#117-Living in Alignment with Lauri Andreacchio
John (Intro): I have been on a quest to learn everything I can about leadership obsessed with what makes the best leaders so good. After running companies small and large for the last 20 years, today I speak on stages all across the world to audiences who are interested in that same question. My name is John Laurito and I’m your host. I invite you to join me on this journey as we explore this topic: What makes the best leaders so good? Welcome to Tomorrow’s Leader.
John: All right, welcome to today’s episode of Tomorrow’s Leader, where we dive deep on all things leader related, related to leading yourself, of course, and leading other people. I am John Loredo, your host here today with Laurie and Dracul, who’s a great friend of mine, long-time friend, and everything from an artist to a yoga instructor and practitioner and now the host of a show called Off the Mat. Lauri, it is great to have you here.
Lauri: Thank you so much, John. It’s wonderful. So honored to be here.
John: I appreciate it. And I know we’ve been talking about getting together like this for a long time, so I’m glad to finally make it happen. We’re sitting now at the beginning of 2021, thankfully past 2020 onto a bigger and better year. So Happy New Year.
Lauri: Same to you. Yeah. Yeah. Pave the way for something much brighter to happen.
John: You got it. Well, 2020 has been a transformational year for a lot of people and I want to talk today. I know, you know we were talking about the concept and this is something I think many people just don’t necessarily understand the meaning to, but living in true alignment and we’ll talk about what that really means. But maybe a good starting point would be to really take us back to when you were first introduced to what that you’re really even is and then the difference that it started to make in your life. So why don’t we start there?
Lauri: Great. Yeah. So go way back and wind it back. I was an athlete from probably birth, so and I think I always use some sort of mental imagery. Before I was a gymnast, before I started a routine or so I would picture in my head innately and just go over and over it. So
then fast forward to high school. I was very fortunate to have our swim team coach. I was a diver, not a swimmer. But the swim team coach brought in a wonderful man who did mindfulness training. It was visualization, breathing exercises, and it hit me. Like it just exploded my world. It introduced me to the power of what your mind can do, what your thoughts can do, and how it can propel your reality. It was just amazing.
John: It’s amazing how sometimes one person coming into your life for a speech like that or somebody coming in does change your life. So now there are other people, I’m sure, in that team that heard that that didn’t do anything with it. But you did something with it. What did that start to look like? What did it start to impact?
Lauri: So, you know, of course, my performance as a diver, I remember one time in particular where I totally, just splatt. Got the judges wet, everything. I could have fallen apart or practiced what I was taught by Marcus and stopped, breathed, let that go, which wasn’t an easy thing, honestly, but then continued from there and ended up winning. So I ended up
with a failed dove and getting the judges wet just to recomposing and winning. You know, and using that for tests, for speaking engagements, for entertaining. When you went to the nurse, we did a little trick where we split our heart rate down by breathing. So when we went to get a physical, for a little fun and drop your heart rate and the nurse, it would freak her out.
John: Is that right? Wow. How low would you get your heartbeat down to?
Lauri: Pretty slow. I mean, I don’t know the beat, but enough for you know, them to check and say, are you OK? Really. Oh. And so that translated into a calmness too. So if you’re nervous, you have the ability to stop, to breathe. And when that heart’s racing, a breath is worth it. It’s golden.
John: Wow. Well, I want to talk about that for sure. I know I’ve shared that I suffered from panic attacks for 20 plus years. I know how debilitating that can be. There are so many people with anxiety and just people even that don’t have anxiety but get nervous before a presentation. So having the power to calm yourself and slow your heartbeat like that and also hit the reset button when you’ve had it. Interesting. I’ve always wondered. I’ve watched professional athletes and sometimes you’ll be watching a game or something and an athlete will make a horrible play or an error or fumble or whatnot. And you’re like, wow, how do they even recover? But you’ll watch them and their body language almost as though it didn’t even happen. And that’s why they’re as high level as they are. So, you know, that’s pretty amazing when you figured that out. Now, how hard or easy was it for you to learn to do that?
