Episode 119 Do you want to be super fit, happy, vegan & well?
Today I talk candidly about my own journey and my next project. I am designing an online membership hub where you can access user-friendly exercise classes, recipes, and resources on fitness, happiness, yoga meditation and wellness. I also talk about other upcoming changes.
My name is Lauren. I am a writer, life coach, meditation/yoga teacher, & ASMRtist. I make ASMR and self-help videos and write books about happiness, yoga, fitness, meditation, & wellbeing.
Episode 119 Do you want to be super fit, happy, vegan & well?
Today I talk candidly about my own journey and my next project. I am designing an online membership hub where you can access user-friendly exercise classes, recipes, and resources on fitness, happiness, yoga meditation and wellness. I also talk about other upcoming changes.
My name is Lauren. I am a writer, life coach, meditation/yoga teacher, & ASMRtist. I make ASMR and self-help videos and write books about happiness, yoga, fitness, meditation, & wellbeing.
Today, we are going to talk about bullying and resilience.
Have you ever been bullied, intimidated, or called bad names?
I know I have. It is just not ok, is it? I know one thing for sure. I know that it is not ok to define yourself based on the opinion, words, or behavior of others. I know this as I allowed my sense of self to be affected by others as a child and it took a long time to work through this. Let’s take back our power and define our own sense of self. Today we are going to explore how to walk the line between resilience and bullying in the journey of life
Go and make yourself a nice cup of tea in your favorite cup and let’s have a lovely chat.
Topics covered
Bullying
Resilience
Parenting
Children’s bullying
letting go of the past
My name is Lauren. I am a writer, life coach, meditation/yoga teacher, & ASMRtist. I make ASMR and self-help videos and write books about happiness, yoga, fitness, meditation, & wellbeing.
http://beingwellwithlauren.libsyn.com/
Well! I say holding up my hands in disbelief. What a tumultuous few days. Today I discuss being vegan, the importance of ritual for happiness and well-being, bullying, and the passing of our dear family rabbit.
Go and make yourself a nice cup of tea( mine has almond milk now) in your favorite cup and let’s have a lovely chat.
Topics covered
Bullying
Rituals and happiness
Parenting
Food and the meaning of life
Food and happiness
A Vegan lifestyle
Relaxation
My name is Lauren. I am a writer, life coach, meditation/yoga teacher, & ASMRtist. I make ASMR and self-help videos and write books about happiness, yoga, fitness, meditation, & wellbeing.
Our choice of Food is the fragile tightrope between our physical self & our enlightened higher self
What are your patterns of nutrition & what do these patterns bring to your life?
How do your patterns of nutritional consumption reflect your higher self & honor your role in the community?
After all…what we eat reflects the meaning in our life
Go and make yourself a nice cup of tea in your favorite cup and let’s have a lovely chat.
Topics covered
Food
Nutrition
Food and the meaning of life
Food and happiness
A Vegan lifestyle
Listen to…
My name is Lauren. I am a writer, life coach, meditation/yoga teacher, & ASMRtist. I make ASMR and self-help videos and write books about happiness, yoga, fitness, meditation, & wellbeing.
Do you feel happy every day?
Do you notice truly notice where your thoughts are pointing and how your thoughts effect your happiness?
In other words, what you think about reflects how you feel. Today we talk about The ability to quieten your thoughts and to practice the art of noticing what is going on around you and how this directly affects your ability to feel happy.
Go and make yourself a nice cup of tea and let’s have a lovely chat.
You can also Watch and listen on You Tube here:
Today I read from my book ‘Daily Rituals For Happiness’ available on Amazon
The art of noticing
‘Another important concept, which follows on from ways of seeing, is ‘the art of noticing’. This is about paying attention, observing and witnessing every detail of your life in order that is more fully experienced. I have personally found that the more I practice the art of noticing, the more positive and optimistic my way of seeing has become. Why don’t you take a moment right now to notice what is going on around you? What sights, sounds and aromas can you detect? How does it feel to breathe the air? Pay attention to your breath and notice the exhilarating gift of inhaling and exhaling.
