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​Coming back from beach life is always a strange transition for me.  As much as I am sad that summer is over, I feel so recharged and ready to go.  I know when my time comes to an end,  spirit gently steps in and nudges me to remind me its time to serve.  I get such a strong push to go, sit and write.  I am ready!!!  Are you ready to continue/start this journey with me?  This week I will announce classes, and maybe some changes for Divine Soul.  Of course all of this is in Divine Timing......

It’s a beautiful day!  My family is ​settled in and back to the grind.  As I sit still this morning, I feel the need to write.  Spending time with family and friends at the beach all summer feels like a huge blessing.  Being in their presence and energy brings me back to life. The memories are still fresh in my mind.  I’m never really sure how to re-enter into the “grind”.  Slowly, gently or balls to the wall?  I’m usually a balls to the wall kind of gal.  I always take the a few days for myself.   I filled it up with workouts, meditation, and taking care of home stuff.  I begin my journey back home.........

Journey home.....what does that even mean?  What does that mean to you????  To me, its finding balance, my truths, and my passions.  What I noticed while being away...I love my family so much, I noticed that I love to be outside in fresh air, seeing the incredible panoramas of the ocean and rocks, I noticed how much i do love to be around people all the time, I noticed that my daughter is just like me, I noticed my husband is quiet and I’m alright with that, I noticed that my parents are proud of who I am and of my family. I noticed how easy it is for me to speak my truth when I’m at peace, I noticed that I love my home and space that I have created at the beach, Lastly I noticed that food is always a thing for me.  So here I begin to journey home again.

What does spirit want me to know about today and the journey.  I hear be gentle, love yourself and the rest will follow.  I pray for peace, harmony, health and love! I ask the angels to show me the way.  I close my eyes and hear, feel and know that the angels are here to guide you.  I felt a  connection while sitting on the rocks that was wildly different, not more or less than before, just different.  Practice sitting in silence while listening, being and allowing.  More to come about journaling.

Please trust the process.  Spirit is guiding us.  When things get hard, know that is mostly likely when the changes can occur.  Be honest, be patient and mostly love yourself as you are.  You are perfect right now.  Things can only get better.  Thank you for trusting me with the process.  Here we go......

So for today I leave you with this......
What does it mean for you to take a journey home?  
-Is it a physical place? If so where, what does it look/feel like? Why there?
-Is it a mental/emotional place? If so, what does it feel like to want that and why?
-Is it something different that only you know it?
-Write about the journey today, this will bring on so much more that you will begin to think about and create.

Sit for a bit, close you’re eyes and simply ask yourself.....
What is my journey home? Listen to your thoughts...... watch your images......pay attention to your impressions...... and trust that spirit is assisting you receive your answers for your highest and best.  Then write and let it flow.

Let's connect.  Contact me for an appointment, together we can decide which session is best.

Much love and many blessings!
​Laura 

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​Photo credit: Pexels

Guest blog, written by Sheila Olsen of fitsheila.com
7 Great Ways to Balance Personal Fitness and Self-Care

Working out regularly is an important part of self-care. However, there’s more to self-care than just checking off your exercise regimen. Finding ways to balance both physical fitness and self-care is an increasingly important objectiveof many people and the fitness industry as a whole. Here are some great ways you can balance your fitness routine with self-care.

Create a Relaxation Regime 
Easy things like taking your dog for a walk, cooking something healthy, or immersing yourself in a book are all ways to relax yourself. Try to create this regimen before bed so you can wind down and sleep more soundly. Good, quality sleep will help you with productivity as well as coping with some of the more difficult aspects of your day. Find a roomin your house that can operate as a place for meditation. This can be your own bedroom or another area of privacy. 

Evaluate Your Goals
It’s important to enjoy your workouts and to have goals you actually want to achieve and not just because other people have done it. One recommendation for your fitness goals is to give them some serious variety. For instance, if you typically ride a stationary bike or go running, try to throw in some swimming or a little weight training. This can work some different muscles and improve an area you’re not accustomed to working out.

Stay Hydrate 
Research has shown that modest dehydration can reduce your peak performance by up to 40 percentin some environments. Drink more water throughout the day, even when you’re not working out. Staying hydrated can decrease bloating and help you function a lot better. You don’t have to suddenly switch to drinking a gallon of water a day; just drink a little more 

Get in Some Extra Snoozing 
While we all know that being tired can reduce your physical ability, it is also true that exercise can help you sleep betterover time. They exist in a cyclical relationship. Try to darken your bedroom, and find some nice pillows. Noise machines can also help by cutting out any distractions that might keep you awake. If sleep is something you struggle with and you often feel too tired to work out, try to do easier exercises when you’re tired.

