Bio

Hi, How are you? Thanks so much for being here. I’m Laura, and I am passionate about helping others to develop a deeper sense of harmony, balance, connection and presence with themselves (and if a parent, then to help deepen the connection with their little ones, find more ease, heal and to help your little ones communicate and release emotions in a healthy way so that they will be more happy and cooperative and sleep better).  I am excited to help you achieve maximum emotional, physical and spiritual health and healing through yoga, Ayurveda and Aware Parenting.  

 

I am a yoga teacher, massage therapist, Ayurvedic Lifestyle consultant, certified mediator, mother and an Aware Parenting instructor.  I work mainly with women to create a safe, healing space for them to develop a routine of health and well-being.  Through ancient wisdom and modern incites, I teach mums-to-be and mums healing practices.  I am a mother of two divine beings: Aya born in 2015 and Eliasz born in 2018.

Both Yoga and Aware Parenting are holistic and all about love, connection and presence.

Yoga is a space for sensitivity and balance, an awakening and unification. For the past decade I have been exploring different yoga traditions, such as vinyassa, hatha, ashtanga, Jivamukti, Iyengar, yin and Sivananda. I lived in ashrams and studied with masters around the globe, completing my yoga teacher training in India (Hatha Yoga from Ayur-Yoga Eco-Ashram in 2012). My yoga classes are a journey infused with meditation & relaxation techniques, asanas (positions), pranayama (breathing), and chanting. They are a nurturing, creative blend of flow and stillness, dissolving tension and bringing joy, freedom, peace and heart energy.   

I also facilitate groups, (I have completed courses in facilitation and mediation) such as Mum’s Circles & workshops to offer a safe space for parents to express how they are doing, as well as learn techniques from the world of aware communication (non-violent communication/NVC) & Aware Parenting. These techniques are vital for developing a strong sense of our feelings & needs and expressing them through healthy expression, thus helping develop reconciliation, better cooperation and conflict prevention, which are also pivotal for health. I encourage mothers to empower themselves and their babies through deep presence together, close connection and peaceful, healthy dialogue (or release of emotions/crying for babies/laughter) to create the foundation for harmonious communication.

My whole life has been around health and healing. My father and mother were inspirational role models. My father, may he rest in peace, was a cardio-vascular and thoracic surgeon.  As a child, I spent many days visiting hospitals, and going on “rounds” to care for patients with my father.  I remember fondly how he would spend so much time caring for his patients, always so interested in their lives and well-being. He was so well-trained and devoted, yet so humble at the same time.  He helped so many people. My mother worked passionately along side my father in his office, and she also cared for our large family. My mother always prepared the most amazing Moroccan cooking (where she was originally from) to nourish the family with spices and love. 

Taking life lessons from my parents, I love learning more about healing, using the heart and how food is medicine.  I connect healing modalities of yoga, Ayurveda, massage, and emotional health with Aware Parenting.  I am also passionate about cooking, gardening and food made with love. I have a caring nurturing and relaxing approach, to help clients move into a more balanced and healthy state, their true nature, so that their bodies can heal themselves.  95% of healing comes from ourselves. Others can only assist and support our innate healing mechanisms. I apply Ayurvedic, Thai massage, Swedish/relaxation massage, Reiki and her own intuition, depending on clients’ needs when massaging.

I have studied and worked in the health and holistic field in the USA, Israel, India, Thailand, Sydney and Byron, delving deeply into ancient traditions while interweaving modern approaches. I am a member of the International Institute for Complimentary Therapies (IICT). One of my first jobs related to health and the body was in 2001 in the USA (where I grew up). I worked as an aerobics instructor and personal trainer while completing a B.A. in sociology and Middle Eastern Studies from Brandeis University. Then I pursued a Master’s degree in Conflict Resolution and Mediation at Tel Aviv University (2005) in Israel to understand conflict prevention and solutions. I also completed a course in Facilitation.

I lived in Israel for almost a decade, facilitating (in Hebrew and some Arabic) between Jewish and Arab youth in group settings. In contrast to the pain and chaos that I felt in this conflict zone, I found joy, freedom and peace when yoga and massage entered my life at this time. Yoga and massage allowed me to return to the true nature of the heart: love. I then began offering yoga as a healing tool for these Arab and Jewish teens in the community in Israel.  They loved learning about yoga, and one student even encouraged her to become a yoga teacher, which planted the seed to pursue this.

After yoga and massage studies, I found the Ayurveda College in Byron Bay, Australia in 2014, which taught principles of health, according to the Vedic ancient scriptures and how diet & lifestyle adjustments, along with Ayurvedic treatments can heal disease. 

When my first child was 6 months old, I started learning about Aware Parenting (AwP) with Marion Rose PhD in Mullumbimby.  This approach to parenting completely resonated with me, helped me shift her own patterns and learn how to help her children cry and release emotions to heal.  I am now an Aware parenting instructor so that more families can benefit from this democratic, conscious and healing approach to parenting, filled with more compassion, understanding and ease.  AwP, contrary to permissive or authoritarian parenting looks at the root cause of children’s behaviour, understanding that when children behave in challenging ways, a release of stressful/pent-up emotions (through connection + crying/tantrums or connection + play/laughter) helps them have undisturbed sleep, be calmer, be more cooperative, more relaxed and concentrate for longer periods.  Although life is busy with two children, most nights are long and restful with quality sleep. Thank you Aware Parenting!

Please check out the Aware Parenting section of the site to found out more! or book in with Laura for a consult or workshop. Laura 0415 533 311 www.ljspeace.com

Please contact Laura at [email protected] for a yoga session, massage, or Aware Parenting workshop/consultation.  

We also have a yurt retreat space (50 min from Byron Bay in the Hinterlands) with Mum’s Circles, workshops, and an option to stay there overnight.  It’s a space to disconnect from technology and recharge your batteries.  let me know if you’d  like more info!

Also, you can find info on fb: 

https://www.facebook.com/australiahealingyogaayurvedamassage/

and 

https://www.facebook.com/pg/mumsyoga/

Also, if you would like to learn more about Aware Parenting (AwP), here is a free intro to AwP workshop on fb:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/awareparentingworkshop/

Our Yurt in Modanville, NSW, Australia. (50 min from Byron Bay).