YOGA BY LAURA NICOLE
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      musings

"Find Your Edge"

7/22/2020

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EVERY teacher I’ve ever had says this.  *I* say it, for crying out loud.  But, I also realized recently, that I haven’t expressed my own personal flavor of this concept.

When I say “find your edge,” I mean tune in with the sensation of *having* a body.  Watch all the little sensations you might feel- an itch, a tingle, a tightness or looseness- and watch it without judgement- just observe.  Now, this means to include any thoughts that come with the sensation of having a body.  OUR HEAD IS NOT SEPARATE FROM OUR BODIES.

​Do your best to connect with what you are *feeling,* both physically and emotionally, and explore taking the most predominant thing to what you consider its edge.

Often, I bring up the concept of “edge” when we are in shoulder or hip releases, as emotional content is held in those sorts of poses.  But I will begin to introduce this concept into our poses that have more to do with gentle surrender, like childs pose or savasana.

Because (and I do communicate this point often) it is **so much more important to stay in childs pose or savasana and be PRESENT than to just whip your body parts around mindlessly in your practice.**

THAT is the essence of **true** yoga, and THAT peace and centeredness is honestly what gets you to the point of doing crazy arm balances and deeper forward folds. 

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My Water Intake Sucks

7/20/2020

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“Get a thermos you like and keep it with you,”  they say.
“Put some fruit in it,” they say.
“Get this app,” they say.
"It's easy," they say.

UGH, and meanwhile, my app is dinging, I’m hydrating at a bare minimum, and I’ve got 5 bottles of different shapes and colors scattered about with berries and all sorts of random stuff floating around on the bottom.

Point is- there’s no “one size fits all” approach for literally anything.  Even drinking damn water, which should be the easiest thing ever, right?

BUT, I wanted to let y’all know, I did recently find a way that does work for me (i’m not at “optimum level,” but I have momentum)—> I set a vibrating timer on my watch for every 15 mins.  And I’m not allowed to turn it off until I take ONE sip of water.  That’s it.  A sip.  And this way, I do end up drinking about 2 liters of water in a day.

The solution wasn’t what I expected it to be, it didn’t look like any of my friend’s solutions, and it has taken much longer than what I consider the average person might take for something so basic.  But the end result is the same, and that’s what’s important, right?

Whatever it is you’re struggling with today, please take the time to appreciate the unique equation required for individual problem solving.  Why would everyone’s solutions be the same if we are all having different experiences that make us who we are?  Who cares if the solution isn’t what you expect, if you eventually get the result you want?

You are special as hell, my dear.

Keep truckin’ and seeking out the next creative solution, and it will present itself.  <3

xoxox
Laura Nicole
​

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Whew... Close Calls... Call for Some Reflection...

7/18/2020

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Thank you all for the kind messages, asking about my potentially injured hand.  It was a NON-yoga related incident, and knowing how delicate our hands and feet are, I wanted to be careful.

My goal is long-term health, not obtaining short term goals!  <3  I also try to be mindful between the difference between "wussing-out," and taking the time to explore an injury (mental or physical) to see what its limitations truly are. 

​And- let's be real- we usually know the difference when we are completely honest with ourselves!

It was actually really a great wakeup call for me to appreciate my body and all its complexities even more.  The last two lessons I taught, we concentrated on making intentional shapes as our hands and arms moved through the air, rather than just flinging them around, making mindless shapes.  We also concentrated on the intention of our hands being an extension of your heart.

Try it sometime, while washing dishes, folding laundry, or even doing a simple stretch.  Be mindful of your digits and maybe even allow yourself to be in a little awe of how crazy complex our hands are.  And how easily that can be taken away from us!

It's pretty incredible.  We are pretty incredible

You- you are incredible.

xo

​LNP
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    Lil ole yogini/artist in Japanland.  Check my art at artbylauranicole.com

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