Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Bedoya.
Laura, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I danced out of my mother’s womb. As far back as I could remember movement has always been my medium for self-expression. I danced till I was 16 and then, I tell people that I stopped because “life got in the way” but what really happened was that I got distracted with making money, and Miami night life. It wasn’t until I was 20 that I began my physical practice again and at age 21 decided to move to Los Angeles, to study Personal Training and Corrective Exercise at the Southern California Health Institute.
After two years of working in the fitness industry, I noticed that I wanted to give my clients something deeper than just abs, or weight loss. I had been practicing yoga for three years and decided I wanted to share the mindfulness that yoga brought to my life. I packed my bags and traveled to India where I studied Hatha Yoga and became certified to teach. In 2016, I moved back to Miami, started teaching yoga and working as part of the community team for lululemon.
Sharing mindfulness in the city I grew up in really inspired me to go deep within myself. I had always wanted to travel solo around the world and finally, I took the leap of faith. In August 2018, I quit my job and embarked on an eight month journey around the world. During my travels, I fell in love with a deeper movement practice and reconnected to dance and artistic self-expression. My last destination was Barcelona where I studied at The Bamboo Body for three intensive months. Gymnastic strength, improvisation, mobility, locomotion, and stillness where the topics of exploration and development.
Currently, I am back in Miami where I continue to be a student and teacher of movement, stillness, and self-expression.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
As many Miamians, I am an immigrant who came from a single parent household. My mom and I were illegal for six years, during this time I barely saw my mom since she worked mostly as live in housekeeper. During my teenage years we were victims of domestic violence, I bounced around different homes. At one point my mom, baby sister and I lived in a safe house for battered women for over a month. The pain I felt overwhelmed me and I developed an alcohol and drug addiction that lasted four years. The discovery of Yoga and therapy is what helped me get out of self-destructive patterns and make other life choices that were more aligned with my higher self.
Everything that has happened has led me to being passionate about the importance of awareness and connection of body, mind, and soul. I would not go back and change a thing.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
My work is to create a space where people feel safe to explore themselves through movement.
I do this in group settings such as my Exploring Through Movement workshops, where I guide people through a series of connection based movement exercises. The group connects to themselves and each other through meditation, mindful movements, touch, and self-expression.
I also offer one on one coaching that is tailored to each individual’s movement goals.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I have the curious heart of a student, I am always looking to evolve. My inquiring mind and ability to self-reflect have taken me all over the world, rebel against what is not working and search for ways to bring more mindfulness to myself and the community around me.
Contact Info:
- Website: laurabwellness.com
- Phone: 7865565203
- Email: lb@laurabwellness.com
- Instagram: @laura.the.explorar
Image Credit:
Jared Ruschmann, Samuel Uribe
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