067 Creativity and inspiration are essential for entrepreneurs and their businesses to grow and thrive. But, how do we fit those things in during our crazy days of actually running a business?!!
One of my favorite experts (and one of my teachers) Larissa Carlson shares some simple breathing techniques and ideas about how to create space for creativity in your daily life. I'm so excited for you to get to learn from her.
In today’s episode you will learn:
Connect with Larissa:
Website and Instagram
Want to learn more about breath work? Here is Larissa's 2-1/2 hour "Pranayama for Restoring Vitality" audio course for $22 <<HERE>>
067 Creativity and inspiration are essential for entrepreneurs and their businesses to grow and thrive. But, how do we fit those things in during our crazy days of actually running a business?!!
One of my favorite experts (and one of my teachers) Larissa Carlson shares some simple breathing techniques and ideas about how to create space for creativity in your daily life. I'm so excited for you to get to learn from her.
In today’s episode you will learn:
Connect with Larissa:
Website and Instagram
Want to learn more about breath work? Here is Larissa's 2-1/2 hour "Pranayama for Restoring Vitality" audio course for $22 <<HERE>>
The number one compliment that I get about my podcast is my voice. How soothing it is, how relaxing it is how calming it is. And this voice started when I started teaching yoga way, way back a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away in 2012. And eventually that yoga teaching journey led me to a magical place called Kripalu School of yoga and Ayurveda, where I met today's guest, Marissa Carlson. And today we are going to have a little bit of an inadvertent, calm voice contest. Because as soon as she started teaching, I was like, Oh, that is the calmest, most relaxing voice I've ever heard. So, in addition to learning lots about finding balance and using breath, work and mindfulness to inspire you and help you be more creative as entrepreneurs, you will also get the added benefit of two soothing voices, calming, relaxing, if that's good started. Hello, and welcome to the healthy, happy and mostly sane entrepreneur podcast. I'm your host national board certified health and wellness coach and Ayurvedic practitioner, and mostly sane entrepreneur Ellen Leonard. Each week, I share my obsession with helping you build a healthy life that works for you, your family, and your business. Because I don't think you have to sacrifice your own health and while being to be successful, so please stay tuned. For today's episode full of ideas to make staying healthy just a little bit easier. Don't forget to hit subscribe, so you don't miss out on future episodes. I am so excited about today's episode because I get to share with you one of my favorite people. Somebody who constantly inspires me and has taught me so many important things, much of which we will discuss today. Although we're only just scratching the surface of her expertise, Larissa Carlson taught me how to do much of what I do in my current job as a stress management coach and consultant, yoga instructor and all of my work with Ayurveda. She's taught me so many things, and I'm so excited for her to share some of that with you today, a little about Larissa and her insane qualifications and expertise. She has a master's in mindfulness studies. She's a mindful living instructor and Ayurvedic Yoga specialist and our Vedic practitioner, end of life doula. I mean, I could go on and on. She's been a Kripalu center faculty member, I think she says in the episode for 17 years. She is the former dean of the Apollo School of Ayurveda. And you might recognize her her one of her many publications. Have you ever seen yoga journal? You've definitely seen Larissa. She's been there so many times. She's been in shape men's journal, The Washington Post, elephant journal in style. She's been in prevention, mind body green, and she's been with Dr. Oz on the good life. So what does she have to share with us today? In today's episode, you're going to learn how to keep your flow of energy balanced and why that's important for entrepreneurs. And if you're not really familiar with talking about your energy levels, she will explain it in such a beautiful way that you are going to leave with a shifted mindset about how you're spending your time during your day as an entrepreneur and how you might shift or change that as you go through your day. Number two, she discusses the connection between inspiration and creativity, obviously important for entrepreneurs and business owners, and mindfulness and breath work. And she's going to talk a lot about how you can easily integrate those things into your life. So if those are unfamiliar concepts, they won't be any more after this podcast. And if they're familiar, even I learned some new and exciting ideas during this podcast. And number three, we get the amazing experience of her guiding us through a belly breathing exercise so that you can experience the effects yourself how breathing can help you ground and how it can help you find more space for creativity and inspiration. As always, there will be detailed show notes that you can check out. So if you're on a walk or in the car, I've got you covered. Let's get started. Larissa, it is wonderful to finally have you on the podcast. Thank you so much for being here.
