S3 E23: Lauren Karpinski on Playfulness in Art and Life
In this episode, I had a refreshing conversation with Lauren Karpinski, an abstract artist who also practices many healing modalities (massage, acupuncture, reiki, yin yoga), and these things are very integrated for her. Like me, she thinks creativity and wellness are very intertwined, and she shares about how they integrate in her own creative process.
We chatted about mindfulness, the value of feeling good, how having fun makes us more productive, working with our natural energy cycles, being flexible in how we engage with creativity, managing anxiety, and letting go of control, among other things.
I’m very inspired by Lauren’s playful spirit, her unwillingness to take herself too seriously, and her approach to making art - I hope that hearing from her is also a breath of fresh air for you!
TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:
Lauren’s background as an abstract artist and in the wellness sphere (massage, acupuncture, yin yoga, and energy work), and her plans to blend painting with yoga or reiki
Balancing these interests, making videos, and promoting them
Examples of how she addresses mindset challenges using reiki and affirmations
Why she has taken being called “immature” as a compliment
The upsides and downsides of her relationship with play and fun
Acknowledging that feeling good has inherent value
How having fun makes us more productive (creatively and otherwise) AND helps us enjoy life more - win-win!
How to make an unpleasant obligation or experience more palatable
Lauren’s hurdles in cultivating creativity and how she works with her natural energy cycles to stay flexible
Less conventional ways to engage your creative mind that can be simple
How creativity and wellness are linked and how being in a creative flow state is healing for her
Lauren’s advice to make creativity seem safer and less vulnerable
RESOURCES DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:
Caroline Myss books Anatomy of the Spirit and Defy Gravity
Our conversation on Lauren’s podcast Sneaky Woo Woo
MORE FROM LAUREN
MORE FROM REBECCA
Subscribe to Creative Wellness Letters (my biweekly newsletter)
Fuel Your Creative Work With Compassionate Productivity workbook
SUBSCRIBE + REVIEW
TRANSCRIPT
Rebecca Hass 0:00
Hi, everyone,
Welcome to Season 3, Episode 23 of Being A Whole Person. How are you doing? That fresh start feeling in 2021 didn't last very long, did it?
I want to affirm to you that it is absolutely valid if it's hard for you to focus lately, if you're feeling extra emotional lately, if things are just seeming hard. It is totally valid to want to do less right now, and to want to spend more time caring for yourself. If it is feeling hard to connect with your creativity lately, that is okay, too, and very normal. It might take on different forms than you're expecting it to, and we talk about that a little bit in this episode.
If you're looking for a little creative boost with a very low barrier to entry, I want to remind you about my Feel Good Creativity Unchallenge. It's totally free, it's really fun, and you get 5 days of bite size creativity and wellness prompts, that are ridiculously easy to do, as small as you want them to be, and will help soothe your nervous system, (which I know we all need right now) to help you put your mind in the right place for creating, whatever that looks like right now.
Small actions are always great. Showing up for something is so much better than expecting a lot, and then getting overwhelmed and not doing anything. Although not doing anything, if that's what you need, is okay, too. I'll put the link in the show notes if you want to sign up for that, and infuse your life with a little bit more fun.
If you're feeling overwhelmed by this year so far, and you're looking for even more support to get unstuck and start moving forward with some of your goals and intentions for this year, I also want to remind you that one-time coaching sessions are a great option.
Rise Above the Overwhelm is a laser-focused single coaching session where we get right to the root of what's making you overwhelmed, and work on getting you unstuck, looking at where your time and energy is going, trying to make everything more balanced, and help you practice true self-compassionate productivity, instead of working all the time, with unrealistic expectations on your energy. So, if that interests you, there's also a link in the show notes, you're welcome to go ahead and book those. Or, if you have questions, you can also hop on a free discovery call, which will also get you some tangible tips to make sure you're headed in the right direction.
So those are some ways that I can support you right now, in case you need it. That does it for announcements, and now I'll tell you about today's guest. Lauren Karpinski is an abstract artist, who also practices many healing modalities like massage, acupuncture, reiki, yoga, and these things are very integrated for her. Like me, she thinks that creativity and wellness are intertwined in such an essential way.
We talk about mindfulness, the value of feeling good, how having fun makes us more productive, working with our natural energy cycles, being flexible in how we engage with creativity, managing anxiety, letting go of control, lots of stuff. I'm really inspired by Lauren's playful spirit. We had a really fun conversation on her podcast earlier in 2020, which you'll hear us reference having talked before, that's where we talked before. She really is unwilling to take herself too seriously, and I think that's so great, in a time when so many things seem so serious. I love her approach to creativity, and I'm excited for you to hear about it.