Do Recovery on Your Rest Days
According to Greatist, taking a cold bath, drinking chocolate milk, or rolling out your muscles with a foam roller are all scientifically backed waysyou can help your body recovery effectively. Do some stretching and work on massaging those sore muscles. If you work out pretty intensely throughout the week, go easy on yourself and just go for a walk. If your workouts are less intense, then your recovery days can be more active.

Eat Tasty, Healthy Food You Love
Make sure what you eat includes food you genuinely enjoy. If you don’t like salad, you can still eat other healthy food and be happy with yourself. There’s a whole world of healthy food out there that is still delicious; you just have to find what’s right for you.

Manage Stress
For the areas of your life you can control, write down solutions to problems and actively work to solve them. For the areas you can’t control (like an injury), try to find ways to accept that you can’t control it and learn how to work with it and make it work to your advantage. Meditation can also help with stress management; you can use simple breathing techniquesto help you relax. 
By creating a relaxing regimen, taking recovery days, eating healthy food, and staying hydrated, you can balance fitness with your self-care routine. It’s an important part of taking care of yourself, and you want to be able to keep pushing forward.

WOW!!! WOW!!!! WOW!!!!!  I just got back from Tony Robbin’s Unleash the Power Within conference.  I had no idea the magnitude of change I was walking into. I had been curious about these events for years.  This summer I began seeing the posts on Facebook and Instagram, I was definitely feeling the spiritual nudge.  I ignored and ignored, like most of us do, and one day, I sent a note to my business coach Gina Johnson and said, “I think I need to go, but not 100% sure”.   She of course said, “You’ll know”, and of course in Gina fashion, she says, “notice what you are noticing!”  A few days later, she comes back with, “Jump now, because there’s a buy one get one free and your friend Jessica is interested too!” That was my sign, JUST DO IT.
 
To be honest, I thought to myself, I hope he’s not all EGO (I was judging a man I didn’t even know much about)!  Tony Robbins is a true healer, and he’s a master at Coaching!  His ability to know the truth, break it down and have you see through all the bullshit is an undeniable gift from God.   You can feel the love and passion that comes out of this man. It’s as if he’s there with you personally.  There were 12, 000 people from 71 countries and I felt he was working directly with me!!!! That ‘s a gift!
 
 
I had absolutely NO IDEA what I was getting myself into.  I thought we were going to talk business strategies, some money bullshit and about pushing yourself a bit.   OH hell no!!!!   It was a major life transformation.  He touched every part of my soul!  He even had me walk on FIRE!!!!!!! Let me walk you through a teeny tiny bit of what happened, and trust me this is a tiny portion of the whole event.  I could write a book on the changes I went through in 4 long days!
 
As I went into the weekend, I was thinking to myself, do I really need this?  I’m good.  I have done sooooo much spiritual growth and healing. I’m healed, I’m good, there are some things I need some help with but all in all I am happy.  What a joke!!!!!!  There are so many layers!  He peeled me like an onion, layer after layer after layer.  I was brought to guttural screams, tears of pain and joy, releases from every part of my being!   And to my surprise, there was a huge spiritual component too.  I never imagined that possible in a place like that. We did many beautiful meditations; he talked about connection to grace and the universe.  I was blown away.  Now I’m in complete state of ecstasy!!!  He brings an incredible energy into the room to lift you, to push you, to move you beyond what you ever thought was possible.   You are hugging, sharing and high fiving thousands of stranger going through exactly the same thing.  Powerful! Jess and I have new friends for life. We are grateful to everyone that touched our hearts especially our new beautiful friends Holleigh and Andrew! Loved being part of their journey at the UPW. 
 
We are given limited breaks to eat, pee or rest!  We worked and worked and worked, we danced and danced and danced, and we screamed and screamed and screamed!!!!   We would suddenly be told that we had been standing, screaming and working for hours and hours!  How was this possible???? That’s the whole point, anything and everything is possible when you get out of the fucken way and are in the absolute beautiful state!!
 
We learned about our limiting beliefs and spent hours breaking them down until we learned the simple fact that they are complete and utter bullshit!  We then discovered and created new empowering beliefs.  My old limiting beliefs were holding me back from living the life I know I deserve.  You all know I already love my life…so my God, watch out world because here I come.  I no longer will live small!!!!!  I am a badass and I will have it all.  Before this, I had this belief that I wasn’t good enough, that I wasn’t the best at what I do, that I wasn’t ever going to be in the body I deserve, and that I wasn’t loveable!   That is so far from the truth!!!  I am connected to LOVE in all ways!!  I am the best at what I do, because no one does it like me!  I am freaking strong and this body never quits!  I walked on fire this weekend.  I am living in a new STATE.   The opportunity will be to keep it going!  Which is why I am writing to you.  I want this for me!!!! You all help me want to be the very best version of myself!  I am putting it out publically, right here right now, because it makes me accountable.  Put your truth out there, own it, let people help build you and keep you moving in the direction toward your dreams.
 
