Lauren Rudick

Memories of Morocco!
One more week until I get to eat all this delicious food again! I can’t wait to run another yoga retreat here with .williams! We have one spot left if you’re spontaneous! Message me.

Sometimes I question if I will want to keep doing yoga teacher trainings and yoga retreats. Sometimes it is really really hard. There are so many moving parts- working with big teams and international venues can be challenging, frustrating and just a lot to manage…

But the moment I step up into my role as a retreat leader, as a yoga teacher trainer and as the founder of one of the most respected yoga school’s out there… I realize this is what I was put on this planet to do.

I can’t walk away. Simply: it is my dharma.

I feel so grateful to run programs and provide experienced that are so heart filling and so fulfilling for not only my students, but for me too. Thank you. Forever thank you.

One spot left for a single or couple!!

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Why am I on this planet? Because of these people right here. I’ve done over 40 yoga retreats and teacher trainings
at this point, but I can only post 10 photos in this carousel.

So here are 10 (chosen completely at random) groups of people who have absolutely lit up my life and helped me feel like I have purpose, like it all means something. You have taught me so much and brought so much joy into my life.

Thank you.

I can only tag 20 people. So please share this with your people too. Because I truly mean it when I say that you’ve made my world a brighter place for shining your bright lights in it and I love you.

Years ago I did a “goddess” project. (See the last slide). This year I struggled so much with feeling good in my own skin, with feeling like me…

So I asked to help me with a new “goddess” project photoshoot. She said yes right away without hesitation! It was such an amazing collaboration. She got the assignment!

We met up at sunrise where Kate adorned me in a stunning crown of flowers and helped me bring this vision to life… more than just photos though, she helped me FEEL like the woman I wanted to- sensual, beautiful, feminine, powerful.

We’re thinking of collaborating to offer this type of experience to other women. ❓What do you think? Would you do a “goddess” photoshoot? Let me know in the comments!! 💬

Stay tuned for the final result…

Certainly! Here are the hashtags listed without the dashes:

The 1st 200hr yoga teacher training that I led took place right here, in a tree house at my friend in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica. I knew so little. I was young. I was so nervous. I tried so so so hard and put so much of my heart and energy in to it. I made so many mistakes. We did the philosophy section at my house, on the floor of my bedroom… the yoga was in a TREE HOUSE. Which was cool- but not the most ideal space!

Flash forward 7 years and I’ve run 24 yoga teacher trainings all over the world!! The YTT I’ve created is one of the top rated in the world!!

In just 1-month I’m headed back to Santa Teresa, Costa Rica- where it all began to run another 200hr yoga teacher training program!

I’m super excited to return to the place that my yoga school was conceived and a place that inspired me for so many years- plus really stoked to catch up with some old friends there!!

This time we’re staying somewhere much more luxurious and I definitely have a way better handle on programming and more. I’m so excited to share another yoga academy international 200hr yoga teacher training with a new crop of students!!

We’ve got 3 spots left. You can join. Just message me.
Photo by

That time I thought it would be a great idea to take photos for Instagram directly after eating 3 burritos… can someone say, “SUCK IT IN”?? also of note I was too lazy to put on makeup so I went with the “hair in front of face” style of posing.

Oh and 🔥SPOILER ALERT🔥 I’m collaborating with someone epic to do another retreat at this super awesome spot in Tulum next year. Can you guess who it is?? Here’s your hint… women’s retreat. Theme: body love.

Thinking about trying to get bendy again…

I’ve surfed 10 of the last 12 days. I’ve caught more waves in the last 2-weeks than ever before! It feels empowering. It feels freeing. It’s fun!!

Surfing is teaching me patience. Sitting and waiting for waves, it’s easy to get bored. Instead I’ve been taking these moments to sit in silence, realizing that when boredom comes, to try and shift my mindset toward gratitude- gratitude for an able body, for warm water, clean ocean, gorgeous coastline and sunny days.

It’s also helping me connect with a more playful side of myself. I needed that. I sometimes forget that having fun and choosing to be happy is an essential part of a life well lived.

Empowerment- chakra 3.
Connection to pleasure- chakra 2.
Feeling connected to the universe and nature- chakra 7.

Want to learn more about how your real life connects with chakra philosophy and how you can use the chakras as a lens for growth?

Join me in Tulum this September for a deep dive into chakras & yoga!! Ask me about it!!!
🌊

Shots from the archives… when I used to put on makeup and a bikini to go take yoga photos in places I’d never actually do yoga 🙄

Not going to lie- the photos are awesome. But this is soooo far from reality…. But looking at them I’m like damn. This is so beautiful.

Should I get back into yoga photos in totally ridiculous places? What do you think???

Real life photos of me thinking about selling everything I own, renovating a school bus into a home on wheels and driving around to epic destinations… should I do it????

Caption this…

Even I get fooled by my own social media. I love the way my body looks in the photo… but you know what? I took about 150 photos during this shoot and choose only a handful. I hated the rest.

I posed for it, then cropped and edited this photo. Yet when I see the finished product years later, I forget about the posing, the rejected shots and the edits… and I just wish I could look like that again.

Don’t believe everything you see. And please, don’t believe everything you think.

And please, please, don’t believe 90% of the stuff you see on social media.

All these years of coming and going and seeing and doing and building and nesting and leaving again… all these years and I am still trying to figure out what and where home is.

We all want to feel wanted.
We all want to feel desired.
We all want to feel seen.
We all want to feel supported.

Lately I’ve been struggling with not feeling any of these. In the last week it feels a little like my life is falling apart… but that’s part of life too…
Sometimes it feels like its falling apart.