Today I have Lauren Karpinski on the podcast. Welcome, Lauren!
Lauren Karpinski 4:33
Hello, welcome. Thank you for having me. <laughter>
Rebecca Hass 4:39
We can welcome each other to this conversation. Yeah, I like it.
Lauren Karpinski 4:42
Welcome to my conversation with you. So happy to be here.
Rebecca Hass 4:48
I'm glad you're here, too. Can you tell everybody a little bit about who you are and what you do?
Lauren Karpinski 4:55
Yeah, sure. Well, so part of me is an artist, I paint - abstract art, and another part of me, well, that's really the main thing I'm doing right now, is designing stuff and abstract painting. Another part of me was an acupuncturist and a massage therapist, a few years ago. I haven't been doing that for a few years, but I might get back into massage, so very much in the wellness sphere. I really love energy work right now, yoga - yin yoga is my jam. I'm like, "part of me", there's all these different parts of me, but they all blend together. So basically...
Rebecca Hass 5:45
Yeah, of course!
Lauren Karpinski 5:47
...like creativity and wellness kind of go together for me. So a plan of mine is trying to blend, like painting with yoga or painting with Reiki, and maybe get some free videos up on YouTube. Cool. Recently, I've been making some YouTube videos, the problem is you have to film them, and edit them, and all this stuff.
Rebecca Hass 6:16
Yeah, it's a lot of work.
Lauren Karpinski 6:17
Even being home right now, I'm like, I'm having so much fun creating, and then finally, I was like, well, I should probably video some of this stuff and give that up, and so now I'm just trying to do that, because I just love painting so much, and I love...so I guess the two things, this is a long answer, but like, I don't know how to answer because...
Rebecca Hass 6:40
Long answers are good.
Lauren Karpinski 6:42
It's like all these things together, I feel like, make up, what I do and who I am. So creativity and wellness kind of goes hand in hand for me. So my studio where I paint is also where I do my yoga meditation. So, you know, like, I might be working on a few different abstract pieces, and then, while the paint's drying, I might do a nice yin yoga class, and it's all just ooey gooey and yummy.
Rebecca Hass 7:09
Nice. So you said you're thinking of combining Reiki with art and yoga with art? Can you tell me more about like, what does that look like?
Lauren Karpinski 7:17
What I'm thinking?
Rebecca Hass 7:18
What does that mean? Yeah.
Lauren Karpinski 7:19
I have been exploring this. So I feel like, as with a lot of people, 2020 has brought a lot of reflection and what's important to you, and important in your life and all that stuff. And I realized how important painting is in my life, and then how important I guess energy work is, and just, you know, meditate, self realization, self reflection, all those things. So how would it look, if I'm trying to put this together? What I'm kind of feeling like it is coming to me is that the Reiki would be kind of more of like meditation on the chakras. So you're kind of, we're doing it together. So I would be able to, like, guide, I guess, the session or the video or whatever, but using the chakras, I think, and don't quote me on this, because you know, things are always flowing, came to me the other day. So I just kind of ended up Reiki-ing for myself, just like you know, for the highest good, whatever I need. And then I just kind of ended up meditating on the solar plexus chakra. And, you know, that color is yellow. And then I envisioned, you know, "I'm self confident," "I respect myself", "I value myself", which is kind of cool, I kind of answered myself. As I'm picturing myself surrounded in all this lovely energy, I answered myself, and I was like, "I am confident. Yes, I know, I can do that. I respect myself. No, that is not acceptable to me." So these are like things that were you know, how you can, I guess, have affirmations but then also what that looks like, you know, I value myself.
Rebecca Hass 9:23
I love when that happens, though, that you're looking for an answer and through the process of reflecting, you happen upon it.
Lauren Karpinski 9:30
Yeah, I mean, those are the things that I trust the most, I think, too. It's like, "Okay, well, that could be either something I just needed for myself or that could be something that might show up in a way for like a video to help somebody else, too, possibly." So that was kind of more, I think, an idea for having Reiki, and, either during the same video doing some kind of art, or it's gonna be a separate video like, okay, well, now the
paint is gonna be drying, so if you feel like doing this Reiki meditation, you know, click this video.
