ABOUT LAURE CARTER
The love of beauty and the beauty of the inner spirit
In my teens I was passionate about meditation, Yoga, social justice, philosophy and spirituality. I started meditating and practicing yoga asanas when I was 13.
My parents had a library filled with books on spirituality and metaphysics and hosted weekly friends who were mediums, psychics, astrologers and artists!
For me spirituality wasn't so much about psychic abilities as it a need to understand the "why". Why was I here? Who was I? What was the reason for life?
And I also loved art, beauty and style (I had a subscription to the French Elle). At 16, I was discovered by a scout and started modeling professionally, first in Martinique and later in the US.
On fashion runways, dressed in the most beautiful clothes by Oscar de la Renta, Bob Mackie, and Chanel, I wanted to inspire every woman in the audience to shine her light and show her true colors.
Learning to embrace all perspectives
In the early 1990s, I was living in Paris when we had the terrorist attacks in the Parisian subway. The closeness of this experience (I was in the subway, a couple of stations away when one of the attacks happened) made me want to understand the reason behind these attacks.
So I went back to school to study political science in the Arab world at the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO). I received a Bachelor degree in Literal Arabic and planned on finding my way into the diplomatic field. I had hoped that I could build bridges through connecting perspectives.
Though I speak very little Arabic, this experience taught me how to allow different perspectives to cohabit and to look for the commonality: our humanity.
9/11 crashed my dreams and hopes. I decided trying to change world views was futile. However, I could strengthen my inner self and cultivate inner peace, courage and acceptance so I could live in the world.
Living the dream
In 2002 I met a Reiki and Yoga master who was my first business coach. She showed me that I could make a living sharing my passion and my gifts for Yoga, meditation and healthy living.
I opened my first health and wellness studio in 2006, became a Holistic Health Counselor in 2007.
From 2009 to 2014 I ran a Forrest style yoga studio with my business partner.
I was teaching 14 classes a week, training Yoga teachers and catering to private clients. I had a full schedule and I loved it!
I was living my dream, until I started experiencing symptoms for the first time in my life.
Breaking down and open
I thought I knew everything I needed to know about wellness and what it took to stay symptom-free and have loads of energy!
But in my mid-forties I was transitioning into perimenopause and my body changed, my health changed.
Some of the symptoms I experienced was debilitating digestive issues, and exhaustion. As the digestive symptoms got worse I started gaining weight, especially fat around my belly. I gained 25 lbs. I felt disconnected not just with my body but with life, I didn’t enjoy life anymore.
We interact with this world through our bodies. When our bodies break down or simply don't feel right anymore, even the slightest, this affects how we live and feel. It makes us strangers to our own bodies and our world feels foreign.
Once again I sought to understand why...
Understanding the root cause of something might it be life, violence or a symptom is the red thread of my life's journey
Seeking a solution to my health issues, is what brought me to Ayurveda and it completely changed the way I ran my business and coached about health.
Ayurveda is a thousands of years old medicine that seeks to understand the root cause of imbalance.
Asking the question "why" is what attracted me to Ayurvedic Medicine.
Once I get to the cause, then I can take a person from where they are to where they need to be to feel good physically, emotionally and mentally.
Coming full circle...
In December 2014, I downsized, closed my big Yoga studio and opened a private wellness and yoga coaching studio. And when the pandemic hit us, I moved my coaching practice online.
Healing my own body with Ayurveda and Yoga and my own mental well-being with meditation and mindfulness techniques is what moved me to create my Effortless Weight Loss programs and trainings. Going from a 3-month weight-focused program to a 6-month wellness-focused program, taught both in English and in French to women all over the world.
It's like coming in full circle...
I get to bring together women with different circumstances, cultural traditions and world-perspectives.
I get to see them bond over their common humanity, their deep desires and their challenges.
I've been blessed with understandings that have given me the tools to support my body's well-being and my mental wellness through the changes of seasons and of life.
My greatest hope is that I can be part of showing other women the way to balance and peace while living a life of both success and wellbeing!
On a more personal note...
When I'm not coaching, I love to bake and I absolutely LOVE inspiring others to cook delicious, nutritious and easy to digest meals!
I feel very lucky to live in the "sunshine" state of Florida and be able to watch the birds, the top of the trees and the blue sky when I look up from my computer.
I hope to share all that deliciousness, beauty and warmth when I meet you in one of my trainings and programs!
With love,
