Hooray, it’s Friday and March 1st! That means spring is coming, right? Good news: it’s actually only 19 days away (not like I’m counting or anything)!

I’m so excited to bring you this month’s spotlight on Healthy Chicks in the Community, a monthly series highlighting rockstar Girl Bosses doing their thang in the wellness world. As a yoga and meditation instructor, Lauren passionately and selflessly shares her gifts with the world through volunteering and her recent work with the Boston VA Healthcare System.

In this interview, we chat about her dream celebrity dinner guest, new career teaching Veterans yoga and her love for her home Tower Garden. I’ll let Lauren take it away from here!

NAME: Lauren Durso

DESCRIBE YOUR BUSINESS/LINE OF WORK: As a Certified 500hr Advanced Yoga & Meditation Instructor, I teach to private clients and group classes at my private home studio in Walpole, MA as well as local studios. My recent career addition is joining the Whole Health Systems team with the Boston VA Healthcare System, working full time teaching Veterans yoga and meditation. I am a Wellnesspreneur, as I also own my own Juice Plus+ franchise educating people about whole food nutrition supplement options … Read More!

Something I really struggle with, which I’ve talked about on the blog before, is unplugging. I have a tendency to want to go-go-go all the time, and often put pressure on myself to get it all done. In a world of technology overload, I find it incredibly challenging to just pause and be (without checking my iPhone two minutes later).

So when I was given the opportunity to join one of my Boston bestie’s — Cara Gilam’s — “Revive, Refresh, Retreat” day-long yoga getaway last weekend, I knew it my heart I had to sign up. I needed to do this for myself, for my soul. And so I did…I cleared my weekend plans and make a big decision to make myself a priority for the day. After all, I so deserved it.

We met early in the morning at lululemon chestnut hill, where we immediately went into a 60-minute vinyasa flow to get our blood flowing. After breakfast + much-needed coffee (no shame!), we were given gift bags with little goodies and all the deets on our secret destination. Our gift bags were adorable + personalized with our names on them! They included:

• a japa mala bag for holding

This past Saturday, Kelley & I hosted our first Soul Sisters Day Retreat. Destination? Spectacle Island. For those of you who don’t know, Soul Sisters is a monthly retreat for women looking to escape the city, reignite their passion and re-connect with their soul’s truth.

Our first official retreat (away from the city!) could not have gone any better, and I think I can speak for anyone who was there that it was purely magical. The theme of our mini island getaway was empowerment & bliss, and we let that shine through in everything we did throughout the retreat.

Here’s a quick recap of our beautiful day:

11 a.m. The women joined us at Long Wharf to check-in and meet everyone. Upon arrival, they were given energy squares from Organic Living Superfoods and an organic, cold-pressed juice, courtesy of Cocobeet! Big thank you to Onur from Cocobeet for keeping us hydrated & rejuvenated all day long…my favorite juice was Green Genes, but other creative hits were Kickstart, Watermelon Quench, Forbidden and Black Rose. I think it’s safe to say the snacks were a huge hit! We also gifted the ladies vegan lip balms from Hurraw! Balm (my absolute fave) … Read More!

Last week, I took my first yoga class at Om Warrior in Boston with the owner & highly talented yoga teacher Marc McDonald. Before I walked into class, I was feeling a bit off (my mind was swirling with thoughts, doubts & fears) and life just seemed…chaotic. I knew I could resort to my yoga mat to find some answers, some clarity.

During class, the instructor (Marc) was taking us through a tree pose series and encouraged us to find or drishti for balance. Suddenly, I looked up and saw a beautiful, odd little elephant figure by the window with the sun subtly shining in, and thought That’s it. From that point on, suddenly my worries and fears from the outside world didn’t seem to matter. I was here, I was present, I was living in the now to its truest form.

In yoga or meditation,” finding your drishti” is a technique involving focusing on one point or object for greater concentration or balance, in my case the elephant. But if you take it into everyday life, I like to think of it as simply living in the now, experiencing life to its finest.

It’s finding peace with the … Read More!