Walk around the area you are in, whether it is your bedroom, the kitchen, your office or the garden. Touch things, feel their texture, and listen to what you can hear. Notice one sense at a time for several moments and then go on to another sense and notice this for several moments too. Listen to sounds, one at a time. Separate out the various aromas and observe them one by one, naming each of them in your mind. Notice how you feel about each sense and try not to let your mind wander or jump forward into the future. As soon as you let your mind leap into the future, you lose this precious moment. You are in charge here. You get to choose where you allow your mind to go. You have the power to keep your mind in the present, in the here and now.
The ability to quieten your thoughts and to practice the art of noticing what is going on around you lies within your mind, and the ability to change and modify your behaviour goes hand in hand with it. Throughout this book, we will complete a number exercises to help you practice the art noticing. For now, I just want you to register that ‘noticing’ is a skill. It is one we can consciously develop and it can help us feel happier.'(Daily Rituals For Happiness’ Lauren Ostrowski Fenton)
My name is Lauren. I am a writer, life coach, meditation/yoga teacher, & ASMRtist. I make ASMR and self help videos and write books about happiness, yoga, fitness, meditation, & wellbeing.
Hello, Lauren here. I am a mum of four incredibly awesome, amazing children including twins. I am a passionate blogger, podcaster, writer, personal trainer, and You Tuber. My podcast is about spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being. Welcome to my podcast
Today I read from my book ‘Daily Rituals For Happiness’ a simple exercise I call ‘life source breathing….
“This idea of space is a really important to me because for much of my life, I simply did not allow myself any room for happiness. I was too busy rushing around, keeping fit for my next triathlon, trying to find or keep a relationship, seeking approval from others, gaining another qualification, holding onto the past, and worrying obsessively about the future. Does this sound like you? So many of us have lives like this. We are busy, distracted and bouncing around without any true focus or clarity. We keep looking towards a brighter future that never seems to arrive, rather than experiencing happiness in the now. We allow ourselves to be drawn into other people’s stories. We ruminate, we obsess and we overthink our lives. On top of that, will fill our physical environment with all kinds of possessions. We fill our bodies with junk. We try to cram so much into every single day that our lives end up being overcrowded. It is no wonder we lack the space to be happy.
Space can be defined as being a continuous area or expanse which is free and available. Just think about those words ‘free’ and ‘available’ for a moment. What do they mean to you? How do you feel when you say them out loud? What images appear in your mind? For me, I imagine feeling free to love, free to run, free to be myself, and free to be available to possibility and opportunity. I visualise myself walking along the beach, holding hands with a friend, playing with my children, or laughing with friends. I also imagine a spacious room with natural light streaming in as I meditate in contentment. You might like to write about your responses to these words or draw images of them in your journal. Ask yourself if you have a sense of freedom and availability in your life.
Often we end up being distracted and cluttered by habits, objects, people and places that take us away from ourselves and our happiness. So how do we get this back? How do we get back to our true selves? When we create space, it is like pruning back an overgrown tree and seeing the sun shine through the branches. When we clear away the physical and emotional clutter in our lives, we are making room to focus upon one sensation at a time. We allow ourselves the calmness and clarity to practice the art of noticing and to become fully aware of ourselves and our surroundings. We also rediscover what really matters to us and can begin to see who we really are.
As I went through the process of grieving after my marriage ended, there were several stages when I needed to create space in order to heal and be happy. I kept so much stuff from my marriage. I had in a treasured box every card and letter my ex-husband ever sent me, along with gifts and other things which reminded me of my married life. And yes, at times I would look inside this box and reminisce. Sometimes it is positive to hold on to memories, but in this situation, all this stuff was taking up space and keeping me stuck in the past. It was cluttering up my mind and stopping me from moving on. On one occasion, one of my friends pointed in frustration at a wedding picture still displayed on the kitchen buffet and said, “For heaven’s sake, get that dinosaur out!” After a while, my girlfriends began coming over to my house and to help me declutter. With their assistance, I cleared out the house and let go of the things I no longer needed. The funny thing was that as much as I felt better when I decluttered and gave things away, it was still hard for me to let go. I think this is because we sometimes allow our emotional baggage to define us so much that we almost become attached to it. I think that’s what it was like for me.