Lauri: Well, I mean, it’s a practice. So you slip in and out of it. And there are times I mean, still, I get overwhelmed and nervous but you go back to it. So it’s ongoing and I think as much as you put into it and I did practice a lot with different visualization techniques, with different, you know, even putting myself out of my comfort zone. And I remember auditioning for a play just because it was so out of my comfort zone and doing it and kind of killing it. But just the same. It took me to a place of wow, that was really nerve-racking, so I call Marcus and I’m like, what the heck? So that was something I needed to work on a little more. Yeah.
John: So it’s a skill. It’s not it’s not just that you know how to do it or don’t know how to do it. It’s a skill of being able to do better and better.
Lauri: And I even take it to the dentist and talk about freaking somebody out. I can get fillings replaced or dental work is done without Novocain. And people say, well, your pain threshold is high. No, that’s not it. It just doesn’t hurt when you can relax and when you tense up, it amplifies things. So when you can relax, it actually doesn’t hurt. You might feel something, but then you let it go and it’s gone.
John: Really that now that’s I never would have thought that. First of all, you’re talking to a guy who is the biggest baby in the world when it comes to going to the dentist. So it’s all dentists out there. I fear you. But in reality, though, so you’re saying that you can get it so that you relax enough so you don’t actually feel the physical pain or as much of the physical pain? Wow. Yeah. Yeah, that’s pretty amazing.
Lauri: And again, it was learned. I don’t know if I could jump in and do that or, you know, maybe you can. It’s up to you. It’s all, but it can be learned and. If you know, I work with athletes and some medical staff to help people, when you say shake it off, whether you’re an
athlete, whether you’re going in for a procedure, and they say, oh, just relax, well, how do you relax? So giving people the tool, allow them to relax. It slows your blood rate, your blood flow, then your heart’s pumping fewer pumps. So if you’re hurt, especially if you’re injured, you’re not going to be bleeding as much because your heart’s actually pumping as much. So, yeah, the heart to learn at the moment, if you have a little practice at it initially when you’re in those stressful situations, you can remind yourself, oh yeah.
John: Yeah, well, I want to actually practice that if we can in a minute. But a couple of questions before then. So for the audience, it doesn’t really know there are two phrases or words. One is mindfulness. I’ve had people ask, what is that or how would you describe that? What’s your definition of mindfulness?
Lauri: So, I mean, not so complicated. It’s just honestly being where you are when you’re in the moment. Not going back to the past and especially rehashing things, you know, maybe you messed up, maybe, you know, maybe it was something great you did, but it’s gone. It’s this is all you have is right now. So whatever you can do to bring yourself here and if you’re worried about what might happen, first of all, it might not happen. The only thing you really have is the present, and in Kung Fu Panda terms, it’s present. It’s a gift. It’s why it’s called the present. The breath is a way to bring yourself to the present because you’re here, your breath is with you. So if you can just observe that, it helps you to refocus on what you’re doing right now and enjoying it or. Yeah, making it be the most it can be for you.
John: Well, it’s interesting because I talk also to and I’m a parent. You’re a parent. I talk to a lot of parents who feel and recognize that there are times and maybe I don’t know if it’s worse or better with the pandemic where everybody’s working virtually, but where they recognize and their kids recognize that they’re not present physically, they’re there, but mentally they are not there somewhere else. And, you know, I know I’ve been guilty of that many times where especially years ago, I could not. It was so hard for me to focus on the present and be truly present, not just physically. So I would imagine that helps everybody, not just, you know, people in business, not just people, not just athletes, but really everybody. Absolutely it is probably an opportunity for most people.
Lauri: Yeah, and the other thing, too, and if with all that’s going on, you can be overwhelmed, you can be angry, you can be frustrated, and it’s not that you’re denying that. Let it be you. Feel it, but then kind of blow that away and just see what is actually in front of you and be with what is actually there and not what you’re imagining. Because a lot of times we just create in our head of what we think is happening, you know? Yeah.