Rebecca Hass 10:08
So they could watch you live painting?
Lauren Karpinski 10:11
Well I hadn't thought about live, but more just like pre recorded videos for YouTube. But that's true, I guess that is something I don't mind doing.
Rebecca Hass 10:23
Or I guess, I don't mean live, but like the process of watching you paint...
Lauren Karpinski 10:26
Right.
Rebecca Hass 10:27
...as you do it.
Lauren Karpinski 10:28
Yeah. And so, right now I just started recording some videos that were basically, I just call it playing, because to me the whole thing is just playing, like I'm just making my life fun because I'm just playing with paints, and it happens, that creativity just happens to help with my anxiety as well. And that kind of blends with the yin yoga and Reiki, it's all things that I do really just for self care. That brings me so much joy. But yeah, so you can watch me painting, I kind of started explaining different techniques or tips or tricks or mediums or types of paint. So I've just been like filming a lot recently, and I haven't really done much uploading yet.
Rebecca Hass 11:14
Cool. Sounds like it will be fruitful.
Lauren Karpinski 11:17
I think so I think I feel like it's the right direction. And with you know, COVID right now, it's a crazy time, so I was thinking about doing more, like Reiki home visits or doing energy work for people, like, again, getting out of the house. And I'm like, "No, I don't think I'm ready to do that." I think it's just so up in the air.
Rebecca Hass 11:40
Yeah.
Lauren Karpinski 11:40
And I was kind of just pondering, how is another way that I can show up, you know, just with this positive energy, and that's when, you know, I did that meditation, I'm like, "Oh, well, maybe just, you know, a nice Reiki meditation with chakras." Like, as something if somebody was interested, they could do, you know, in between my painting videos, because it's something that really helps me.
Rebecca Hass 12:04
So you just said, that you like to play, and it's just the way that you make yourself feel good and make your life fun. Have you always had that attitude? Or is that been something you've had to cultivate?
Lauren Karpinski 12:16
No, I've been told probably my entire life that I'm very immature. And I'm like, "Thank you very much!" So no, I just, that's just how I am. The downside of that is that if it's not something I feel like I can play at or have fun, I have a really hard time doing it or being there or showing up. So that's the downside to that. But the upside is when I can spend, you know, 12 hours painting, and it's just like, fun, and I'm in it and I'm flowing, and it's just something that brings me great joy, and I use it as a tool to not take life too seriously. Or be mindful, or I guess, all that stuff.
Rebecca Hass 13:07
I find that refreshing.
Lauren Karpinski 13:10
But...oh, thank you.
Rebecca Hass 13:11
Because a lot of us, myself included, find that we really have to give ourselves permission to do things that feel good just because they feel good. Like, I know, I was instilled with this need for a work ethic. And you know, I got a lot of those messages growing up. And so it was like, if something was just fun, it didn't really have the worth inherently that working did.
Lauren Karpinski 13:37
Oh, okay.
Rebecca Hass 13:38
So I find it very refreshing to hear that you can just do that, because that's something I've had to cultivate personally.
Lauren Karpinski 13:47
Okay, so how did you cultivate it? Like, what did you have to do? Just basically saying you have permission to have fun and then like, do something fun?
Rebecca Hass 13:55
Yeah, I mean, it's in process, of course. But I think yeah, that's mainly what it is, is trying to dismantle that message that okay, work is more important than everything else, and feeling good. Kind of just reminding myself that feeling good has a value in and of itself.
Lauren Karpinski 14:15
Yes. I love that. Because I think it's so true. And I think there has to be, there has to be this balance, like you need work for bills and all that stuff. But the other piece of the puzzle that has almost has to exist with that is like this feeling of fun. Otherwise, we would just be robots.
Rebecca Hass 14:44
Yeah. Well, and especially when you do work for yourself. It's like, did I get into this to be a mean boss? No, I did not, you know, I'm choosing this because I want to do it.
Lauren Karpinski 14:56
Right.
Rebecca Hass 14:56
And it should feel good. Like, that's part of the reason.
Lauren Karpinski 15:01
Yeah.
Rebecca Hass 15:01
Yeah. And as I explore more about the idea of compassionate productivity, which is something I've really gotten into in the last few months, I'm like, okay, actually, if you feel good, you do better work.
Lauren Karpinski 15:16
Mm hmm. I agree.
Rebecca Hass 15:17
And it's not that the doing better work has to be the main goal. But if that is your main goal, like feeling good, it's only gonna help you.