Life-source breathing exercise
This is a pranayamic inspired breathing exercise to help you create the space to be in the moment. I find pranayamic breathing to be incredibly healing in my own journey, especially when I feel overwhelmed or a lack of balance. Prana is a Sanskrit (ancient language of India)word for ‘life force’, and yama means ‘to control’. Pranayama therefore means regulating the breath or respiration. The way we do this is through the formal practice of exercises that control the breath in order that we may feel aware, in the present moment, and vital. Prana or life force enters the body through the action of breathing. Likewise, breath is life – not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well. According to ancient Indian belief,if the prana level is high and its flow is continuous and unencumbered, the mind remains calm, positive and motivated. However, due to lack of practice and attention to one’s breath, the breath may become restricted or limited. When our breathing does become restricted, feelings of anxiety and fear or a lack of self-awareness may increase. By practicing pranayamic breathing, you are essentially increasing your lung capacity and learning to sit with the experience of each breath.
Please be aware that the practice of pranayama is an ancient practice and requires skill. The reason I would like to use a pranayamic inspired exercise here is the pattern of our breath and the amount of lung capacity we use tells us so much about our awareness of our surroundings, our space and our self. Inspired by pranayamic breathing techniques, I call this exercise life-source breathing because it reminds us that we are alive now and brings us back to the source – which is ourselves. Breathing is one physical act which clearly relates a physical action to our emotional state. Long-term practice can help with our focus and self-awareness. This exercise is intended to be both physical and mindful. It is suitable for beginners, although I must admit that it is also one I do daily.
Before you start
As with any physical practice, it is a good idea to consult your doctor before you start this pranayamic inspired breathing. There are also some environmental requirements you will need to put in place before you begin. It is better to be in a comfortable environment with a room temperature that is neither too hot nor too cold. Make sure your airways are open and spacious. Blow your nose before you start so the air passages are clear for nasal breathing. And of course, don’t practice if you are feeling unwell. Pay attention to how you sit, whether that is on a chair or cross legged on the floor or a cushion, and keep your back straight. Remember that your practice is just that: a practice. Start with one to two minutes a day. Yes, you read correctly. I did say one to two minutes a day. This is not about quantity; it is about practice and quality. There are so many times throughout my day that I sit down for one minute and consciously do life-source breathing.
Instructions
As you sit quietly and breathe, imagine an open space and visualise the journey of the breath and the life force energy that is created through the act of nasal breathing. Really notice the here and now and connect this sense of presence to each breath. As you find your breath slowing down, gradually notice your chest, your throat, your limbs and other areas of your body separately and with focus, then let each one go. Allow yourself to physically let go the whole of your body as one. Feel the life force of breath touch and revitalise each part of the body. Give particular focus to your heart space, which is the area around your heart. This is the source of self-awareness and compassion. Sometimes I may place my left hand for a moment upon my own heart space to feel my heartbeat as I focus on the rise and fall of my chest with each breath. I find this works as a trigger for me to let go. Become aware of the relaxed sensation in your body and consciously allow that feeling to travel down your spine. During this time imagine space, infinite space, stillness and quiet. Inner calmness will then be experienced.
I want you to pause now and just observe your breath. Notice its quality and length, without any judgment or expectation. What is it telling you? Notice the effect of lengthening and deepening the breath. How does this pattern of breathing make you feel?Practice the art of noticing your breathing around particular places, spaces and people. Record your observations in your journal. Try to tune in to what your breath is telling you. When we are happy, our breath is unimpeded. Our self-awareness is at one with our physical self. By breathing and taking the time to be still, we can create the mindful space within us to allow us to feel happy.” (read from Lauren Ostrowski’s book Daily Rituals For Happiness available on Amazon
What did you learn from this exercise? Did you find it useful? I find it really helps in my daily happiness practice. What did you think? I would love to hear from you.
My name is Lauren. I am a writer, life coach, meditation/yoga teacher, & ASMRtist. I make ASMR and self help videos and write books about happiness, yoga, fitness, meditation, & wellbeing.
Episode 112 Where we choose to look illustrates who we are as individuals, as a community & as a world. Where do you decide to look?
