About Lauren
I've Spent 20 Years Studying Change. Mostly Because Changing Myself Has Been So Difficult.
I know a lot about why people behave the way they do.
I've studied Positive Psychology, Jungian depth psychology, dreams, breathwork, and the nervous system.
I have certifications. Quite a few.
And I still occasionally do things I know perfectly well I shouldn't do.
This is what fascinates me about being human.
We can understand ourselves brilliantly and still behave like idiots.
We know why we get angry.
We know why we worry.
We know why we keep having the same argument with the same person.
And then we do it again.
For years, I thought the answer was more insight.
More understanding. More self-awareness. More psychology.
And those things matter.
But eventually, I discovered something that changed the direction of my work.
The mind can understand change long before the body knows how to practice it.
That's how I ended up teaching people to get into cold water.
Which, admittedly, is an unusual career development.
I Used to Think Other People Were the Problem.
Not all the time.
But often enough.
If someone would just behave differently, I would feel better.
If circumstances changed, I could relax.
If life became less complicated, I could finally be happy.
This is a very appealing theory.
It also puts an extraordinary amount of responsibility for your happiness on other people.
And other people are notoriously unreliable.
Eventually, I had to ask myself an uncomfortable question.
What if I couldn't change what was happening, but I could change how I responded?
That question led me into psychology, contemplative practices, breathwork, and eventually cold exposure.
I began to understand that change wasn't simply about having better thoughts.
It was about developing the ability to respond differently when life became difficult.
Which is easy to say.
And considerably harder to do.
Cold Water Is a Terrible Place to Lie to Yourself.
You can tell yourself you're calm.
You can tell yourself you're resilient.
You can tell yourself you've mastered your emotions.
Then step into cold water.
Your body immediately has an opinion.
GET OUT.
Your shoulders tighten. Your breath changes. Your mind starts negotiating.
Suddenly, all those wonderful ideas about self-regulation are being tested.
And that's why I love the cold.
Not because I think everyone needs to become an ice bath enthusiast.
And not because I think suffering is a virtue.
I love it because it gives us an immediate opportunity to observe ourselves.
With appropriate guidance, you can breathe.
You can notice what's happening.
You can discover that your first impulse doesn't have to determine what you do next.
You can have a reaction without automatically obeying it.
That's a useful thing to learn.
Especially when you're dealing with a difficult relationship, an unexpected loss, or something you can't control.
Cold helps us practice meeting manageable stress.
Breath gives us a way to influence our response.
Heat offers an opportunity to experience recovery.
Positive Psychology helps us recognize our strengths.
Jungian depth work helps us understand the stories we keep repeating.
Different approaches. Same purpose.
To create a little more space between what happens to us and what we choose to do next.
The Best Thing About Getting Older Is That You Have Less Time to Waste.
I work primarily with women in midlife and beyond.
Not because I think we're falling apart.
Because I think this is when things finally get interesting.
By now, we've made a spectacular number of mistakes.
We've also done some remarkable things.
We've raised families. Built careers. Loved people. Lost people. Started over.
We've survived things we thought we couldn't.
And we've learned that many of the things we once worried about weren't worth the effort.
That's wisdom.
Or at least the beginning of it.
Yet we're surrounded by messages telling us that aging is a problem to solve.
We're supposed to look younger.
Feel younger.
Act younger.
Apparently, the highest achievement of an older woman is to convince everyone she's not one.
I find this ridiculous.
Why would I want to be the woman I was at 30?
I know so much more now.
I'm interested in what women gain as they age.
Perspective. Discernment. Self-knowledge. Courage. Freedom.
And the increasingly wonderful ability to disappoint people without feeling compelled to explain yourself.
[PHOTO 4 — Women in midlife laughing together after a cold plunge or sauna. Wide, candid image showing connection and joy.]
Midlife is often described as a crisis.
Sometimes it is.
But sometimes it's simply the moment when you realize that the life you've built no longer fits quite as well as it once did.
And you have a choice.
You can keep living according to the expectations you've accumulated.
Or you can begin asking better questions.
What matters to me now?
What am I ready to stop doing?
What haven't I done yet?
I'm not interested in helping you become the woman you used to be.
I'm interested in the woman you're becoming now.
I've Had Several Lives. I'm Planning on Having More.
I've worked in bookstores and restaurant kitchens.
I've taught canoeing and kayaking.
I've been a visual artist, teacher, writer, and suicide prevention volunteer.
I'm a wife and mother.
I've held the hands of people I love while they died.
I've studied psychology, dreams, spirituality, and the complicated business of being human.
I've spent years practicing breathwork, sitting in very hot saunas, and getting into very cold water.
I live between Boston and New Hampshire, where water and the natural world are central to my life.
I used to think all these experiences were unrelated.
Now I think they've been different ways of exploring the same question.
How do we become more fully ourselves?
Not more successful.
Not more impressive.
Not more productive.
More ourselves.
Because I suspect that much of what we call personal growth isn't about becoming someone new.
It's about recognizing what we've known for a long time and finally having the courage to live accordingly.
Yes, I Have Credentials. But That's Not Why You Should Work With Me.
I'm a Certified Cold Club Holistic Instructor, an Advanced Wim Hof Method Instructor, a Certified Applied Positive Psychology Coach, and a Certified Dream Pattern Analyst through the Assisi Institute.
I've studied Jungian depth psychology, breathwork, contemplative practices, and SoulCollage®.
I have a BA in Anthropology from Brandeis University.
I founded Positive Change for Life™ because I believe that real change becomes possible when we stop trying to control everything around us and begin paying attention to how we meet what's happening.
But credentials aren't the reason to work with me.
Work with me because you're curious.
Because you're willing to question the stories you've been telling yourself.
Because you're ready to explore what happens when you stop automatically reacting and start making conscious choices.
I don't have a plan for your life.
And I don't think you need another person telling you how to live.
I can walk beside you for a while, ask useful questions, introduce practices, and help you recognize the wisdom you've already earned.
What you do with that wisdom is up to you.
And that's the interesting part.