Lauren Karpinski 15:26
That's true. I mean, and if you try to even make things that maybe aren't as fun, a little bit more fun, you'll probably have more stamina doing it, too.
Rebecca Hass 15:36
Exactly. Yeah,
Lauren Karpinski 15:38
However you can, however, you can.
Rebecca Hass 15:41
Right. Yeah.
Lauren Karpinski 15:43
Yeah. That's something that's big for me. I just, I like to just feel like I'm having fun. And I'm just playing, and then these really cool, happy accidents happen, like, oh, wow, I had no idea that was gonna show up or happen. And you're, yeah, you're more like in flow.
Rebecca Hass 16:04
So how do you get yourself to do something I know, you said, like, if something isn't fun, it's more difficult for you to show up for it. But what if it's something that you like, really have to show up for? And it just doesn't feel like it's fun? Like, what? How do you approach that?
Lauren Karpinski 16:20
That's a really good question. I am not sure how I'm going to answer it, let's see what comes out.
Rebecca Hass 16:29
And, you don't have to tell me, like, the good way to approach it...
Lauren Karpinski 16:34
Just how I do
Rebecca Hass 16:34
... if the way you approach it is messy, like, I'm just curious what it looks like.
Lauren Karpinski 16:41
Probably the first thing that I would do would be try to get out of it. <laughter> And then if that is not an answer, then it would just try to be like, talking myself into realizing that it's more scary in my head. Or more like, you actually don't know what it's gonna be, you think it's gonna be hard, or you think it's gonna be this or that, but it didn't happen yet. So it might not be as hard as you think it might not be as stressful on you, as you think, or whatever, like, I try to do this self dialogue, of putting myself into the position of feeling a little bit more okay with doing it. And then I don't know, if it's something that's gonna be a long period of time? Let's say you have to go to work, and then you have meetings all day, and you just think you're gonna hate all of them. Breaks, like I take little breaks, I remember when I would get stressed at my other job, like 30 minutes for lunch, 20 minutes of that would be in my car with a meditation app in my ears, and deep breathing and calming down, and then that would put me in a good headspace to then go forward in the rest of the day and handle the stress a little bit better or something. So, giving myself mandatory breaks, if that's an option, but usually, you can make it an option.
Rebecca Hass 18:12
Yeah, I talk about that a lot, like how we think we can't take breaks, but we probably can. But even if we can't, like, say you're in that meeting, and you can't like physically step out, you could breathe deeply for 5 breaths, 10 breaths, like something that no one can tell you're doing, but you're still kind of putting yourself in that spot. Yeah.
Lauren Karpinski 18:36
Or you could, well, you could probably...it's not like the best thing, but you could probably excuse yourself to go to the restroom, whether you have to pee or not.
Rebecca Hass 18:45
Sure.
Lauren Karpinski 18:46
And you could give yourself 30 seconds in there to either just, you know, wash your hands with some cold water, take some deep breaths in there. So you're kind of just out of the meeting and refreshing yourself.
Rebecca Hass 19:00
Yeah. And sometimes we don't think we have the agency to do that. But we actually do.
Lauren Karpinski 19:06
Right, right. I agree.
Rebecca Hass 19:08
Yeah. Thanks for sharing that, because, yeah, you approach things, your approach to fun and feeling good as a main goal in life: like I said, it's not something that has always come naturally to me.
Lauren Karpinski 19:24
Oh, well, cool. Maybe there's more room for you to play around there. See, the only thing that I found is that that pretty much is my main goal, like, I just want to have fun and I want to feel good, understanding that there's still responsibilities in my life.
Rebecca Hass 19:44
Yeah, of course.
Lauren Karpinski 19:45
But, since a lot of people aren't like that, sometimes that gets hard, like having to just not listen to other people's opinions and stuff where I'm like, "No, this is what works for me."
Rebecca Hass 20:01
Mm hmm. Or maybe reaching an understanding with people that you need to work with or something? Yeah.
Lauren Karpinski 20:08
Yeah, other than that, that's what comes natural for me. So it's just who I am.
Rebecca Hass 20:14
Yeah. So if you're able to play, I would imagine that engaging in creativity usually comes easily. But do you have hurdles to that?