John: Well, let me ask you this because there’s another. I always thought of there used to be these three different kinds of dimensions. It was my past, my present, my future. But then you’ve also got it’s not just living in the present, but because there are many people that are living in the present, but they’re not in their own world. They’re so tuned in to social media and everything. And you see kids that are locked into their phones all the time, that are living in life outside of their boundaries of physically where they are. They’re truly somewhere else, even though they’re so concerned with other people. How has that impacted people? And what can people be thinking about in relation to that?
Lauri: So as far as just seeing all the stimulus on social media? Is that something that can be? Absolutely. Yeah. Even so much. You forget trying to obtain something that’s
unattainable because a lot of times everybody puts out this spit-shined image of what they’re not really. And so if it triggers something in you where you feel less than or whatever it’s bringing up for you. It’s kind of pointing out what you need to work on with anybody, so I think with social media, it’s a little more challenging, too, because there’s a whole lot when we were talking about alignment to this. When you’re constantly on, constantly on your computer, constantly so one, your alignment, your physical alignment is coming in and hunching over, your thoughts are going elsewhere. So your alignment, you know, physically, emotionally, spiritually is all over the place when you’re closing down, shutting down a lot of the time. Yeah, not necessarily, but a lot of times this is what’s happening, so. Right.
John: So let’s talk about that. You know, living in alignment. That’s another one and I am a big believer in that. But again, there’s many people that don’t understand what that concept actually means. How can you explain that to people? What does living in alignment actually look like?
Lauri: What is it? Oh yeah. This is actually I’m part of a group that meets monthly and we’ve been doing it with a mentor of mine and the Andy Medico and we’ve been practicing this. And what does it mean to be in alignment? Again, it’s everything. It’s a practice. So I need that community to help me bring me back into alignment as well, which it’s your thoughts, your physical body, your spirituality. Is it all pointing in a direction that you want to go or are you scattered, are your thoughts telling you one thing when you want to go in one direction? And, you know, is your body language telling you another? It’s all it’s all connected. So what can you do? You know, it could begin with just reprogramming. I love affirmations and intentions, so reprogramming your thoughts. Even something with little when you mess up and you call yourself an idiot or you call yourself whatever other kinds of name you want to. Think about that, replace it with, you know, where are you trying to go, are you trying to be powerful, loving, kind, whatever that quality is, tell yourself you are that replace all those that you start programing that ongoing. You know, it can be that programing that you have ingrained and it goes down to yourself. So if you can start with your thoughts. Yeah. You wouldn’t talk to your children that way. Hopefully not. I mean some people do. Think about how we talk to ourselves.
John: Are most people’s self talk negative? We tend to be really tough on ourselves. Right. So how are there techniques that you use or you recommend? So if somebody is going into a big presentation and they’re psyching themselves out and they’re saying in their mind, I guess the first thing is they’ve got to be listening to their self-talk and be aware of it. But if they’re telling themselves, I’m going to screw up, I got all these people here, I’m going to screw up, I’m going to forget what I’m going to say. I’m going to get flustered. What techniques can they use?
Lauri: So first thing, take a breath, kind of assess where you are so you don’t want a denial all that’s going on. So take a few breaths and oh notice because you might not even realize the tension that you’re creating in your body. You might not realize what you’re actually saying to yourself in your mind. So take a few breaths just to notice. And then take a few breaths to start clearing, so if you, it’s simple, simple thing is just breathing in through your nose. And try not to breathe into your chest when we’re nervous, we tend to be up here, so let it sink into your belly. And let your but you can put your hands on your belly, let that expand as you inhale. As you exhale, the belly draws in, and physiologically and physically,
it’s how your body works, your diaphragm pushing your breath out, so allowing yourself to breathe a little more naturally. Inhale down the belly softens that brings the diaphragm down to bring more air into your lungs. Exhale. So a few breaths just in and out through your nose. You don’t even have to necessarily control it, just breathe in and out through your nose or in through your nose, out through your mouth, so you can do in and out in through your nose and out through your mouth, just a different technique. And through your nose and out through your nose is a little more calming if you need that. There’s another one that I do that’s into your nose. Sigh through your mouth, and that just lets everything kind of drop. So three of those go a long way. Yeah. And this just brings you down and it allows the heart rate to come down and allows you to shake things off. So from there, you can start breathing and think of your intention, think of an affirmation. You know, it could be I got this. I know what I’m doing. I’m powerful. I am anything. Just start replacing.
