Your heart, brain, nervous system, muscles, and immune system are prime examples of electrical subsystems operating in a bioelectrical body. The fact is all of your movements, behaviors and actions are energized by electricity.” – Earthing by Clinton Ober, Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D. , Martin Zucker.

The Earth is calming, healing and strengthening. We know the Sun provides us with vitamin D and plants provide us with various minerals and vitamins that are essential to our health. The Earth gives us electrical nutrition in the form of electrons. by Earthing you are able to return your body to its natural state to better self regulate and self heal. It shifts the nervous system from a stress dominant sate to a much calmer one. It replaces an electrical deficiency to reduce inflammation – a common cause for disease.

The Earth is here for your taking. So the next time you go outside, let your bare feet with their rich network of nerve endings feel the Earth below you. In fact, do it as much as possible to benefit from the natural healing power of our beautiful planet.

LOts of LOve,

Lauren

A Mushroom For Your Nerves

by LOLO MIND BODY SOUL, posted in Uncategorized

As I write, I am drinking this lovely therapeutic Lion’s Mane tea. I’m a mushroom lover. I have been for many years. Although this is only one of the many I consume for health, I’m so excited the benefits of mushrooms have become more public! 10 years ago people thought I was crazy when I mentioned the health benefits of mushrooms for the body. But now they are popping up all over the health industry. I believe the more mushrooms available to the public, the better.

Lion’s Mane is a nutrient dense mushroom and is approximately 20% protein. It can help support the nervous system, memory and mood. Generally you can find it in whole form ( but not available in most grocery stores), capsule, tinctures  or powdered form (which is how I am drinking it in my tea).  

Below is a great blog by Four Sigma Foods on Lion’s Mane and it’s benefits. It also happens to be the tea I’m drinking. There are many therapeutic teas out there but mushrooms are some of the top superfoods today. I hope you will recieve the benefits mushrooms can offer and here is one way you can get Lion’s Mane.

http://www.foursigmafoods.com/four-sigma-foods-101-lions-mane-mushroom

LOts of LOve,

Lauren

FAST eating can SLOW your metabolism

by LOLO MIND BODY SOUL, posted in Uncategorized

Are you a fast eater? With the hustle and bustle of getting kids off to school or heading out the door for work, chances are, it’s true! But eating fast is not good for you. When you eat a meal fast you are putting your body in a physiological stress response -meaning the sympathetic nervous system dominance. This increases cortisol and insulin levels in the body shutting down digestion and assimilation of your food. Also it slows the metabolism down. When these hormones ( insulin/cortisol) are released in excess, it signals the body to store fat, weight, and not build muscle. In addition it can cause symptoms like digestive upset such as GURD, bloating and fatigue just to name a few.

If you have been eating fast for awhile, slowing down will take some practice. Sit down when you eat, take a few deep breathes before you begin and this will help the body to relax. When the body is in the relaxation response, its working at optimum level.

So the next time you have a meal, take a few more minutes to enjoy it and SLOW down. Your body will thank you!

LOts of LOve,

Lauren

Regulating Emotional Metabolism

by LOLO MIND BODY SOUL, posted in Health

Yesterday was a sad day for me. I had to say goodbye to my beloved grandmother. Although we knew her time was near, it’s still some what of a shock to hear the passing of a family member. As a mother, my first thought was I need to be strong for my boys. I need to push some of these emotions down for a later time so they couldn’t see their mom sad or hurting. At 10, 8, and & 7 years old, they don’t quite fully understand death and I didn’t want them to worry about me. As sad as I was, I would go about my day. There was housework to do, kids to pick up, homework, and soccer practices.

But then I realized I needed time to mourn. To do absolutely nothing but feel the pain. I needed to digest my emotions. Part of what I do is teaching people about our “Emotional Metabolism “and how we need to start listening to our emotions and digesting them so that they don’t become stuck in our body. For some, digesting and assimilating their emotions is easier than others. We digest and assimilate  almost everything we come in contact with. The air we breathe, the food we eat, our environmental surroundings, but we often don’t give ourselves permission to truly feel and digest all our emotions. Often life gets in the way and its easy to push our feelings aside or bury them deep down.

I gave myself permission to take a day. To mourn the loss of my Grandmother. To feel the pain. To cry and let it all out ,to let my body digest what it was feeling. And to not be afraid to let my children see that mommy was sad and heart broken. Death is part of life and we can’t avoid it. I want them to see that when you feel something you need to allow yourself to fully experience that emotion. To relax into the uncomfortableness of it all, so you can heal. I was never one to tell my children to “Stop crying”. I thought that was another way of saying , “Stop feeling”. It’s important for us to be present with our bodies to feel all of the emotions whether it be anger, depression, anxiety, sadness, jealousy or disappointment. When we do this we regulate our emotional metabolism which is just as important as the physical one, If not more. By regulating our emotional metabolism, we fully embody and become present and only then will we understand the message that can accompany our emotions. Had I gone on about my day and tried to hide those emotions they could’ve become stuck inside me to later create emotional chaos.

So I gave myself permission to relax into my sadness and let my body experience what it needed to. It wasn’t easy. I was quiet, and lots of tears were shed. Had I just told myself  she’s in a better place and did my best to go on with my day I don’t think I’d be feeling as I do today. And the same goes for my boys. Seeing me experience my emotions brought up great conversation and a great learning opportunity for one of life’s lessons.

We’re human and we have a range of emotions that we are constantly metabolizing.  We are biologically built to become present to the regulation and experience of our own feelings. For when we don’t they can take over causing many unwanted health symptoms.

LOts of LOve,

Lauren

The Missing Link in Nutrition

by LOLO MIND BODY SOUL, posted in Health

As a Holistic Nutrition Coach I always felt there was something missing in my approach to helping people. For some people there were a few nutritional tweaks but for others it wasn’t so easy. Although I had great results, it seemed so superficial at times. Deep down I felt there was more to health than what we put in our bodies.  Believe me, I am extremely passionate about what we put in our bodies, but my gut was telling me there is more to the story of good health.

It wasn’t long after that I discovered the psychology of eating and became a Certified Eating Psychology Coach. This was the game changer. This was the answer I’ve been searching for!

Eating psychology helped me connect with my clients on a deeper level. Many health issues like depression, anxiety, fatigue and digestive issues, weight gain or inability to lose weight are not always directly related to diet. What’s going on emotionally is equally important. Helping people find much needed pleasure, happiness in life is one of the best things about my job. That alone can alleviate unwanted symptoms, and combined with a healthy diet and lifestyle, It’s complete nourishment.

But the ultimate reward is guiding those to their purpose in life, and teaching them how to love and except the beautiful being they are. With this happiness follows, and the body goes into a relaxation response. When we are in a relaxation response we heal emotionally and physically.  To see the personal transformation one makes in my office is so rewarding! I get to witness some beautiful journeys. Finding your passion or calling in this world can have profound affects on your health. This is my purpose on earth and with the exception of my children, fills my soul like nothing else. Although improving one’s health through various holistic and nutritional approaches is something I am passionate about, Eating Psychology is the icing on the cake!

Bringing mind, body and soul together through physical and emotional nutritional strategies, is a cutting edge approach to health.  It’s the missing link in nutrition. So if your having unwanted symptoms and your feeling confused because you feel your doing it all right, maybe its time to take a deeper look into where life is calling you. What’s life asking of you? How and why is your body getting your attention?

As important as these can be, there is more to life than being “Vegan” or “Gluten Free”.  At least I’d like to think so.

LOts of LOve,

Lauren