Larissa Carlson:I'm so glad the day has arrived. It's lovely to be back connecting with you and to share with your audience. Yeah, it's,
Ellen Leonard:you know, she's gonna share a lot with us today. I'm very excited. And,
Unknown:you know,
Ellen Leonard:I wanted to start off with a question and that I don't actually know the answer to I usually ask people who come on as guests. Like how they got started with what they're doing in their journey. So can you tell us a little bit about how you started what you're doing, because everybody's journey through entrepreneurship and into living the kind of lives that we lead is always so unique and interesting.
Larissa Carlson:So my training, my training in college was as a high school English teacher. And after graduation, I went into work outside of New York and became a controller and started to run a finance department for six years outside of New York. And at night, I taught at a junior college taught English comp, one and two and creative writing and business writing, and creative thinking things like that. And so I was very, very busy at that time in my life, and, and in many ways, very fulfilled, I enjoyed organizing and keeping things on track, you know, is a really, really sweet. And I was I was learning so much then. But I wasn't living into what I really wanted to do. It wasn't deeply fulfilling. And what I always wanted to do was teach and to teach full time. And I've always been a teacher and teaching many, many different things I've taught as a lacrosse coach, I was a camp counselor. For many, many years, I was a math tutor, I taught church school, so many things. And so I've always been a teacher and always wanted to teach didn't matter what the topic was. But so that's what really has always lit me up. And the work in finance was exciting and new and mentally challenging. But it didn't capture my heart at all. And one day, I was offered a yoga tape from someone in my office and I went home and put in the VHS tape and into the DVD player or whatever, the VHS player and cried the whole way through it and just found myself just bawling through this yoga practice. And it had sparked within me, something that had been covered up for a few years. And so I started doing yoga every day and put in my resignation. And within six months, I had left my controller job, you can't just like walk away from that kind of job, I needed to find a replacement and all the things and finished up this semester at school. I was also the department chair. So I was running the evening weekend school as well. And so there were a lot of loose ends to tie up. And I moved to my mother's house up in Massachusetts, and was introduced at some point to a very large joke center there, where I started to poke around. And I was invited to eventually to work there. Went through my yoga teacher training and been there for 17 years since then. So that is so long
Ellen Leonard:to think about, like I can't believe it's been that long.
Larissa Carlson:Yeah, yeah. And many different roles in those 17 years. Yeah. And the finance department has always tried to pull me in, but I have resisted.
Ellen Leonard:I love it. And it sounds like you know, like so many people transition from these more traditional nine to five jobs, these careers that are the path traditionally taken into things as I think as you said that, that really speak to your heart. And it sounds like that's exactly what you were able to do. And so many people listening. That's, that's what they're hoping to do as they transition into their entrepreneurship journey as well.
Larissa Carlson:It's definitely been a journey, a journey of simplifying. And moving from position after position of juggling and holding immense responsibility to favoring a path that allows me more freedom, and quiet time and downtime. And so I've found that over and over, through the years that I will somehow spontaneously take on more responsibility, you know, because I, I am very driven. And I like to get things done. You know, I really enjoy being in charge I like to manage, I like to be the decider. And so it's always been very easy for me to take on additional responsibility, no matter where I was working. And so I've made that decision several times to let go of a really intense job or part of a job for the sake of freedom, sanity, peace, quiet rest, downtime, no relaxation, which sparks creativity. And so when being so busy, with the intensity of work, I would find, over and over again, that I wouldn't have the time and space to reflect, to create, to brainstorm, to explore or to follow through on most of those ideas. And so by trimming back by letting go of things that don't fully light me up, it's actually provided so much additional space for doing what I love to do.
Ellen Leonard:And I'm guessing that resonates with so many listeners right now, because so often as solopreneurs and small business owners, we can get lost in the minutiae of the day to day logistics of running a business or in a shiny object syndrome, as we're recording this right now, clubhouse is the new social media platform. And it's definitely a shiny object for I'm guessing many listeners, right. But it can be easy to be overwhelmed. And it sounds like what you found so valuable about the way you've chosen to live your life and the choices that you're making is just the opportunity to take a step back and give yourself space, and that that allows for creativity and the space for what does light you up.