John: Everybody needs, you almost need a mantra, personal mantra that, you know, gets you a lot of times. Mine is just I’ll look in the mirror before a presentation and I’ll say, you got this, you know, whatever. And it’s just something that triggers a certain reaction and you kind of train yourself to that. The breathing. I never really did that much. And somebody introduced me to that. And many people have heard about that. But they kind of fluff it off. It really, really, really works. I mean, it’s almost if you do it right, it’s almost impossible to be nervous and have your anxiety high when you really do it right because it just does such a great job of relaxing you and slowing your breathing and your heart rate and everything and gets you in a better position to do what you’re going to do.
Lauri: Yeah. And if you can start to pay attention a little bit more to how you’re feeling, you might catch yourself at the beginning, just feeling that tension coming on, feeling the nervousness, you’ll start to feel your heart race. So before it gets too out of hand, bring yourself back. And it’s just such a simple thing to breathe. And if you’re I do a lot even when I’m teaching, sometimes I will kind of go in and out of poses and things. I’m like, wait a minute, I get here because my mind flutters off sometimes and it does. Yeah. So I take a breath and like, OK, I got this. Kind of easy to do in a yoga class. I was like, oh yeah, let’s just take a breath. But you do. And if you’re speaking, you don’t have to fill every second with words that pause, sometimes it’s helpful for the people hearing what you’re saying to give them a chance to digest. It’s also helpful for you to realign and refocus.
John: So you’re absolutely right with that. It’s very powerful. The pause, silent moment in a presentation is very powerful and done at the right time and the right place. So one of the things I know people feel sometimes as though, and we’ve all made bad decisions at different periods of time, think about decision making and living in alignment also impacts that. That also has a lot to do with decision making, too. It affects decision making. I guess that’s a better way to say it because I’ve seen people that have made and me included, where you make a decision that’s a bad decision. You look back, you’re like, wow, I just wasn’t in the right mindset to make that decision. I had too many emotions going on or I had too much stuff going on or you know, and you kind of think back and like, yeah, that was pretty should have been obvious at that time. How do you help people with that or what are your thoughts on that?
Lauri: The breath, you know. Sometimes those moments where you make that bad decision, it’s actually, you know, in the end, it brings you to where you need to be. But how can you
again, I think it comes down to taking that pause, taking their breaths. Sometimes you have to take yourself out of it. I find myself if any of you have teenagers, sometimes you get into it and I find myself where you’re just going back and forth and you’re getting into this confrontation. And it’s not helping, so sometimes you have to step back and I think even in the laws of physics. Opposite and equal forces, they make things more powerful, so I have a little bit of kung fu in my background, too, that, you know, that physics part of it where someone is pressing at you, if you draw back and spin and spiral, you’re taking the power away from them and bringing it back to you. If you fight it, you’re giving and it doesn’t have to be a person. It could be the situation. You’re giving it more power. So sometimes it just needs to just drop back and be interesting. See the thing when you start being mindful and at the moment and quiet your mind because a lot of times there’s all kinds of things going on in there, just chatter, chatter, chatter. When you start quieting, it starts to fall off and you hear your guidance. So whatever you believe in a higher power, whatever that is for you, you can start hearing more. But it’s telling you what to do. Yeah. Which would be more in alignment with your purpose.
John: So let me ask you this selfishly because this is my issue. My mind is going a million miles a minute and it’s very, very hard for me to slow my mind down and quiet my mind sometimes. And I’m wondering or guessing if the answer is meditation and learning how to do that. But what advice do you give to people? How do you slow your mind down?