Lauren Karpinski 20:25
Yeah, I would say, definitely. Because it It depends. Like, sometimes, I'll be real, being a girl, we get our menstrual cycles. So, before my menstrual cycle, I usually have, you know, dips in emotions, and I might come in to try to paint. In my head, it's just like, I'm feeling sad today for no reason, I don't get it, you know. And so then I just give myself permission like, well, this isn't what you're supposed to be doing right now, and either I let that be a day where I watch Netflix all night, or I might find a different outlet. So like, painting is very physical and hands on, but then I also like coming up with like, funny t-shirts, or cool t-shirts that I put on my Etsy. So I might come into a different form of creativity, or just like, Oh, I can just sit down, open my computer, and, you know, design text, or whatever, and maybe that's where my head is that day, if it's not a painting. Or maybe the creativity just comes out in, you know, doing a yoga routine, because that is something that helps my anxiety. Amazing. So maybe I just, you know, just picking a few different poses, and then doing those is where my creativity, you know, comes in for that day. So.
Rebecca Hass 21:50
I think that's such a good point, that creativity can look so many different ways. And that your energy level really does play into what's the best way to engage with it that day. And that, like you think of creativity, you might think of painting first. But that's not all, yeah.
Lauren Karpinski 22:08
Mm hmm. Right. I mean, creativity can be so many different things. I know people that love to cook, and they find that creative, because they might be, you know, making a recipe where, yeah, for me, I'm not supposed to be in the kitchen. Like, I set my oven on fire this year. Like that's how much I'm not supposed to be in the kitchen, for serious. Yeah, but creativity can be so many different things. It doesn't have to just be like, I'm a sculptor, or something along those lines.
Rebecca Hass 22:40
I've been really thinking about that during this time to because as people are affected by all the many long ranging effects of COVID, and how that's affected our way of life and people's work. Like, I know a lot of people have kind of lost their spark for creativity in the normal way that they do it, and that can be really discouraging. There's a lot on our minds. And yeah, I've really been encouraging people to think about creativity and as broad a way as possible, and maybe it's not gonna look the same right now. Maybe it's gonna be different for a while. Maybe you're evolving into something new. But it's okay if it looks different.
Lauren Karpinski 23:21
Right.
Rebecca Hass 23:21
So I'm glad that you've embraced that.
Lauren Karpinski 23:23
No, I agree. I think it's okay, if it looks different. I mean, you could go out for a walk, literally, and just do the normal course you do backwards. And that could be you being like, using your creative mind, like, Oh, I'm seeing this world from a different view now, because I'm going down the street the opposite way.
Rebecca Hass 23:42
I do that a lot, actually. I'm like, I need to just mix it up a little, so I just did that yesterday. I was like, No, I'm on autopilot, I'm just gonna switch it up and do it a little bit different.
Lauren Karpinski 23:53
Yeah, there. And that's utilizing a creative part of your brain, I think, anyway.
Rebecca Hass 23:59
Yeah, me too!
Lauren Karpinski 24:01
It can be as simple as that.
Rebecca Hass 24:03
And we have such an idea, I say we, not you and me, but like, we Americans, or maybe the Western world, I don't know how to generalize, but like, the creativity is like, the art, the music, the acting, the whatever, and people are like, Oh, I don't have a talent for that, so I'm not creative. And it's like, no, everyone is creative, you just maybe don't realize how you're using your creativity.
Lauren Karpinski 24:29
Agreed. I feel the same way. I have a girlfriend who does like a lot of PR stuff, so she's constantly writing, you know, cool...I don't even know what you call them, not headlines or whatever. But she's, you know, writing a lot, and then she'll see my paintings and she's like, "I'm not really creative." I'm like, "Yes, you are, like, that's exactly what your whole job is - creative.
Rebecca Hass 24:54
Yeah, and I think maybe if people aren't doing it for themselves, it doesn't feel as meaningful. And maybe they don't see the creativity in it because of that? It's personal, of course, yeah.
Lauren Karpinski 25:06
Right.
Rebecca Hass 25:07
Yeah. So I noticed one of the first things you said when you were describing yourself was, creativity and wellness are very linked for you. Of course, you know, they are for me too, and the whole point of what I do in this podcast are, but can you tell me a little more about, just like your philosophy behind that, or how they're linked for you?
Lauren Karpinski 25:26
So everything, to me has an underlying energy. And, getting into the creative head of just like making things, and for me, it's usually all abstract most of the time, because it's a way to let my intuitive feelings take over, just the intuitive like, "I feel like there needs to be a slat right there, a curve right here, or a smush right there." And then I'm not really like thinking, I'm just kind of going. And sometimes I love it, and sometimes I hate it, but you just keep moving forward.
