Finally! Website is up!!!

Laureningram.com check it out!!!!

"It's our God-forsaken right to be loved" -- Jason Mraz

So as I was packing to head home (SC) last week, it took about 4 hours, as usual. I had to try on everything and dance, sing, and play with the 3 little furry folks who follow me everywhere. I bought new music. Hence, I have a new ~amazing~ playlist, that really I think has become the sound track for my life the past couple of weeks. There is something quite unique about music; it tends to keep you company when you are lonely or feeling lost. Unfortunately, music can also evoke false feelings or even attribute to the stories that you compose in between your ears. It can be so dead on that you wonder if someone else has actually lived your life and this is a moment that we can realize the pain and beauty of life- we all experience the same things. No matter what walk of life or B.elief S.ystem you come from- in general- we are all the same, yet so spectacularly different.

I was so homesick before I left that the words of Ryan Adams rang astoundingly true through my head, "I was fractured by the fall and I wanna go home." The feeling created a pain that I am sure I have never felt before, I would wake up crying and felt on the verge of tears even as I would teach. Coming back to Portland proved to me that all the drama was created in order to simply gain perspective. I love it here! I also realized, once again, that is is our comfort zone that we love so much and our egos that crave that security whether it is home, a schedule, a relationship, or an addiction. Our minds have so much power over our bodies that stress is taken out physically and as we fine tune our instruments, we may believe we have a tight grasp on our minds but our bodies can tell us otherwise. We all come to yoga to be taken care of and for this I honor you- in all of our neediness and all of our humility, we are the same- Namaste!

I'm Yours -- Jason Mraz

Be Ok-- Ingrid Michaelson

Brand New Day -- Joshua Radin

Two-- Ryan Adams

Ten Days-- Missy Higgins

Bubbly-- Colby Caillat

Crumble -- G.Love and Special Sauce

Better In Time -- Leona Lewis

I'd Rather Be With You-- Joshua Radin

Bubble Toes-- Jack Johnson

Keep Breathing-- Ingrid Michaelson

Cry On Demand -- Ryan Adams

Blindfold-- Tristan Prettyman

Indecent Proposal-- John Barry

xoxo La

Childhood.

So I had imaginary friends, 2 of them Connie and Shawna were their names but I don't think they ever actually knew each other. I had a dress up birthday party where everyone had to dress up as something and then make up a song and dance about it. I played Barbies and apparently kissed trees- but this was the coolest...

Not sure if you remember this commercial, but I used to act it out all the time so Mom sent me the you tube vid of it and I simply had to post it... Please Enjoy!

Playlist I call "Beautiful"

This is the full playlist that I have been playing a ton in my classes the past couple months. I play different songs from it and rarely play it all the way through, but this is the order that it is in on my ipod. I have been playing "Desire" during Savasana mostly- Ryan Adams has a heavenly voice. This has been a very inspiring playlist for me through this time of transition in my life. I hope that you have enjoyed it and find it beautiful as well!

Bottom of the Barrel- Amos Lee

Behind the Moon- Matt Costa

Peace Love and Happiness- G. Love

War out of Peace- Tristan Prettyman

Watching the Wheels- John Lennon

She- Grand Avenue

Tailor Made- Colby Caillat

Say- John Mayer

Yellow (Acoustic)- Coldplay

Sadeness- Enigma

Tears and Rain- James Blunt

Wonderwall- Ryan Adams

Imagine- Eva Cassidy

Desire- Ryan Adams

Samba Sadashiva- Donna De Lory

Perimeters

"Life's what happens when we are busy making plans..."- G. Love (song: Crumble)

We create so many perimeters to live within. They start with something that we may think is minor and considering what we think is "true" or "good for" us we progressively add layer upon layer until these perimeters become walls. One day we wake breathlessly over stimulated to find that we have walled ourselves into a labyrinth where we wander aimlessly wondering how on earth it could have happened. Daily we bounce off one wall to the next like a pin ball claiming that we are, independent and educated individuals when the reality is that we are simply racking up points in order to satisfy our need of no one. This is insatiable, however. Life is a maze of oppositions; you cannot be independent with out dependence, stable with out instability, peaceful with out chaos, or still with out distraction. It is necessary to connect, to be authentic, to lean on one another when we are exhausted and radiate when we are inspired. Let's marvel at each other's depth- exchanging talents that can heal our spirits and dribble peace delightfully off our fingertips like building castles with diluted sand. It will be so imperfect.