Maybe I’m just cracking open.

I tell my students a story of a Buddha:

There was a giant Buddha at the center of a monastery. All the monks who lived there thought it was made of stone. At one point it cracked. The sun shined through that crack and bounced off something underneath, emitting a glow. The monks living in the monastery were so perplexed by the light shining from within, that they chiseled at the cracks and discovered that it wasn’t a Buddha statue made of stone, but rather a solid gold piece that had a calcified shell around it. It had hardened over time from exposure to the elements. The sunlight shining through the crack exposed the gold underneath. If there hadn’t been a crack, there wouldn’t have been a glow.

From our cracks our light can shine…

The wound is where the light enters.

This is 38 years old…
Birthdays are hard for me, but today I feel only joy. I’m here in Morocco celebrating with an incredible group of humans. We are running a luxury yin training and retreat. We are spoiling ourselves, pampering ourselves and just giving ourselves permission to enjoy.

To say this group is kind and supportive doesn’t quite describe the camaraderie and safe space that has been created in just a few days. It’s so special.

On today’s birthday I’m surrounded by individuals who are on the journey to themselves and who are walking it with kindness and integrity. This makes me feel like I can be more kind and honest with myself.

I received so many calls and blessings from friends and family all over the world!! I hardly believe this outpouring of love, all for me!

Usually on my birthday I feel old, I feel like I have not accomplished what I “should” by this age. I feel lonely. I feel sad.

Not today. Today I feel strong and loved. Today I feel like anything is possible! Thank you for celebrating with me!!

Just in case you’ve ever wondered if you should hike up a volcano… the answer is yes.

Send this to a woman who has shown you this kind of love.

This is one of my favourite quotes of all time. When you shine brightly you give others permission to shine. When your light and love illuminates others, it is the greatest gift of them all. Love without conditions.

“ If you want the rainbow, you have to take the rain. “
Gold star for whomever can guess who’s quote this is! ⭐️
☔️

Not gonna lie… I kinda miss winter. Tell me- what’s your favourite winter destination?? ❄️✈️

If you’re the opposite and have had enough of winter already, send me a message!

I have an opportunity for you to hang out on the beach with me in tropical paradise. 🌴☀️

Some thing I’ve been struggling with in my late 30s: sexiness.

I don’t feel sexy anymore. I don’t know why that is. I know people still sexualize me (I just have to open my IG inbox to see that…) I remember when I was 27 to about 30/31, I felt so sexy in my skin! I felt so hot. I felt beautiful. I felt sensual, I felt comfortable sharing my body with the world whether it was on the Internet or on Instagram, or with a special partner.

I was so happy prancing around a bikini. I loved walking along the beach I loved wearing super short shorts and tiny little clothes. It felt empowering for me because I felt so good in my skin. It wasn’t about getting attention. It was about me feeling so proud of my body in, this vessel.

Now I don’t feel that way anymore. I don’t feel sexy. I don’t feel hot.

In fact, I don’t go to the beach as much anymore and part of it is that I don’t want to walk in a bikini on the beach. I don’t want to be as exposed lately. (this photo is from 5 years ago. I was 32.)

The funny thing is, when I look at photos of myself from then and now my body has not changed that much. I haven’t gained a significant amount of weight, I mean there have been times are my weight and physique have definitely fluctuated. However where I am right now, I look physically very similarly to how I did in my early 30s.

For some reason I just don’t feel that same comfort in my skin. I don’t feel that same sexiness I don’t feel as beautiful And I don’t know why.

This is part of my journey right now.
I am excited to rediscover my sensual side, my sexy side, my feeling great in my skin side. It’s funny I don’t want people to look at me anymore. I don’t like when people check me out these days.

I know I’m an attractive person and I feel like I’m attractive, but I don’t feel sexy and I don’t feel hot and I don’t feel pretty. I don’t even know if that makes sense.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂? do you ever struggle with feeling attractive? do you ever struggle with feeling sexy? tell me! Comment or send me a DM if you are feeling shy, I’d really love your insights about this.

I finally got in the water to surf after a long hiatus and my friend said to me, “so you’re surfing now? I thought you only get in the water when there’s a photographer around! 😂”

You know the esoteric question, 𝘪𝘧 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘵, 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥?

Well here’s another one- 𝘪𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘶𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘤 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩 𝘪𝘵, 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮, 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯?

𝗜 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵.

𝙍𝙞𝙨𝙠 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚. 𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙮. 𝘾𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚.

This may seem like the exact opposite of what I expressed in the last post, but it is not.

You can desire partnership and also risk being on your own to be your own best company.

This is what I am doing- working on me, enjoying being just me, doing everything I love on my own, improving myself, becoming the person I want to be… yet still holding a bit of faith that one day my partner will walk in to my life.

Its okay to risk being alone, become the best version of yourself, and still hold on to hope there you won’t be alone forever.

I’m pretty sure this is called being human.

If you could see any world wonder, man made or natural, which would it be?

Tell me in the comments! I’m looking for travel inspo!!

Freedom is a state of mind, not a destination.

Part of me wants to start it all over again. Fresh. New.
I love fresh starts.

Part of me is so proud of all I’ve left behind here, the trail, the pictures, the words…

So what does one do? Fresh start? Or continue onward carrying the legacy and the weight of the past?

What do you think? Give me advice!

Do you know what you stand for? I stand in solidarity for women fighting for their right to choose who they want to be, how they want to dress and what they want to say without fear of fatal repercussions.
What do you stand for?