So, that space, to me, because the thinking brain isn't the one driving, it feels like a very healing place, because it's similar to what you're trying to do, if you are getting Reiki or you're doing yin yoga, you're trying to get into this space where your parasympathetic takes over, right? Your rest and digest. And you breathe deeper, and your body processes are more of in a healing mode. That's what it feels like for me if I'm in a creative flow. And so that's how the creativity is linked. For me, it feels like I'm able to not be in a stressful state. I think that's my answer.
Rebecca Hass 26:51
Yeah, I really like that. So they both have a sense of surrender, it sounds like.
Lauren Karpinski 26:55
Ooh, I like that. Yeah.
Rebecca Hass 26:58
A relinquishing of control.
Lauren Karpinski 27:01
Yeah, 'cause that is often what we try to do, at least for me, in your waking life, as you're trying to control like, what's for dinner? This schedule, I have to do this, I have to do this. And so being able to get out of that headspace, is very healing, I think,
Rebecca Hass 27:19
Yeah, me too. As someone who experiences anxiety, and with the world seeming increasingly uncertain - it's always uncertain, but like, right now, of course, it seems more uncertain - that it can be, I have to be a lot more intentional about that sense of surrender, and it doesn't always feel safe, either. Do you have any advice for people on how to make it feel okay to do that? Make it feel safe?
Lauren Karpinski 27:47
Oh, that's a big one, isn't it.
Rebecca Hass 27:49
Yeah. <laughter> Just tell us, you know, the answer to everything.
Lauren Karpinski 27:56
I think my answer to that would have to be getting a meditation routine. And I know people are probably like, if they don't meditate, they're probably like, I hear this all the time. And I just don't get it or I don't like it.
Rebecca Hass 28:09
Yeah.
Lauren Karpinski 28:10
But I think it's like, even like five minutes or a few times a week, if you can be able to slow down and just sit still. So okay, I'll say, this is one thing I like about yoga. The way I use yin yoga, if you don't know about yin yoga, it's slower. You hold the poses. And what you do is you come into this little place of discomfort in the pose, so you're not like super in pain, but you feel it. You, you know, make the commitment to hold the pose and just sit still. So even that, in itself is a form of meditation. And the way that helps with my anxiety and makes me feel safer, I guess, is it allowing me to realize I can be in this little bit of discomfort. And I can still just stay here and breathe through it. And know, it might be here for a little while, it might dissipate, it might come and go, but I'm telling myself, I'm in this. I'm holding it, I'm little bit uncomfortable and I'm still okay, so it's like those dual truths of, I might be uncomfortable, but I'm okay.
Rebecca Hass 29:29
Yeah,
Lauren Karpinski 29:30
So even just having something like that. I don't know, it makes me feel a little bit more like, it makes me feel safer. It makes me feel like I know I can handle something that comes my way. I know I'll have the strength to handle it. And I think when you kind of have a little bit of that in you, things will be hard, things will come, but I know I'll be able to figure it out when it comes, and again, this is like a work in progress for me, like, these are things that I'm working on myself, of course. But I think if you can have that either just a few minutes of meditation or yoga or something, you can slowly build up a sense of security in yourself.
Rebecca Hass 30:16
Yeah.
Lauren Karpinski 30:16
And so even if the world around you is uncomfortable, or you're uncomfortable, you can kind of have a little bit more grounding.
Rebecca Hass 30:23
Mm hmm. And you're not just telling yourself that you can sit with the discomfort you're showing yourself like you're proving it to yourself every single time. And that provides some security for like, the logical brains among us, too. It's like, "Okay, I know I did this, I have an example." And I know just sitting in a discomfort, a pose of discomfort in yoga isn't the same as like, a medical procedure that you're scared about or something, but you're totally right. You're building that skill every single time, and you're increasing your ability to be in discomfort.
Lauren Karpinski 30:57
Yeah. That's why I really fell in love with it.
Rebecca Hass 31:01
So I've always been meaning to try you in yoga, and I have not yet.
Lauren Karpinski 31:06
I loved it. I did my teacher training because with COVID, I just did it online. So it was good. It was yummy. It was awesome. But so I have things that helped me or that are dear to my heart or more of the things that I would like to share. So that's, like, if I do put up videos or something, it's usually something that has been important to me, or that helped me so they might be coming soon. Yoga is awesome.