Larissa Carlson:It certainly does. There's something to peace and quiet that allows for enhanced efficiency and effectiveness and function, you know, in slowing down in taking time off and resetting and relaxing, it actually does create more space to to get things done. So it's really fascinating that it seems like a tug of war, it seems like a paradox, you know, and it is really the path of sustainability. You know, to create space to say no to things to release what feels like dead weight in work and responsibilities and social commitments, and entertainment choices, you know, to actually trim down to let go to free up some space and time and energy from the things that get so caught up in the hustle and bustle, you know, they seem like they can't be released. But so many of them can easily be let go. When creating more space. Yeah.
Ellen Leonard:And it's, you seem to have such a beautiful clarity around what it is you want and value. And then it almost seems like you You kind of become a little distracted by you know, he said you you sometimes find yourself taking on more responsibility and then you come back. It's almost as if you come back to yourself you're like oh wait. When you have that time, you can see we can see so much more clearly about ourselves in our lives and what we want and what we value. And, and I think that does come from taking the time to rest and relax and and reset.
Larissa Carlson:It absolutely does. And now, that looks different for everyone, of course, no, for me that looks like spending time in nature as often as possible. I actually moved my husband, Ben and I were living in in Washington, DC, and very much caught in the hustle and bustle there. It's a wonderful city, I was born in Baltimore. And I love that area. And there's so much to do, there's so much work so many possibilities is really exciting. And, and I really enjoyed that, you know, I enjoyed the energy of the city and of culture and of community and the excitement of building new work, connections and such, it's really, really fun. And yet, I still found that I wasn't able to slow down. And to really spend time doing the things that keep me charged, you know, that keeps me really energized. And so we actually moved from DC into Vermont, and we live in a very quiet town in Vermont. And I get outside as often as I can. I've always been a walker and a nature lover. And walking is what is my favorite activity for brainstorming, and planning and organizing. And I walk without any music, I walk by myself silently and digest the activities and conversations of the day, and plan out and brainstorm future possibilities. And so there's something for me about nature and, and silence that allows me to really thrive. And so that's just one of many self care techniques. Yeah.
Ellen Leonard:And so I was hoping you could share with everybody how some techniques, like meditation or breath work can be helpful for them to maybe find some of the things that you're describing, because one of the things I love about what you're saying is, basically, no, no, no, I'm still getting lots of things done. I'm still working really hard and enjoying being an overachieving bit of a nerd, who want to sell you out too hard, but she has a bit of a nerd. And you're still doing so many of these things that so many of my listeners, I know, value and love about their life, they love accomplishing things they love achieving. But you're you're demonstrating that there is a balance to be found. So tell us how meditation and breath work might be helpful for that.
Larissa Carlson:Absolutely. So So breathwork is my passion. It's my specialty. And just thinking about the different words that are used to describe the breath, one, of course being to inspire, to breathe in to take in, right. And here and we're talking I'm talking to you about inspiration and creativity, you know, and so, what better way what more effective and efficient way what more sustainable way to inspire oneself than through the deepening of one's breath. Right. So there's air and energy and oxygen all around us. And yet, when we're on the move, and busy and tense, there seems to be a lack of flow of energy in the system. And so often we get an uneven distribution of energy. You know, getting really heady, especially talking a lot making decisions being on the go, driving, staring at screens all day. There's so much demand for an up and out energy pattern. And so that can at first feel very uplifting and and actually energizing and inspiring and exciting. But it tends to leave folks at the end of the day feeling worn down, exhausted, depleted, mentally scattered, feeling kind of spazzy or spread too thin, you know, headaches, ringing in the ears, irritated bloodshot eyes, incomplete thoughts and sentences, you know, like the this up and out energy flow gets too much momentum and then it kind of Peters out. Yeah. And so energy doesn't only flow up and out, energy also flows down in in. And so for looking out the way that our bodies are energized, energized by blood and plasma and energized by by good nourishment and vitamins and minerals and the diet energized by protein, the energy