Today Monday November 12, I pledge to you and to myself that I FREAKEN ROCK!  To my family, my clients and my friends….I love you and I want this for you too!  This new adventure begins right here, right NOW.  (Insert the happy dance) If you read all of this, know you too have been touched!!!  This is not just for me!  Anytime spirit puts me somewhere magical it is my duty to share it and spread the power of love.  Everyday I ask God to use me for a purpose greater than I know myself.  I want to help guide you, move you into this beautiful state.  There is a new fire inside of me, my trust in spirit and my divine team will help me help you……lets unleash your power together!!!!  
LOVE AND LIGHT!!!
​LAURA 
 
This was written from my heart with complete passion and conviction.  I apologize for foul language, for typos and grammar.  Just needed to share it now!

​Guest blog by Jackie Waters
Photo Credits Pexels

How to Naturally Heal Your Body After a Chronic Pain Diagnosis

The latest research shows more than 1 in 10 Americans are living with chronic pain. Women and the elderly are most at risk. Chronic pain has even been linked to the current opioid epidemic. Sadly, as people struggle to manage their pain, they sometimes become addicted to painkillers, prescription pills, and even illegal drugs.

If you’ve recently been diagnosed with chronic pain, whether due to a condition like fibromyalgia or migraines or as a result of a surgery or injury, you might be devastated at the news. Although you’ll need to make some lifestyle changes in order to better manage your condition, rest assured there are things you can do to get some relief.

Luckily, we live in a world where it is possible to naturally manage your chronic pain without medication (or risk of addiction). Here is some advice for how to take your health into your own hands from the comfort of your own home:

Eliminate Pain Triggers
When it comes to pain prevention, it can be helpful to start noticing what is triggering your pain. That way, you can start to eliminate your pain triggers from your home. For instance, migraine headaches have been linked to eating (or drinking) certain foods and beverages. As part of your migraine prevention strategy, you might consider eliminating those foods and beverages from your diet.

If you’ve been recently diagnosed, you might not be aware of your pain triggers. To help determine what’s causing your pain, you could create a daily pain diary or record your symptoms on a calendar for a month or two. Be sure to include any activities, foods, drinks, sleeping positions, and any other important details from your day that may contribute to your pain. Over time, you can look for patterns that will offer clues about your pain triggers.

Lifestyle Adjustments to Reduce Pain
Sometimes, chronic pain clears up on its own. Other times, it is necessary to make adjustments to your daily routine in order to provide better self-care and pain management. There are many lifestyle strategies that can help minimize your chronic pain.

Recent evidence indicates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can reduce emotional and psychological responses that are associated with pain. You might also consider spending time in a far infrared sauna, which has recently been shown to reduce inflammation and pain symptoms among fibromyalgia patients.

Diet and Exercise
Inflammation within the body has been linked to chronic pain by researchers. Therefore, diet and exercise can be important for managing your symptoms because these lifestyle habits can reduce inflammation in the body.

For instance, you might switch to a gluten-free diet to reduce symptoms and possibly even experience remission. Meanwhile, exercise regimens like yoga, swimming, water aerobics, and Tai Chi are gentle on the body while also helping lower inflammation.

Drug-Free Pain Management
Especially when you have chronic pain, it’s important to remainever-mindful of the addictive dangers of prescription painkillers and opioids. For this reason, you might consider holistic healing modalities and other all natural methods of managing your pain. Rather than putting yourself at risk of addiction by taking pills, you could get a massage or reiki session.

Hot and cold therapies have also proven helpful for many people living with chronic pain. If you have carpal tunnel or wrist arthritis, for instance, you might alternate between a few minutes of a heating pad followed by a few minutes of an ice pack. For larger parts of the body, such as lower back pain, you might consider a hot shower followed by an ice bath.

Additionally, you might consider myofascial release, craniosacral therapy, reflexology, acupressure, or acupuncture. These are all safe and gentle healing methods involving very light pressure, which may help reduce your level of pain over time.

Although chronic pain can be debilitating at times, it doesn’t have to ruin your life. Proper pain management helps you get back to enjoying your life so you can happily live - and even thrive - again.