Rebecca Hass 31:33
It's on my list. So we've already talked about a lot of self care. Yeah, throughout the podcast. But do you have other practices that are integral to your life that you want to share?
Lauren Karpinski 31:44
Well, walks are, I think we've talked about walks before, walks are a big one for me or even, I'm lucky that we have a reservation like five minutes from us so I can just drive over there and do nice little hikes in this park, I guess.
Rebecca Hass 32:03
Nice.
Lauren Karpinski 32:04
So I get like the nature therapy and the walking in that, I don't think I could not have that in my life. So, being outside in nature is key. And then yeah, walking. I'm not a runner. I I will not run, but give me a hill to walk up, I'll walk up it.
Rebecca Hass 32:26
I'm the same way. My knees don't really like me to run.
Lauren Karpinski 32:30
Yeah, they mine don't like it either. And I'm like, it's okay, you guys, we'll just do a nice walk.
Rebecca Hass 32:36
Yeah, exactly. And like hills, walking up a hill like that is still really good exercise.
Lauren Karpinski 32:43
Heck, yeah.
Rebecca Hass 32:44
Nothing wrong with walking as exercise. It's been my mode for like, 10 years. Yeah,
Lauren Karpinski 32:49
Yeah. Yeah, I remember you saying we were talking about I was like, that's hard for me to do in the winter. I had to make a pact unless my cheeks were burning, I think you were saying
Rebecca Hass 32:59
Yeah, that's right! Yeah, and that's totally not an issue for me anymore now that I live in California but like, I remember that Minnesota winter when I was like, "Okay, unless the air is really like, hurting my face. I'm going to go out every day, and I'm going to do this." And I really made friends with winter that year. It really made a difference.
Lauren Karpinski 33:19
I might have to try it this winter. I don't know.
Rebecca Hass 33:23
Or ice, if there was ice and I couldn't walk safely, I wouldn't.
Lauren Karpinski 33:27
Oh right, because you would slip. Yeah. Maybe I'll have to like invest in snow shoes or something.
Rebecca Hass 33:33
Yeah, or yaktrax, yaktrax are really good. Because you have the little spikes under.
Lauren Karpinski 33:38
Oh, we'll see. I feel like in the colder months. I end up doing more indoor stuff like more yoga or just walking inside.
Rebecca Hass 33:49
That makes sense.
Lauren Karpinski 33:50
And then in the warmer months, like spring through fall, I'm like outside, like using the hiking trail or, yeah.
Rebecca Hass 33:58
Yeah, I'm really spoiled now that I can do that year round. And when people are like, "Oh, it's chilly here," I'm like, "Yeah, the air never hurts my face here. So I'm always gonna be okay."
Lauren Karpinski 34:11
Jealous, jealous, jealous.
Rebecca Hass 34:13
Yeah. But you know, the Bay Area's very expensive, so there are trade offs for sure.
Lauren Karpinski 34:20
Like with everything, right?
Rebecca Hass 34:22
Exactly. Yeah. So then I'll just ask you, what does being a whole person mean to you?
Lauren Karpinski 34:31
I would say, giving yourself permission to have multi faceted things about yourself, like not describing yourself as this one thing, right? Or describing yourself as your job or however society would just describe you. Don't. <laughter> We're so much more, like this amazing, energetic being that has these amazing creative sides to you. It's not black and white. You might be something one day. And then the next day, you might feel like you're something else. And then you are that day. I don't know how to explain that except like, are constantly changing. So to make ourselves or to think of ourselves as one thing isn't allowing ourselves to be the whole person that we actually are.
Rebecca Hass 35:33
Yeah, I totally agree. I like that definition a lot. Yeah, we are always changing, and it's tough to accept how much we're always changing and to wrap your head around it.
Lauren Karpinski 35:42
That is true.
Rebecca Hass 35:44
That is all part of our wholeness. And it might be messy, the wholeness of each of us.
Lauren Karpinski 35:52
It's usually messy.
Rebecca Hass 35:53
Yeah, it is messy.
Lauren Karpinski 35:56
It is, it really is. And I'm a sucker for, I love self help stuff. Oh, I can give a book recommendation, actually.
Oh, yeah?
I've been really into Caroline Myss. She's a medical intuitive. And she's written all these really great books. One is called Anatomy of the Spirit. And she...
Rebecca Hass 36:17
Oh, yeah.
Lauren Karpinski 36:19
Yeah, you've heard of it?