is actually spread throughout the whole body, it's spread throughout all the bones and muscles and tissues and organs and, and so there's not just a use of energy that is flowing up and out to get things done. But there's a deep energy that flows down in in that it creates a sense of groundedness and steadiness, stability, and calmness. And these energy flows are energy rivers are kind of we can think of them as two highways of energy, you know, the up energy highway and the downward energy highway, we each have our favorites, you know, and sometimes that one highway gets too much momentum, too much traffic on it, you know, and for most, it's that up and out energy pathway gets a little too much energy. And that can leave us having trouble, not only with feeling overly heady, but also feeling trouble getting to sleep, trouble sitting still feeling very fidgety, restless and ungrounded. And there's, there's very little creative energy that will arise when when the system is in that state. And so what's necessary is a replenishing a redistribution of energy downward, downward into the into the core, into the abdomen, you know, and down downward still. And so the breath and the control of the breath with awareness. And skillfulness has the ability to redirect the upward energy flow that gives us all that buzz and vibration and vitality. But but it's not sustainable. It will allow us to redirect that energy downward and inward creating an actual reservoir of energy, of lifeforce of vitality, that doesn't get easily drained or tapped. So it's much like refilling one's batteries, you know, charging up or filling up the scuba tanks, you know, when we can breathe in a way that soothes the nerves relaxes the blood pressure gives the mind a break from thinking. And what actually happens is there's a kind of a waterfall effect where that overly heaviness and the energy up in the head that's concentrated or throbbing there begins to flow downward into the rest of the body where it's much needed, and creates a sense of deep calmness and ease and peacefulness. And that's where creative energy is generated. It's generated from the core, you know, we speak about this all the time, you know, creative energy is born from the core, you know, it's the, from the, from the, the, the womb, of creative energy, you know, we can actually charge that up with breath work. I'll pause there, there's more to say.
Ellen Leonard:Well, that's certainly a lot for us to do. And it just, I love how simple everything you just said is it's, you know, when you start to think about it that way that so often when, you know, you're running your own business, and you're getting lost in the day to day, logistical stuff, and that is upward and outward energy. You're constantly typing on the computer, you're constantly talking on the phone, you're constantly doing, doing doing and how do you come back more to yourself and find that balance and, and ground and get that that other part of the highway as you described it going? And so I think that will resonate with a lot of listeners who are like, yes. And now I would like to do that how that sounds delightful. Let's do that.
Larissa Carlson:So the beauty It's really simple, you know, the breath, work is free. And the so breathing techniques are free and accessible, and can be used in short, small doses throughout the day. And the beauty is that research has been done both on breath work and on mindfulness, which we'll also talk about proving again and again, that short, brief mini practices are actually most important. So doing a minute or two of breath work throughout the day, here, and there is much more important than doing a 20 minute breathwork practice once in a while. The same will be true with meditation, doing a few minutes of mindfulness, a few minutes of slowing down. A few minutes of paying attention to the breath, or another anchor point, is much more effective and sustainable than meditating for an hour, once a week. And so I've been part in all of my work. Over the years, I've been part of many research studies with researchers at Harvard and Brigham and Women's Hospital, studying the effects of yoga and mindfulness on stress levels and performance, stress, performance related anxiety and things like that. And over and over again, the consistency Trump's duration. And so this is really important to recognize that we can commit to small practices during the day, that really, truly create more balance and harmony, that establish that downward energy flow, that nurture the creative energy down in the core, without having to a lot, a lot of time to it.
Ellen Leonard:It's almost as if these practices spread throughout the day will just continually recharge us and allow us to find that, that creativity and inspiration that's so vital for people who are running their own business. Yeah.
Larissa Carlson:That's absolutely true. And so think of it as daily self care, maintenance. You can do breathing techniques that are are so easy. We can do one right now if you'd like. Yes,
Ellen Leonard:please, everybody, wherever you are, right. Now, here's your special bonus treat. Yeah, I'm very excited.
