LYT

Category: Podcasts

  • 101 | Transitioning back to reality after a break | with Lara Heimann

    101 | Transitioning back to reality after a break | with Lara Heimann

    Sometimes transitioning back to reality after a break is difficult. Returning from a hike is always a bittersweet moment for me and I’ve constructed this episode around those moments when you need to return to your day-to-day life after being away for a while. I travel a lot and transitioning back to “reality” is something I do a great deal of. Here are my tips that make transitioning back far easier.

     

    1. Embrace the end of the phase you were in. The first thing is to “mourn” the end of the break. Allow yourself a short amount of time to feel sad that you are no longer on vacation (for example). Learn to be OK with the sadness of endings. This will help with the transition.
    2. Make a list of what you’re grateful for. Make an internal list of all those things that you’ve missed while you’ve been away. Those things for which you are grateful to return. This gets easier the more you transition.
    3. Decide if there is anything you can bring back to ordinary life. This third step is where you (for example) go on a retreat and become a different person. Can you bring back things you’ve learned in your daily life? This combines the memory of the break with an improved everyday reality.

     

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  • 100 | 100th episode with International Yoga Day! | with Lara Heimann

    100 | 100th episode with International Yoga Day! | with Lara Heimann

    This episode, I am celebrating the one-hundredth show of Movement By Lara, which also coincides with International Yoga Day. You’ll find out what yoga means to me and how I see yoga in relation to everyday life.

     

    I believe that we need to pay attention to alignment through yoga and then carry that into the rest of our day. Yoga is an extraordinary help here. Its beginnings date back to around 5,000 years ago and there has always been an underlying basis to the yoga, which is showing how you can be a better human in the world. It’s interesting to note that yoga wasn’t always accessible to everyone. In its early forms, it was often restricted to privileged castes and was usually practised by males.

     

    However, now anyone can learn yoga. You can learn on your own at home or you can learn it from a teacher in a group setting. Whatever you’re doing to making yourself a better human.

     

    The Bhagavad Gita teaches us that we need to do actions that do good in the world. All actions have consequences (karma). We learn to act for, not just our good but also for a greater good. Are we able to offer something bigger for the benefit of the world? Yoga can help us connect and changing things. We investigate what we can do to raise consciousness.

     

    Happy International Yoga Day!

     

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  • 099 | Lara talks to special guest: her 14-year-old son Jonah | with Jonah Heimann

    099 | Lara talks to special guest: her 14-year-old son Jonah | with Jonah Heimann

    In this episode, I chat with my fourteen-year-old son Jonah about his hiking experiences, what he gets out of the treks and what he sees as the challenges. His answers, particularly on how he overcomes the challenges, are both interesting and educational.

     

    Jonah explains how hiking gives him a break from the classroom and electronics and a chance to spend quality time with the family. He talks eloquently of the challenges of a long hike, particularly if there’s inclement weather. As Jonah says, the walking isn’t the tough part but add in wind and rain and it becomes interesting!

     

    As I say, sometimes this mental and physical struggle, is a metaphor for life. We need to struggle sometimes. As Jonah says, his experience, not just in hiking but also in situations like playing basketball is to tell himself that he can do it, to change his mental perception.]

     

    As I say to him, our lesson to him is to never let yourself get down. Jonah talks about the importance of this lesson and how, as a young man, he understands that pushing through barriers is hard but necessary. Jonah’s point about helping to raise money and awareness for charities is one that resonates.

     

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  • 098 | Get walking with tenacity and compassion | with Lara Heimann

    I’ve always loved walking. It’s important and I want to encourage everyone to get out and involve yourself in this activity. There are so many reasons to walk. However, what are the philosophies and functionalities that underpin it? Today I talk about these points which are adapted from an old news clipping that my parents — who embedded in me my love of walking —  had on our fridge.

