Ep 30: A 15-Minute Spa Day for Your Mind | Guided Lab

Last week Laura shared how she regulates her nervous system. This week is the other half: how she fuels it. Your body is constantly sending reports up to your brain, and what you eat and drink changes those reports. Laura walks through how she eats, what she's learned from testing things on her own body, and the simple daily routines she's built around food and water. Some of it is backed by solid research. Some of it is Laura experimenting on herself and reporting back. This episode covers: The kind of energy most of us are running low on, and the everyday task that tells Laura hers is low Why loving what you eat matters more than most people think What she learned about her own body that went against everything she'd read Why how fast your blood sugar comes back down may matter more than how high it goes The surprising connection between building muscle and still enjoying your weekend treats What your Human Design chart says about how you like to eat What her sleep data showed her about alcohol Her morning routine, from the first sip to her pre-workout latte What the gut and the brain are actually saying to each other Why water and minerals matter so much for your brain The habit that replaced her soda Why none of this is meant to add stress to your life Mentioned in this episode: Viome gut testing Dexcom continuous glucose monitor FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitor Lumen metabolism tracker Oura Ring Cymbiotika Molecular Hydrogen tablets Bob's Red Mill Potato Starch Danger Coffee Organic Valley Protein Plus Ultra-Filtered Fat Free Milk mBreakfast by Crucial Four Be Well by Kelly beef protein powder Zen Basil seeds ZeroLyte electrolytes by Trace Minerals Gerolsteiner mineral water Jing Soda drops Episode 18 of Useful Thinking, on Human Design digestion Episode 28 of Useful Thinking, Part 1 of this series Please note: Nothing in this episode is medical advice. Talk to your doctor before trying anything new, especially if you have a health condition or take medication. Laura has no affiliation with any of these companies, and none of these are affiliate links.

Laura has never shared her personal routines before, on the podcast or anywhere else. This week she walks through the practices and gadgets she uses in her own life to help her body feel safe, and explains why that matters so much for the mind work this show is about. Some of it is backed by solid research. Some of it is Laura experimenting on herself and reporting back. This is part one of two. Next week covers everything on the food and fuel side. This episode covers: Why Laura has held back from sharing her routines until now How your brain and your body talk to each other Why avoiding stress isn't the goal How she uses a wearable without letting it run her day Four ways to breathe, and what each one is for The kind of meditation she practices, and why it fits the work of this show Why feeling safe is only the starting point Two thinking practices that take almost no time How she turns a daily walk into training What she learned about fear from working with a dream interpreter The gadgets, including the most "out there" thing she uses The one principle that keeps all of it from turning into a chore Mentioned in this episode: Oura Ring Wim Hof Method breathing Waking Up meditation app J.M. DeBord, dream interpretation Laura's drumming walk playlist on Spotify BON CHARGE Infrared PEMF Mat Quantum Upgrade Laura's weekly articles on Substack Please note: Nothing in this episode is medical advice. Talk to your doctor before trying anything new, especially if you have a health condition or take medication. Laura has no affiliation with any of these companies, and none of these are affiliate links. Curious about your own Human Design profile? Find it at Human Design Blueprint. You'll need your birth date, birth time, and birth location. Laura would love to hear from you: If you have a practice you love, find her on Instagram @think.laura and tell her what it is. MEMO: MEMO is Laura's private audio library, with over 180 mini coaching sessions to shift limiting beliefs and mental patterns at the root, and new ones added weekly. Podcast listeners get an exclusive discount with code USEFUL. [Get MEMO here]

You've heard "know your why" more times than you can count. The reason you pick for a goal decides whether you're still going six months from now. This week Laura looks at what your why is actually doing in your brain, why so many of them stop working, and what she learned the hard way while chasing a goal of her own. This episode covers: The moment your why has to do the heavy lifting The two directions your brain can drive you in, and which one lasts Why some of the most popular motivation advice has an expiration date What happens to your drive once you get what you were after What to tie your why to if you want it to last Why the way you go after a goal matters as much as the reason Why sticking with long-term goals is harder now than it used to be The question to ask about anything you're working toward Laura would love to hear from you: If this one landed, find her on Instagram @think.laura and tell her what your why is. MEMO: MEMO is Laura's private audio library, with over 180 mini coaching sessions to shift limiting beliefs and mental patterns at the root. Want to find your real core values? Start with MEMO episodes 67 and 68, How to Choose Your Values, parts one and two. Podcast listeners get an exclusive discount with code USEFUL. [Get MEMO here]

Abundance mindset, lack mindset, scarcity thinking. We hear about it constantly, and most of us have a feel for what it means. But if you try to actually work on it, it gets slippery. How do you practice believing there's enough? Where do you even start? This week Laura makes the case for why this matters far more than just feeling better, and then narrows it all the way down to one thing. If you want an abundance mindset that holds up when things get tight, there's one place to put your attention. This episode covers: Why lack can look like being sensible, not like fear The four reasons a scarcity mindset costs you more than you think Why the fastest way out of lack is the thing lack makes feel dangerous What the word generous actually means, and the surprising word it shares a root with The moment right before you give, and what it tells you about what you really believe Money, time, and kindness, and how to find your generosity in each one Why you shouldn't judge yourself when you notice the hurdle, and what to feel instead Why being generous with people who've earned it doesn't expand you, and where the real growth is Connect with Laura: Laura would love to hear from you! If this one landed, find her on Instagram @think.laura Join Laura's Free Thinking Practice on Substack: ThinkLaura Looking for 1:1 Coaching? Get more information + application here

This is one of the foundational ones. The kind of episode you might come back to ten times in a year. At any given moment your brain is pulling from an enormous amount of data to construct your reality, and it does that automatically, for speed, without checking with you. This week Laura teaches the tool she uses to change that filter on purpose. It's something you build ahead of time, when you're calm, so it's already in place the moment your emotions hit and your interpretation starts to distort. Because you don't drop anchor in the middle of a storm. This episode covers: Why a shift in your life is really a shift in your perception The tool Laura uses with clients and grad students to build a new automatic lens Why the bigger the emotion, the bigger the distortion A story from Laura's own marriage that shows how a true thought and a false interpretation arrive fused together Why useful and true were never the same thing, and what useful actually has to be measured against The four hallmarks of an anchor statement that works, and the one that rules out most of the bad ones Three wording rules, including why your brain can't process a negative Laura's own statements across four different areas of her life The thirty second process for running a thought through your anchor What Laura and Mike each wrote about the other, years ago, and what they do with the evidence that contradicts it Why this is deliberate brainwashing, and why you should make sure you want what you're building Get MEMO: MEMO is Laura's private audio library with over 180 mini coaching sessions to shift limiting beliefs and mental patterns at the root. Podcast listeners get an exclusive discount. [Get MEMO] Use code USEFUL to save 30% off lifetime access. Connect with Laura: Instagram: @think.laura Join Laura's Free Thinking Practice on Substack: ThinkLaura