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This past month, the lovely people from Sports Club/LA Chestnut Hill gifted me with a club membership. Since I had an amazing experience when visiting their space downtown, I was ecstatic to give their new club a try.

Chestnut Hill is totally blowing up lately with healthy offerings! Plus it’s close enough to my Brookline apartment for me to easily commute via public transportation.

The Amenities

Upon walking in, as expected, I was in awe of how beautiful the space was. The locker rooms alone deserve a separate post in itself! They have everything you could possibly need post-workout from lotion to hair dryers to deodorant. Their showers have all the essentials including razors, shaving cream, and high-end yummy smelling shampoos & conditioners. I absolutely adore the brand of beauty care they use by (MALIN + GOETZ) utilizing natural ingredients that are good for your skin.

Not to mention the roomy sauna and eucalyptus-infused steam room that totally blew my mind! I won’t lie: one day I took the trip just to give myself a mini “spa day” at the Sports Club/LA women’s locker room that is. In my defense, I was feeling a little stuffed up … Read More!

As you know by now, fall is my absolute favorite season. But what’s even better is Boston in the fall. And this year, the city’s got a whole bunch of fitness activities lined up to get you in tiptop shape for the holiday season! Burn of those cider donuts, candy corns and pumpkin spice lattes, de-stress from the workweek and let out your inner kid this Halloween with these fun (and sweaty) workouts in & around Boston!

Halloween Zumba with Ali B 10/25, 6:30 p.m.: Join fitness rockstar Ali Baldassare for a Zumba party like no other! Come by yourself, or bring your friends and get ready to rock out to Halloween faves including Thriller. This free event will be held at Beacon Hill Athletic Club on Atlantic Ave. Free More Info

Ultimate Bootcamp Trick Or Treat Workout 10/26, 9:00 a.m.: During this super-sweaty 75-minute workout, you’ll sprint, squat and burn those Halloween treats off, and have fun doing it! Costumes are encouraged (there’s even a prize for the best-dressed), and participants will receive special treats like gift cards and swag throughout. $25, Registration Required More Info

TFW Boston x sweetgreen Fitness Club Crawl 10/26, 12:00 p.m.: Unleash your … Read More!

Happy Thursday everyone! I am off to a great start to the day as I got my butt out of bed for yoga. Yoga mornings = the best kind of mornings. Today, I gave Karma Yoga in Harvard Square a shot for my first time. I took a super energizing Vinyasa flow with Rachel Barringer, who gave the perfect balance of challenging postures, breath work and good ol’ fashioned humor. I really enjoyed her class and give her big props for starting my day off on the right foot.

Speaking of yoga, today’s feature on Healthy Chicks in the Community is a yoga teacher as well, and she’s far from ordinary. In addition to yoga, she teaches Barre & Soul and even aerial yoga. Plus she’s a wonderful writer and all around amazing woman inside & out and someone who I have the pleasure of knowing personally. I’ll let Andrea take it from here! (I think you’ll enjoy what she has to say, especially her message at the end!)

NAME/AGE: Andrea Isabelle Lucas/33

BLOG/TWITTER: Fit Feminist / Barre & Soul /@barresoul

CURRENT CITY: Boston

PHOTO TAKEN: by Lucie Wicker during my Barre & Soul class at Lexington Power … Read More!

As women, we’re constantly comparing ourselves to our friends, acquaintances, co-workers, siblings, business partners, fitness idols, you name it. While being inspired by someone or looking up to someone is perfectly fine or normal, it’s when the comparisons set it that things can get a little messy. This typically leads to feelings of jealousy, resentment, judgement or straight up “not good enough” which can be extremely harmful to your personal wellbeing.

While I still struggle from time to time to resist my ego and natural inclination to compare myself, I’ve realized it does no one any good. Here’s why you should stop comparing your plate, pant size, paycheck, yoga posture and everything in between:

1. You don’t know their full story. Often times when we compare, we wish we were *just like* the other person OR we judge the other person. The truth of the matter is that we don’t know their full story, and we may never know their full story. Pay attention to your own story instead.

2. Bio-Individuality: Everyone is different and what works for one person may not work for another. This is why some women swear by vegan diets, and others thrive on lean … Read More!