Lauri: So, yeah, there are different ways and with, say, a yoga class, I think for especially someone who’s really, their minds really racing and they’re just starting, so it doesn’t have to be a yoga class, even as some kind of physical activity kind of works the kinks out. And that’s honestly what the movement is about in yoga. It’s not showing off that I can put my foot behind my head or it’s not really about how flexible you are, although it is because that translates to your mental flexibility. But it’s for you personally. If you store things in your body, that emotion and in certain areas, so moving it around and opening it up is helpful. However you do it and bring in mindfulness to that when you move, it helps you to be again in the moment. At the beauty of a yoga class, in the end, there’s a relaxation Shavasana, which is the hardest pose for a lot of people, and you’re just lying there. It’s if you understand why it’s hard because you can hear all the chatter. So it’s uncomfortable a lot of times because maybe you didn’t notice it before, like, oh, my God, it’s just firing off. Yeah. So my advice is when you do something physical, kind of wear yourself out in a way. And then it’s easier to sit or lie and do it for a couple of minutes. You don’t have to do it for an hour or a couple of minutes. When it gets uncomfortable, sit with it a little. Just a little more. But don’t make it so you’re tightening back up and you’re forcing it just. Yeah, yeah. And focusing on something like a candle flame or something like that helps as well.
John: OK, that’s good advice. By the way, Shavasana is my favorite part of yoga. I love yoga, but I love that ending where you get it. But maybe I don’t understand the point of it. And you bring up a great point. It’s to clear your mind what or part of it what. Let’s talk about yoga. First of all, how did you come about yoga? How did that come into your life?
Lauri: Well as we, I guess, hinted on earlier, the visualization and meditation techniques that I was getting in high school and. I was always very fitness-oriented and things, and I just stumbled on yoga, as it were, and it was I guess I was in a gym. And it was a very physical class, but there was something about it that was a little bit more like. Yes, this is physical, but
the teacher. Just hinted because, again, he had little restrictions being in a gym. But it was the complete package, it was spiritual, it was physical, it was it brought everything together for me and I was hooked. So I did a teacher training not long after. I found that the things that I was learning, you say on the mat, you take them out into your life, as I did when I was practicing with Marcus, and you use them for everything. So it’s implementing the skills that I learned in yoga, you know, continuing to learn and grow and, you know, whether the challenging pose or a technique that’s uncomfortable. Now, how can I take that? And challenge me in my life.
John: So, yeah, that’s really and I think a lot of people that take up yoga find that it does really make a big impact in your overall life. What specifically? Like, how does it translate? How does it help outside for somebody that might be that busy executive or something that feels like they don’t have any time? And while I can’t really get to a yoga class, what can they expect to get from it? If they are, are they willing to dedicate the time to it?
Lauri: They can well, expect no expectations. That’s kind of that one thing I did learn is trying to not have expectations, kind of be open to what is being presented. So if you that doesn’t mean you just don’t have a plan, but it’s I have to get this out of this, it might not look the way that you did. So you have an intention, I would say if you haven’t practiced yoga before. There are all different kinds of types. There’s all different kinds of styles. Teachers try a bunch of different kinds. Never let anybody tell you you have to move in a certain way. Some teachers will do that, you have to put your foot at this angle, you have to hold yourself in a certain way, I say try it. If it doesn’t work for your body, you do it your way. So there are certain, I guess, safety things as far as alignment in your body, but then it’s kind of universal. But then it comes and it’s personal because your body is different than anyone else’s, the way it’s put together. So the way I move isn’t going to be the way you move and. The way I teach is by trying to help you find your personal alignment. And I can’t tell you how you feel in your body. So that’s part of the process. Part of the practice is bringing that sensitivity and that awareness to how you feel all over emotionally, physically. What is this doing? Is this excruciating or is this that might be a little there might be some discomfort, but it shouldn’t be painful.
John: So so what about and I will say, you know, I as you know, I’ve done a little bit of yoga. I’ve not nearly not done nearly enough. But I will say every time I’ve done it, I feel great afterward and I say, wow, I’ve got to keep doing this. For that person who might maybe have never done it before, that might be intimidated by it because they’re like, well, I’m not physically in the shape to do it. I’m not, I’m not flexible. What do you say to somebody like that to encourage them or what could they, you know, how do they get involved?
