Meet Laura Gould | Movement Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Laura Gould and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
There are a number of practical reasons I could list for me wanting to set up my own business, but here are the more interesting and important ones:

Every opportunity that has led me to work for other people has taught me a great deal, but in regard to business, I struggle to follow someone else’s vision. The reason I am a coach is for the pure love of teaching others based on my knowledge, experience and passion; I want people to fall in love with movement for healthy and maintainable reasons. When working for others, my passion to grow their business fizzled out fast, and I’ve only found true consistent motivation and discipline when I have followed my own curiosity and interests.

To summarise, working for myself has allowed AUTHENTICITY. I pride myself on being genuine and meaningful, which has given me way more empowerment and daily enthusiasm than any other job I have worked in.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
One thing that I am very passionate about is the need to link the mind and body in training and every day life, hence the business name ‘Your Mindful Movement’.

I think about these connections every minute of the day, and find myself searching and learning continuously about how I can grow my inner connections through feeling, thinking, eating and moving. Having had, and continue to have my own experience in holistic growth through training, I want to share these insights with others.

I work with clients to create space, strength and agility in their bodies and essentially teach them how to use these physical skills in everyday life, thoughts and feelings.

Here’s an example…

In my own training, my current focus is maintaining strength, but creating more space and flexibility. Why? Mobilising my body will in turn morph into mobilising my own life. Coming from a rigid and controlled upbringing, plus a bunch of insecurities, I’m determined to shed those boundaries and live a more fulfilling and ‘free’ life. Since mobilising my body more, I have already felt myself relax more in my daily life, a physical, mental and emotional release.

Everything is connected, and this is something that I personally feel is a missing link in training. Most people workout with no intention to progress their intrinsic powers, instead focus on external factors such as weight loss, muscle growth or other more superficial improvements. These are very valid reasons to move your body, but imagine how much more self empowerment and freedom you could create for yourself if you could improve your own inner connections?

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am an online coach, currently based in Melbourne Australia. I’ll try answer this without necessarily naming specific places, rather my thought process on enjoying and exploring new places.

BRUNCH! Wherever you are in the world, the best start to the day is a walk around the city, exploring the architecture and finding a great spot for late morning food and coffee.

I’m a sucker for nature – specifically cold dips in beautiful waterfalls. If I’m visiting a new place, I’d love to head out of the city and into the country’s natural settings. I’d pack a bikini for the water, and bring picnic snacks to enjoy good food and a nice chill!

To finish the day, I’d find the best spot for sunset watching, pizza and a few ciders. In Melbourne, we’d be on the beach for sure.

(you can tell I’m not a massive city girl)

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Here’s your standard cliche response (but it’s true!) – Everyone I have worked or spent time with, whether it be in the fitness industry or outside, have helped me be the person and coach that I am today.

Here are three people who have impacted me the most in the last 2 years:

Wim Raes: he kindly guided/coached me throughout 2020 to overcome a lot of imbalances and trapped emotional tension in the body. With his guidance I started an even deeper journey with movement to explore myself as an individual and my purpose in life.

Strongfit head coaches: Julien Pineau & Richard Aceves
These guys are incredibly knowledgeable, especially when it comes to movement, the nervous system and the evolutionary connections between the two, Through learning and practicing their principles, I was able (and continue to) grow my coaching knowledge and applications on a whole new level.

Website: yourmindfulmovement.com

Instagram: lauramcgould

Image Credits
Lisa Saad (Gotham Studios)