I am a deeply feeling person, with an incredible ability to analyze problems.
Math was my favorite subject growing up. I wasn’t big into reading, but I would do math worksheets for fun. After returning from the library, I would create a chart scoring each book on various characteristics, like cover and length (the shorter the better, obviously). I would tally up the points to determine what order I should read the books in and then, promptly, read none of them.
My favorite TV show? Square One TV. My favorite part was Mathnet, a Dragnet takeoff in which a couple of detectives solved problems using math.
My favorite summer camp? Logic camp. Yep. You read that right. I used to create my own logic puzzles and give them to my mom, who couldn’t figure them out. I was probably 8-10 years old at the time and she was an English major. I enjoy reading now, but when I’m feeling stressed I find it too hard to focus. I joke that, in those moments, I need something that doesn’t require any brain power – like logic puzzles. Paint-doku is my favorite.
I think it’s possible I hold the world record in Minesweeper. You know, the game that used to come pre-installed on computers and wasn’t Solitaire.
This is the part of me that turned into an engineer. I honed my ability to think critically and methodically, to analyze data and solve problems while working in industry for nearly a decade.
I bring this part of my brain into yoga therapy sessions, and I take notes in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Everything can be a spreadsheet – trust me.
I have also taken the Myers-Briggs personality test multiple times and, believe it or not, I can barely see the word “thinker” from where I sit on the thinker-feeler spectrum. The way my body processes an excess of any emotion – anger, frustration, joy, loneliness – is to cry. I’ve cried during movies, concerts, on runs and yoga classes, in my boss’s office and probably yesterday. I can’t remember.
I was once told by a therapist that I’m very “in touch with my emotions.” Ha! Yes… and I’m in touch with my clients’ emotions too. I listen and I see. There’s no need to pretend anything is any different than the way it is in my space. We keep it reeeeaaaal human over here. Because the body is more than an amalgamation of muscle, bone and connective tissue. Pain is more than a puzzle.
I have found in yoga therapy a practice that enables me to utilize my whole being, my brain and my heart, and I believe this is also my unique offering. Not just a healing practice based in science and rational thought. Not just intuitive presence and the intangible powers of loving energy.
BOTH. I do both. Let’s call it heart-centered yoga-bio-engineering. That oughta clear up any questions, right? Ha!
If you’re in pain and looking for an integrated healing practice that honors your whole self, let’s chat. Schedule a free 20 minute consultation with me over Zoom. We’ll discuss what you’re looking for, what I offer and whether it’s the right fit.
Laura Waldrop 