Rebecca Hass 36:20
I have it. And I started reading it. And I don't know what happened. I didn't get very far. But I liked it.
Lauren Karpinski 36:26
Well, when it's the right time, like I had it literally for years, and then during quarantine, I just kind of saw it. And I was like, "Oh, let me start reading this." Game changer. Like what? Who is she? You know, googling her, got her, another book, Defy Gravity. Almost done with that one. But really, really great. If you're into all that stuff with you know, healing, healing beyond reason, the mystical mind like connecting with, beyond your thinking mind,
that kind of thing? I highly recommend. Yeah.
Rebecca Hass 37:05
I agree. Sometimes it has to be the right time, to pick up a book or to like, to absorb it the way it's intended.
Lauren Karpinski 37:12
Yeah, definitely has to be. Yeah. Cuz like, you know, that saying where you could hear something five times, and then the sixth time you're like, wait, what? Like it just, it was the right time.
Rebecca Hass 37:24
Right.
Lauren Karpinski 37:24
Right. So I genuinely believe that.
Rebecca Hass 37:29
Yeah, me too. This has been such a gem-filled conversation. Thanks for talking with me.
Lauren Karpinski 37:36
Thanks for having me.
Rebecca Hass 37:38
The last thing I like to ask people is, what are you excited about right now?
Lauren Karpinski 37:43
Painting.
Rebecca Hass 37:45
Yes!
Lauren Karpinski 37:47
What am I excited about? Yeah, I would say I'm excited about, it's all about, I think just what I'm doing. I feel like I finally got to this point, through lots of...Oh, I said, her books, too, self reflection. She has a lot of questions in her books. So I usually have my journal, I'm a journaling nerd. I usually have my journals and my books, and I'm underlining, and the answer like this. So the questions, realization and all that stuff. I also have some journals on my Etsy that I designed with my paintings.
Rebecca Hass 38:22
Ooh, cool.
Lauren Karpinski 38:22
Plugging that.
Rebecca Hass 38:23
Yeah, I'll link to all that stuff in the show notes for you.
Lauren Karpinski 38:27
But yeah, so I think I'm just excited, because I feel like, I've really been able to take the time to reflect and just do what feels good for me. And that's just exciting to be in that space, where I'm like, painting feels good. So I'm just gonna keep painting and having fun. And you know, yoga feels good. I might keep doing in yoga, just kind of coming into this space of doing what feels good for me, and honoring where I am. And so that makes me excited that I'm in the space to be able to do that for myself. And just be there. Yeah.
Rebecca Hass 39:08
I'm excited for you that you're there, too.
Lauren Karpinski 39:11
Thank you!
Rebecca Hass 39:12
I know, we don't get to stay there all the time. So when we're in that excited place, we have to appreciate it.
Lauren Karpinski 39:20
What are you excited about right now?
Rebecca Hass 39:22
Mmm!
Lauren Karpinski 39:23
Flipping the script!
Rebecca Hass 39:24
Yeah! Thank you. Right at this moment. I'm excited about lunch. That's my immediate answer. Yeah. But I think in a slightly broader sense - this is going to come out later, and this will already be out. But I'm making an e-book right now about fueling your creative work with compassionate productivity.
Lauren Karpinski 39:51
Cool!
Rebecca Hass 39:52
...that I'm about to put out so I'm excited about that. It'll already be out when everyone is listening to this.
Lauren Karpinski 39:57
Oh, heck yeah, that is super exciting!
Rebecca Hass 40:00
Thanks, yeah.
Lauren Karpinski 40:01
Wow. Yeah, books aren't easy to write, man. So good on you. That's, that's a big task. Yeah.
Rebecca Hass 40:11
Thanks. Yeah, it's a little workbook, it has kind of a method for how you can go through your day and like plan out your day in a compassionate way. But then it also has lots of different reflection questions about like, what is your relationship to productivity? Do you have systems that are working for you? How do they make you feel, you know, just kind of unpacking a lot of the stuff that we have around productivity too, so that we can be kind to ourselves around it.
Lauren Karpinski 40:40
Yeah, because when it feels fun, it's much easier.
Rebecca Hass 40:43
Exactly. Yeah. Yep. Your words would fit right in with a lot of the stuff I talk about in the book.
Lauren Karpinski 40:51
Awesome. That sounds great.
Rebecca Hass 40:55
Well, awesome. Thank you so much for talking with me today, Lauren.
Lauren Karpinski 40:58
This has been great. Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it.
Pianist and composer