Lauri: Yeah, that’s I think the biggest excuse that I’ll get is I’m not flexible. I can’t do yoga. Well, I don’t say should, but that’s probably exactly the reason why you should do it, because, one, it doesn’t have to look any particular way. You don’t have to look like the magazine covers the Instagram post of these extreme poses. A lot of them honestly aren’t even healthy for your body. There’s a lot of things. And again, the way I practice and the way I teach is to find what’s right for your body. If you have a tiny little bend in whatever you’re stretching or moving and that feels good to you, it’s perfect. So it’s not about being a certain shape. It’s about bringing your awareness into the moment and taking care of your body. Because I mean, we are human, we have to take care of our physical bodies, so that
translates into a whole lot, you know. You can perform better, you can live a better life, you can, um, you know, stresses that happen when you’re off the mat, you say, oh, wow, how did I breathe into this? I changed my alignment, I did something to help myself. You can take those things and use them.
John: What about now with, you know, not being able to necessarily go into a yoga studio physically to go to a class? Is it the same if they’re doing it virtually?
Lauri: Well, I mean, it’s different, but, you know, different. OK. Ultimately, the way I see it, I mean, definitely having a teacher, especially when you’re starting, is extremely helpful. But ultimately, you’re responsible for yourself in anything in life, no one can do it for you, no one. No, no matter how educated you are about the human body and things that and yoga in general, I don’t know what’s going on in front of or in your body, so I can suggest do it like this, but it’s up to you to pay attention to how you’re feeling so you can do a video, you can do a virtual class. And I do a lot of virtual classes now. So you kind of get that feedback. If you do have a question, you can ask a question. You don’t have to be in complete silence during a yoga class, but you try it out and if it doesn’t work for you, you change it to make it work for you or it might not be the right style to. There’s very, very gentle. I mean, I do a yoga kickboxing class. So they blast the music. And, you know, it’s totally inappropriate, but you have some fun.
John: Yeah. I mean, also a few years ago you started Off the Mat, which is your TV show. So what was that like? What got you to do that? What was that impetus and what was that start like?
Lauri: Well, talk about pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. I was actually asked to come in to talk about the health benefits of yoga on one of the medical shows. The voices in my head said, no way, no, I’m not going to do it. So I took a breath and said, oh, geez, I have to do this just because there was such a strong protest in my head about doing it. So, yeah, like this is something I have to do. So before I gave myself the chance to say no, I said yes. And after what I thought, because those things came up for me as far as being nervous and I breathed, there was no prep. I kind of went in, OK, you talk about this and I’ll talk about that. And I was like, OK, I had to use what I was taught really in the moment to just know what I’m talking about here, but you do get a little flustered. So after what I thought was a terrible interview, the owner of the station came and said, do you want your own show? Wow. Voices in my head said, Oh, hell no. But of course, I said yes. And it was live at the time. So that was a whole nother growth experience for me. You kind of have to let things go. I mean, you don’t have to, but it’s so much more enjoyable. If you mess up, you let it go if you say the wrong thing. So the more I let myself be just who I am. Take it or leave it. Like it. Don’t like it. Yeah. The more fun it got for me, the better. I think it came across and it was just that the growth was tremendous.
John: Yeah. Well, it’s funny. First of all, you just congratulations first of all, because that’s a huge accomplishment and it’s a great show. Thank you. And most, that’s something that most people would really scare them to death to think about doing, hosting a show and a live show. And, you know, to your point, life is life. I mean, it’s not like you hit a rewind button. I mean, every day and every moment of every day we’re living true life in a live fashion. But you said something there that I think is really valuable and that’s having fun. I mean, I think
about a turning point for me and doing speaking engagements. And sometimes you’re in front of thousands of people. It’s intimidating. It can be really scary. But I found that when I get myself in that mindset of just saying, listen, I’m going out there to have fun and I’m going to have a great time up here. And I know that if I have a presentation or a topic that I talk about, that I can make fun and have fun delivering it and talking about it, then it’s going to be enjoyable and it’s going to be a great experience. So I think most people put so much pressure on themselves and they take themselves too seriously. They take the situation too seriously. And then it’s you forget that you know what? We’re doing it because we love doing it, and it’s a passion.