Larissa Carlson:So, this is the abdominal breath, or belly breathing, also known as diaphragmatic, breathing. And it is, in my opinion, the most important of all the breathing techniques, because it's, it's incredibly effective for grounding. Wonderful for creating calmness amidst the storm. Beautiful for establishing steadiness in the mind steadiness in the mood. It's one of those techniques that can be used when feeling scattered when having trouble making a decision when facing writer's block, when just feeling confused and nervous. So it can be used in pretty much any situation that an entrepreneur might face during the day. And it's really simple, you can do it while you are commuting. You can do it on the bus and the train on an airplane or sitting at your office desk. And so, take a moment here to just put down anything that may be in your hands and establish a nice comfortable seat, you can rest your hands on your lap. Take a moment to just rock the hips a little side to side and even out the weight in your seat. And then begin to lengthen the spine. So using a little bit of abdominal strength, sit up nice and tall. Sitting with poise and grace. Align the head right over the center of the shoulders, maybe pulling the head back an inch or two so it's right over the center the shoulders and tuck the chin slightly like the knee in the back of the neck. Let the eyes soften or let the eyes close. And as much as you can relax the muscles in the face and jaw. You might loosen up the jaw letting there be a little space between the teeth and let the tongue rest at the base of the mouth. Try to soften the shoulders a little. Drop the attention down to the belly and breathing in and out through the nose. If that's comfortable, start to direct your breath downward towards your belly. So inhale down Word and let the belly expand like a balloon. And on the exhalation, pool the belly button back towards the spine, squeezing out the breath deflating the balloon. Keep going like this inhaling downward letting the belly expand and open. And on the exhalation, draw the belly button back towards the spine, squeezing out the stale air. A few more like that deep below smooth downward breaths, letting the belly expand and deflate. massaging the internal organs getting good exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the lungs. each inhalation letting that be refreshing and rejuvenating, inspiring. each exhalation soothing and purifying enhancing clarity to take two more deep, full belly breaths, never forcing, never straining and just letting the breath be low and smooth and deep. When you've completed that release with control of the breath, and as the natural breath takes over, just take a moment to feel the imprint. Maybe feeling some warmth in the dolly from the abdominal work. Maybe feeling a little bit of spaciousness around the heart and the lungs, more air more expansion there. Maybe feeling or noticing colors or patterns movements of light on the movie screen of the eyelids feeling a little more space in the head. You congratulate let the eyes flutter open. And so that's a little mini practice just taking a minute or two minutes to do diaphragmatic breathing or belly breathing. This is one of the most researched of the breathing techniques, which has been proven again and again to help D activate the sympathetic nervous system which is the flight or fight nervous system, the fight or flight nervous system and to get back into the governing state, the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the rest and digest system. So whenever you're feeling stressed, anxious, ungrounded spacey scattered, restless, fidgety, spacey, you just come back to the breath of the belly for a minute or two, and reestablish that creative, grounded, calm state that will allow you to navigate the challenges of the day with much more ease. Yeah, I
Ellen Leonard:feel Yeah, cuz I just hopefully everybody's feeling what I'm feeling. I hope everybody just did that. Because I feel like I'm just floating right now feel really grounded and centered, and everything she just said, I'm feeling thank you so much for that proof of concept in the midst of the POC.
Larissa Carlson:You know, the other beauty here is that, you know, to breathe in, to inspire oneself, right to to inspire and to feel inspired. If we want to brainstorm and create and, and thrive in our businesses, then the breath is one of the best tools to support that. So safe and easy. And from many perspectives, the the creative energy of the universe is is cheap, or prana, or life force, energy or vitality. And that is directly adjusted through control of the breath. And so when we want to feel more creative, when we want to tap into the universal creative energy, we want to feel as though we are conduits for that energy, as entrepreneurs to just be open and spacious and just let the creative energy pour through the system. There's no better way to prepare the vessel for that work than through the breath. And so to become more clear headed, to feel more tapped into creative energy, to be more inspired literally and figuratively. The breath is the obvious choice. And it doesn't require much more than a curiosity and a willingness to pause here and there during the day and deepen the breath.
Ellen Leonard:And I also love how they can be used for so many different things like you spoke about how useful it is when we want to be creative when we need that inspiration, that clarity. But it's also just as useful in a moment of crisis, like when your computer breaks down or your internet goes down. Or when you need to be fully present for your your kids, you need to transition from working at home to being fully present for your children, especially now that so many kids are learning from home. I mean, it just has so many uses for bringing you back to yourself.