​As the summer of 2017 is upon us, I have a lot to reflect on.  This Memorial Day weekend was spent cleaning, painting and laying tile.  Blood, sweat and tears go into living the dream.  The only way we can have this dream house at the beach comes with sacrifice.  We rent the house out to the students of University of Rhode ISland for the academic year.  Instead of getting angry about how they treat the house, I stay in gratitude for them.  I know without them, we couldn’t have the house at all.   I have to stay grounded to this truth as we clean up after them.  My whole family work so hard the first 3 weeks of getting the house back, but then its  all ours to enjoy.  It’s still new to us, so we are slowly making it our own.
I plan on spending, as much time in gratitude that this is actually my life!!!! I have a few things planned already.  I really want to take surf lessons (insert scared face emoji here) LOL!  I plan on continuing the journey of health and fitness, as I have never felt so good.  There will be lots of boot camps on the beach.   I will find a yoga class to attend while I’m there too.  Mostly, there will be reflection, what worked and what didn’t.  Lessons learned to be able to improve when I return full time in the fall.  I’ll be working a couple days a week and taking the better part of July off.  There will be bonding between my 12 year old daughter (whether she likes it or not)!  SOOOOOOO thankful that 7th grade is done….phew that was a dooooozyy!
 
Came home to a nice surprise yesterday.  I am grateful to have come in second place in the Berlin Citizens Best of 2017 rewards for Best Massage.  What an honor to say the least.  This is a brand new business and I couldn’t be more thrilled.  Came in3rd for Best Day Spa…I’ll humbly take it.  THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for your votes.  All the hard work was worth it!  Divine Soul Energy and Massage helps so many!  I am grateful to the clients, healers, teachers and students that participate in sessions and workshops!  Cannot wait to see what next year has to offer.
This summer another answered prayer showed up…..I asked the Universe and my business coach (GinaJohnson.CO) for help serving my cleints while I live my dream!  And waaaaallllaaaaaaa in comes Lisa DiGirolamo, LMT.  Lisa has focused her bodywork style to be a deep, therapeutic blend of Eastern and Western techniques. Most recently, Lisa decided to study holistic health at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.  Her website is  anandawellness.co.   You may contact Lisa directly for appointments.  She will be sharing space at Divine Soul on Saturdays and possibly Tuesday evenings. 
I pray that all of you have a blessed summer.  Go out and live!!!  I would not be where I am at if I hadn’t learned to trust and just be!  I absolutely live by the motto, LET GO AND LET GOD!!!!!  I am sitting back and enjoying the ride.  Let go of the straps, don’t hold so tightly…..just let go!  See you at the shore!!
 
Toes in the water and ass in the sand….the only way to be!
Laura

​Hi all, I want you all to meet beautiful light worker Jaime Iannuzzi-Szyszka!  Jaime is an amazing writer and gave me an opportunity to share my thoughts last year on her blog page.  You can read more of  Jaime's blogs at https://lightlovemiracles.com/
​Happy New Year!  I hope the holidays were memorable and the New Year brings you and yours much light, love and laughter.
 
As we set our New Year's resolutions, let's reflect on 2016 and all our successes.  Let’s not focus on what we didn’t accomplish, it will get done. Trust the timing and know we can  accomplish all we hope and dream too.   
 
Be a CREATOR!  Let’s create our hopes, dreams, and goals by envisioning ourselves happy.  Let’s take a minute to just be still and present in this moment.  Close your eyes and envision
yourself happy and carefree.  What are you doing?  Who are you with?  How does this make your heart feel? Trust the universe will guide you on this path.
 
One of the happiest moments my heart felt this year was while in Disney World with my family.  I know what your thinking!  Of course she felt happy, she was in Friggen Disney World!!  Let me explain.  As we were entering The Magic Kingdom I became overwhelmed with emotion.  My heart was so heavy, my eyes teared up and suddenly I missed my mom so much it hurt.  I knew in my heart she was with us but at that moment I wanted her there in the physical sense.  I had an amazing day with my family and that night I asked the angels for a sign that she was with me in Disney.  I said angels, I see Mickey, I see castles but I need to see a butterfly.
 
The next day we were riding the monorail.  We were approaching the Polynesian Resort Hotel and the woman sitting across from me got up to exit.  Her black bag that she tossed on her shoulder while standing had a giant Monarch Butterfly.  Angels Thank You!
 
Miracles happen everyday.  This is your reminder that you are worthy of receiving.  Stay open by remaining positive and focused on the present.  Spread kindness by being the Light and Love that you are. Your Angels are listening and the Universe is calling. What will you ask 2017 to bring you?
 
Light and Love,
Jaime xoxo