Hello, Lauren here. I am a mum of four incredibly awesome, amazing children including twins. I am a passionate blogger, podcaster, writer, personal trainer, and You Tuber. My podcast is about spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being. Welcome to my podcast Being well with Lauren.
How do you spend your time?
Where do your thoughts wander?
What are you searching for on the internet?
After all, we are where we choose to look, search, think and direct our attention. Our bodies eventually age, but it is our thoughts and our perceptions which give us meaning and make us who we are.
Today I look at the top trending search topics on Google and discuss What this says about us as individuals, as a community, and as a world. In the top, Google searches the trending topics today are Sports, Cosmetics, Social media, terrorism, politics, and celebrities. What we search for reflects not only our core values and who we are …
BUT what we teach our children.
Where are you directing your mind?
How do we spend our lives?
What are we thinking about?
What are we looking for?
What do we search for?
…Because that is who we inherently are. That is the meaning of our lives, and that is what we impart to those around us.
Go and make yourself a nice cup of tea and let’s have a lovely chat. Today the roads are wet, and it is cold; a great day to snuggle up with a cup of tea in the company of a friend.
Topics covered
compassion
Google trending topics
empathy
world peace
cognitive thinking
perception
the meaning of life
My name is Lauren. I am a writer, life coach, meditation/yoga teacher, & ASMRtist. I make ASMR and self help videos and write books about happiness, yoga, fitness, meditation, & wellbeing.
Hello, Lauren here. I am a mum of four amazing children including twins. I am an avid blogger, podcaster, writer, personal trainer, and You Tuber. Welcome to my podcast Being well with Lauren.
Do you find yourself setting goals and not achieving them?
Do you ‘wish’ and ‘want’ to achieve goals?
Do find yourself dreaming about change?
Do you fear what others might say?
Do you find that life is just rushing past?
Let’s get rid of words such as ‘wish’ and ‘want’.
Lets stop giving others control over how we see ourselves.
Let’s stop reacting to the moment and start being in the moment.
And let’s make our goals happen.
Go and make yourself a nice cup of tea and let’s have a lovely chat. Today I have my oils burning( lavender). I am looking out to the street and have a cup of tea in hand. There are amazing patterns in the clouds, the dogs are barking, people are walking, prams are being pushed, the crows are cawing and the day has begun.
My name is Lauren. I am a writer, life coach, meditation/yoga teacher, & ASMRtist. I make ASMR and self help videos and write books about happiness, yoga, fitness, meditation, & wellbeing.
True strength comes NOT from fighting or flighting BUT from sitting in the silence
As a single Mum, age 51, with four kids, life can be challenging. One of the challenges I continue to face is the precarious ever-changing balance between mothering and maintaining my sense of self.
How do you keep a sense of calm in the mayhem of your life?
It is Sunday morning. I have just got back from basketball practice, and I have tried( emphasis on the word tried) to clean the house. I have picked up banana peels and apple cores. I have cleaned out the garage. I have washed dishes, put a wash on, Put washing away, cooked food for the next three days( I hope the food lasts that long)cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed and somehow the house still looks pretty terrible. Yes, my life with four kids life can be quite challenging. One of the issues which keep coming back to test me is how to be a Mum( I love being a Mum) without it becoming my only label. After all, Mothering is one of the labels I wear among of so many labels. I am not one story I am many stories. Sometimes in life parenting can tend to dominate our sense of self and like a tsunami drown out everything else. Thats why It is important to find ways to always maintain a sense of self, but this is easier than it sounds.
How do you so it?
How do you define the balance?
How to plan around the mayhem of life without placing yourself under too much pressure?
And let’s face it Panic just doesn’t help but staying calm in the chaos of life is hard work.
How do you remain calm?
Let’s talk through these questions and more. Go and get your cup of tea and let’s have a friendly chat.
Topics touched on:
Living in the mayhem
Work parenting balance
Parenting
Single parenting
Stress
Planning
Journaling
How to set and achieve goals
How to manage stress and fear
How to plan
My name is Lauren. I am a writer, life coach, meditation/yoga teacher, & ASMRtist. I make ASMR and self help videos and write books about happiness, yoga, fitness, meditation, & wellbeing.
Being well with Lauren 