Larissa Carlson:It absolutely does. And for it to work well in those moments of crisis, and confusion and chaos, you know, for it to really work well and to do the job. It does require some practice in the non chaotic moments. And so you know, one has to put in the time and practice a little and, and just enjoy the breath. You know, so I do this one in the morning. First thing when the alarm goes off, I hit snooze. And in bed, I take some belly breaths, just a minute of deep belly breathing, it opens up the lungs and helps to release congestion and sinus congestion from the night of sleeping, it draws more oxygen into the bloodstream helps me awake up. So by the time I put my feet down on the floor to get up, I already feel more energized and alert and connected. I also use this breath. Certainly while I'm at the computer, which I am a lot you know, I'm a teacher of mindfulness and breath work and yoga and Ayurveda. And I run advanced teacher trainings and online courses and all sorts of programs and do clinical sessions. So I'm, you know, at the computer all the time and doing marketing and advertising and such. And so I certainly use it during the day, whenever I begin to feel a little tense. I don't like I don't like to wait until the tense moment overwhelms me, you know, I've learned over the years to to shut it down as the momentum is building. So when I start to get grumpy when I start to get irritated when I feel a little agitated, I just racket, I recognize that a lot faster now. And I can give myself permission to take a minute to breathe, to relax, to reset, to refocus. And then to navigate the challenge with clarity, then I also use it at the end of the day. And getting into bed, letting go of all of the activities and conversations of the day, putting aside the to do list, you know, sweeping the mind clear. So that that I can sleep with it with a clear conscience without dues hanging over my head. The breath is one of the best ways to kind of to, like erase the board from the day. And so in bed, I will I will often journal, you know a little bit at the end of the day to clear my head, and then get comfy in bed, turn off the light, you know, set the alarm and do a little bit of belly breathing to help me fall asleep. And it's just excellent. It does. You know, it's it's sort of like green tea, you know, check checks all the boxes, it does everything you wanted to do.
Ellen Leonard:Yeah. And for listeners who really haven't had a lot of experience with breath work. I know it sounds like she's actually talking about magic. But she's not. I mean, she of course she mentioned the Elvis is research based and science based as well. But I can tell you from years of practice myself that this really does make a huge impact in your life. Everything she just said the way she's describing it, integrating this into your life can make a huge difference. And I I love that you started with just telling us that just you know consistently doing it throughout the day, one to two minutes. And it can actually make a difference. If you just start, start simply and use it in a way that that works for you in your life.
Larissa Carlson:That's exactly it. And there are so many mindful breathing techniques out there. And so the belly graph is just one of many. And so if this one feels great, stick with it, build up a relationship with it, and play with it regularly. And then it will it will really support you when you need it. You know, but if this doesn't feel like the best technique, try a few others. There are so many other mindful breathing techniques that help to soothe the nerves, calm the mind, enhance clarity and support even energy flow.
Ellen Leonard:Yeah. And so if people do want to connect with you and Marissa, how can they find you and how can they work with you?
Larissa Carlson:through my website, there are on the website, a resource page that has loads and loads of Free breathwork and meditation tracks lots of audio tracks there that are free and accessible, you can just go to my website and hit play anytime you are feeling stressed, or want to prevent the stress from gaining momentum, certainly. And also, you can find me on social media and Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. Those are some of the main main ways.
Ellen Leonard:Yeah. And I will be sure to link to all of those in the show notes. And thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today about this really powerful practice for creativity and inspiration, but also just for getting back to enjoying doing what we love. So thank you.
Larissa Carlson:Absolutely, you're welcome.
Ellen Leonard:And I hope that you're able to take the soothing, calming, grounding energy from today's episode with you throughout the rest of your day. And if you're interested in learning more, and deepening your practice of breath, work and building up relationships with other kinds of breath work, like Clarissa talked about, she has a lovely course that's available that I'll link to in the show notes. It's called pranayama for restoring vitality. It's only $22 for an a two and a half hour program that guides you through 10 days, 15 minutes a day. That's it. So the link to that along with the link to all the other information to connect with Flora says available in the shownotes thank you so much for listening. As always, I hope you found this episode valuable and helping you to stay healthy, happy and sane while you run your business. I wish you a healthy, happy and mostly sane week. I'll see you next time.