I took out my chisel today and chipped away at a wall. I practiced disentangling myself from the comfort of the barrier, but still experienced an almost bone aching loneliness that I presume to be withdrawal. I never realized how attached I'd become to the box I built myself into but when I peeked through the chiseled hole, I observed an abundance I never imagined possible. Tomorrow I will pick up my tools and start all over again. I am grateful for every student I taught today on my "day off" each one of you have filled the space that I thought was empty and reminded me that I am more full than most. Thanks for being on my team ;)

A blog!!!

I am finally a blogger!!! Just goes to show what a little free time will do for you... :) So I have decided to start this blog for those of you who are my students or those of you who will be my students one day. I will be posting playlists from classes I teach, information on rad concerts, workshops and events, and answering questions that I get every day pertaining to yoga, anatomy, and the bliss of living. I will drop my (lengthy) bio in here for my first post so that you can learn a bit about me:

I was born with an overwhelming childhood imagination that I have yet to outgrow! I've always had a love of movement, poetry and music; the way that they could draw -so genuinely- the emotions out of me that I'd stuffed away and refused to experience first hand. I started dancing when I was 3 years old, writing when I was 8 years old, acting when I was 14 years old and finally officially began to practice hatha yoga at 17 years old. I have always been looking, searching and asking for something- something bigger, brighter and more powerful for me- I just never realized that all this already was me, I just needed to flip the switch. 

I gained valuable instruction through my theatre program that coached me to be present and watch how you and other people act and react- what does it mean and can you tell when people are being fake? There is some of you in every single character you play and some of every single character in you. The Meisner Technique taught me how to listen and diction classes how to speak, voice classes taught me how to sing and shop taught me how to build things from the ground up. I had this wealth of knowledge but once I was done with school what was I to do with it? I would move. 

The universe drew me to Portland in that odd little way that it pulls things. I hopped on the plane with 2 suitcases of clothing and my little cat under the seat. I knew no one here so I found the serenity and security of "home" on my yoga mat. I started practicing 3 times a week then 4, and 5, and 6... all of the sudden I noticed I was practicing 2 or 3 times a day even! It was amazing the clarity I would gain every time that I stepped off of the mat. But it was not until I experienced Baron Baptiste that my light flickered on.

A month before I met Baron I realized that I missed being a kid. You know, that wide eyed exploration that allows them to completely observe every single day. I set out on a mission and made it my resolution to find who I really am, commit completely to a spiritual transformation, and seek the truth of what it is that allows children to throw themselves at life and paint the walls tinkerbell pink. So I signed up for a level 1 teacher training Baptiste Bootcamp. I realized that my entire life had been building up to this moment; my world was cracked open, my heart shattered in a million pieces, I thought my brain would explode and then all of the sudden there was stillness. I wept with joy at the exposure of my radiance and humility. I proudly removed my heart from my chest and displayed it on my sleeve all the while vowing that for the rest of my life I would spill yoga on everyone I possibly could.

I learned from Baron that I already knew everything I needed to know: he reminded me of how to listen and how to speak authentically, how to sing from my heart and how to build things from the ground up. I was reminded that there is some of me in everyone and some of everyone in me, that it is the ego the causes us to act and react, what it means- how to tell when people are real or inauthentic. I realized the stillness that I experienced is also known as surrender and intuition is the best teacher I could ever follow. Since training with Baron I have taken workshops with other master teachers who have built on this solid foundation that I have established. I have been inspired by Ana Forrest, Rod Srtyker, Seane Corne, Shiva Rea, Bryan Kest, and Tim Miller. I gain insights from my fellow teachers and the students whom I have taught. I still consider myself a student, every single day I fall (some days harder than others) and I learn how to get back up. 

The classes that I teach are based on my experience on and off of my yoga mat. I stress intuition and intention with the cultivation of humility and gratitude through the exploration of every opposition. I believe that every ounce of grace comes from chaotic sloppiness whether it is in your head or expressed through your anatomy. And...I love to give hands on assistance. I believe that we can all tap into our true organic nature; we just need a guiding light and the proper tools to discover it within ourselves.