     

    1. Life is not a race. We’re not going from point A to point B as fast as we can. You want to make life more cyclical. This will make life more refreshing. Every activity feels new in this way. There is no reason to rush. Enjoy. Walking is a great of reminding ourselves that we’re here, in the present.
    2. Walking keeps you on your toes. Literally. We can walk for long periods. We are made (it’s in our DNA) to keep walking for long periods. Endurance is in our wiring. The more you move, the more you want to move.
    3. It’s cheap! There’s nothing you have to spend money on to get you outside walking.
    4. The world’s your gem. When you walk, the world becomes that gem, the stepper, the stairmaster. The adventure is right there, ready to be had.
    5. You can walk with anyone. You can walk alone, with friends, with family. You can walk with your dogs. It’s an amazing feeling to get the blood pumping and flowing.
    6. Walk in rain or shine. As long as you prepare correctly you can walk in any weather. Walking in the rain is really no big deal. This way you’re not trapped by the seasons. Indeed, you can watch the seasons change as you walk or hike.
    7. Set your own rhythm. You can go at your own pace and you can go at the speed that suits you. Speed up or slow down, walking makes it easy to go as you please.
    8. Interact with (or escape) people. If you need to be alone, or to think, walking makes this possible. You can also walk and connect with other people. Make new friends.
    9. Use your own motor. There’s something amazing about using your own power to move. Save gas with walking! With hiking, there’s an amazing feeling about carrying everything we need to survive on our backs.
    10. Every step is a new adventure. Hiking, or any type of walking, is an adventure because it can take you into a different space, a different mindset. Often our mindset holds us back. But walking can open up a new door, a new adventure.

     

    When your walking, think about holding the pelvis so that you are able to move and walk for hours and hours and it will feel good. Pay attention to how you walk. So, get walking and try yoga as an accompaniment to walking. Walk with tenacity and compassion.

     

    Resources:

  • 097 | How To Focus Your Mind To Help You Reach Your Goals | with Lara Heimann

    097 | How To Focus Your Mind To Help You Reach Your Goals | with Lara Heimann

    How do you deal with that concept, so often used by children, of continually asking “Are we there yet?” Rather than constantly thinking of our destination, it’s more constructive for us to focus on the present moment. The big question is: “How do we do this?”

     

    If we can be more present, stay in the moment, it will help us mentally. There are so many things for which we need patience. While it’s human to be impatient, doing so doesn’t help. We use techniques in our hikes that have helped in the past and we continue to use in our walks to develop that “present moment” strategy. These are as follows:

     

    • Taking breaths. The mere act of taking bigger breaths, also the counting of the breaths, can help you return to the state of being present. Take a moment and breathe fully and consciously. This revitalises your energy and brings your mind into a clearer focus.
    • Engage your mind. Do an activity that will help bring your mind fully into the present and gives you a boost of energy at the same time. One example, when you’re hiking or even in a car, is to sing a song! The repetitive nature of the song is like a metronome that hooks you into the present moment. It feeds the spirit so you can continue.
    • Use the journey/hike to learn something. Such as memorising a poem. Instead of just being on electronics in a long car trip, practise learning lines of a play. Create a story!

     

    All of these are productive and lovely ways to engage our brains and focus them in the present moment.

     

    Also, try to negotiate with yourself if you’re on a big project. For example, say you’ll sit down and have a snack in ten minutes. Break down (say a hike) into parts. Give yourself and your kids a reward. Treat yourself to get yourself out of the moment where you are being dragged down.

     

    Use these mind tools where you have any project where there is a quality of endurance.  

     

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  • 096 | Music Takes Us to Another Place: Music for Hiking & Yoga

    096 | Music Takes Us to Another Place: Music for Hiking & Yoga

    Since the dawn of civilization, humans have used music as a way of connecting to their spirit and community. Music has been a central part of our civilization and has always had the power to move — and even change — us.

     

    Often we can put on a piece of music and find that it changes our emotional feeling. So what is it that is changed? Some are more tuned in to these changes than others. I grew up with music. My grandmother was a classical pianist and she would often visit and play for hours. I was also classically trained.