Lauri: Yeah. I mean, honestly, if it doesn’t make you smile, why do it? And that’s not to say that you’re not going to hit bumps and things along the way in every waking moment is not going to be rainbows and butterflies. However, if most of your waking moments can be rainbows and butterflies, why not? I mean, I’ll take it. You know, you start from going up and down these big ebbs and flows to maybe a little more, you know, in alignment. Exactly, yeah, and it’s just fun, I mean, I play games often that I’ve been known to have a very well respected, high-end physician come in and play Operation, just that we play Bop It just to shake it up and laugh. You know, and it’s a focusing tool. Also, I think when you’re playing a game that requires some skill, especially if you’re trying that, look, I don’t know if you’ve ever played Bop It, but you have to listen. You have to have visual cues and audio cues and you have to think. You have to do this. Yeah. Simon, you know, so have fun.
John: Well, life, life should be fun. Well, this speaking of fun, this has been a lot of fun. I know we’re running short on time here and this time has flown by, but it’s been really valuable for me personally. I hope it’s been valuable. I’m sure it has for everybody, regardless of their level of involvement and being mindful or living in a lineman or their experience or lack of experience. I think they’ve taken away a lot. If you were to leave them with one thought and now going into 2021 kick-starting the year whole fresh new year, whether it’s piece of advice or maybe a, you know, a mantra of yours or just kind of a way to think through things, what might that be? What would you leave them with?
Lauri: Well, the breath, you know. Take a breath and see what, you know, dig down, maybe not so deep, and see what resonates with you, who do you want to be, where do you want to go, and have that be your personal mantra. So when the negativity, that chatter, that critic starts to come up and say hi to the critic, kind of be humored by the critic. And then send them along or her along the way and replace them with that new programming. I am… Fill in the blank. It goes a long way, you know, stop, pause, take a breath. I am. Excellent. Do something different. Take a look.
John: Great, great words of wisdom. I greatly appreciate you coming today. If people want to find out more about you or about what you do about your show. How do they get a hold of you?
Lauri: So the easiest place is my website. Lauriandreacchio.com. That’s a whole lot of letters, but I’m sure we’ll put it in the shout out info. There are links to YouTube. I have some videos that range from very, very short practices to breaths, meditation’s, to really long, not really long, but, you know, half-hour, 15 minutes to hour practices. You can do that. There are links to Off the Mat and RVN TV, social media. It’s Kali Soul Art and Yoga, which is my
brand. So there is a slew of yoga mats to help with affirmations that are inspired by my paintings in my artwork on the website, there are links to everything.
John: We will put all that in the show notes. But this has been fantastic. I really appreciate you coming and down the road a bit I’d love to have you back on.
Lauri: Thank you. Do a yoga practice.
John: Yeah, maybe we’ll do that. We’ll do a live one. That’ll be great.
Lauri: Excellent. Oh, thank you so much, John. It’s such an honor.
John: Thank you. Excellent.
John: And thanks to all of you for joining us today on today’s episode of Tomorrow’s Leader with Laurie Underreact, who is an artist, yoga instructor, and also host of Off the Mat. All of her info will be in the show notes. So you can be sure to take a visit and check her out and stay tuned for more. Great stuff coming up in future episodes, as always, like share, subscribe, go down below to the five-star rating. Give us five stars and let us know your thoughts and appreciate you joining us today. Thanks, everybody.
John (Closing): Thanks for joining us on today’s episode of Tomorrow’s Leader. For suggestions, or inquiries, about having me at your next event, or personal coaching, reach me at john@lauritogroup.com Once again, that’s john@lauritogroup.com. Thanks! Lead on!