     

    There was something so connective about growing up with various forms of music and dance for me. Something about music with a strong primal drum beat moves me. Now I play songs in my yoga class and create a specific class called “Fire” which is a mashup of classical yoga and high-intensity training. The music is a central part of this class.

     

    All my classes have music that is crafted to the experience of the participants. It’s essential to the movement experience. However, just creating a playlist of music that you like for a yoga class doesn’t necessarily work. I find the music used with a yoga class needs to be a blend of instrumental and those with vocals. This helps the music act as a guide for how the yoga movement will feel.  

     

    For ideas on the type of music that works, go to my Spotify playlist.

     

    Music also plays an important role in hiking, though the songs are usually upbeat. One song I love, particularly when I’m fatigued is by Snap, “The Power”. Others are “It’s Tricky” by Run DMC, “I Got a Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas and “A Little Respect” by Erasure.

     

    It’s important to have your own playlist that you can pull out when you feel less than stellar. Remember music is a fundamental part of spirit expression.

     

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  • 095 | How to walk without P.A.I.N | with Lara Heimann

    095 | How to walk without P.A.I.N | with Lara Heimann

    We teach ourselves how to walk, the beauty of learning to move. But what about those who suffer discomfort when walking as adults? Those who are not as mobile as they could be? As I share in this episode, it’s never too late to learn to walk more efficiently. To walk without P.A.I.N.

     

    Thinking about the act of walking and holding ourselves upright with the cylinder of the core of our bodies having some engagement, will immediately change your style of walking. You’re giving the center of your mass more engagement and your joints more support. Before you walk, look at how you stand, follow your posture, then take that into how you walk.

     

    It’s so important to know that, if you are going forward, it’s the muscles at the back of your body that will help that happen. Use your glutes and hips to help propel you forward. Also ask what is your neck doing? What is your head doing? Try not to put your head down when you’re walking, as your body weight will also be forward as you walk.

     

    If you’re hiking, you can avoid walking discomfort in a number of ways. One is the shoes you wear. Use shoes with a wider toe box rather than a narrow one. The heel should not be over elevated. Whatever you wear on your feet should support your posture.

     

    Also consider hiking poles. They can offset some of the load on your joints. They add one more source of contact with the ground to spread the dispersed force and gives you that little bit of extra rhythm. A specially fitted backpack at an outdoor is also something I highly recommend if you’re hiking.

     

    For those who just want to walk without P.A.I.N, I recommend learning to walk in a way with a “newness” to it. You need to work your core as you go. It’s never too late to walk better and more efficiently.

     

    • Think about your posture.
    • Use the core to support your walking gait.
    • Use the muscles at the back to propel you forward.
    • Notice how using your core improves your walking.
    • Get the right equipment if you are hiking.

     

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  • 094 | Compassion In Action

    094 | Compassion In Action

    I love the word compassion, it holds such a deep meaning to me! Compassion is having a desire to do something about the sadness that you feel for a person, cause, or event that is upsetting to you in order to alleviate the suffering. In today’s episode, I’m sharing the compassion that I feel and what I’m doing about it, and I know it will inspire you to get out there and do something out of compassion, too!

     

    Over the past 20 years, my family has been using compassion as our fuel to try and bring attention to causes that are very near and dear to our hearts. I know that I’ve grown stronger mentally, physically, and spiritually ever since putting my compassion to action.

     

    Don’t forget to join the #TSBT challenge!

     

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    Today’s episode is sponsored my LYT Daily online yoga classes. This is an exclusive pass into my personal practice and program that I created from my experience as a physical therapist and 20 years developing my LYT yoga methodology. There is a different class with me everyday – including special monthly live streams – so you can feel your most LYT up – anytime and anywhere. Get a 3 day free trial today by going to movementbylara.com and clicking “daily classes.” Let’s get moving!