Kirsty Loreen is a yoga instructor and model. She grew up in Washington State and spent most of her twenties traveling as a model around the globe. Then, Kirsty decided to move to LA in 2013 and became a yoga teacher after completing a 200-hour teacher training with Yogaworks followed by another 500-hour training as well. In our conversation, she tells us how she instantly fell in love with yoga, shares her morning routine, her experience as being the face of Honest Beauty campaigns and how she is staying active and healthy at home during the confinement.
Kirsty: My favorite quote is from Holstee Manifesto and it says:
“This is your life. Do what you want and do it often. If you don’t like something, change it. If you don’t like your job, quit. If you don’t have enough time, stop watching TV. If you are looking for the love of your life, stop; they will be waiting for you when you start doing things you love. Stop over analyzing, life is simple. All emotions are beautiful. When you eat, appreciate every last bite. Life is simple.
Open your heart, mind, and arms to new things and people, we are united in our differences. Ask the next person you see what their passion is and share your inspiring dream with them. Travel often; getting lost will help you find yourself. Some opportunities only come once, seize them. Life is about the people you meet and the things you create with them, so go out and start creating. Life is short, live your dream, and wear your passion.”
I love this quote so much I bought a large print of it and had it framed. I love it because it reminds us that life is often simpler than we make it. Sometimes in life, there are things out of our control, but if we choose to focus on the things that we can change and feel excited about, our lives can have a purpose and be filled with love and happiness.
I grew up in a really small town. I had a LA Fitness membership and I happened to randomly go into a yoga class once. The woman teaching wasn’t certified and I don’t think she ever had any formal training. But I loved it so much that after just that one class I always had thoughts about becoming a yoga teacher someday.
I did my training at yoga works and they teach a combination of Iyengar and Ashtanga, it’s alignment-based (Iyengar) which teaches body awareness and keeps you safe, combined with Ashtanga, the faster moving Vinyasas.
I function well on 8 hours of sleep but I think I function best with 8 to 9 hours. I know this is a lot of sleep, I wish I was one of those people who only need 6 hours, but I just have to accept that I am not and I will never be a morning person.
I don’t have a nighttime routine right now, however, in the morning I take my vitamin supplements and I have been getting in a short 20-minute yoga practice. It’s short but sweet and gets my body going for the day.
I think wellness is all about listening to your body, paying attention to it, and giving it what it needs. That will look different for different people and also change over time. I take a lot of supplements based on specific things I think my body needs. My favorites are 5 HTP for mood, L-theanine for calming, E3 live, and MCT oil for brain function and memory and when I’m feeling anxious I take KAVA to help calm me down. Besides the supplements, some of my other wellness habits are getting outside every day no matter what, and doing some kind of movement for at least 30 mins a day.
I don’t have any serious bad habits like smoking or anything detrimental to my health. But I procrastinate, it is a habit of mine, I’m trying to look into the deep reasons why I do it and cultivate more motivation.
I am most proud of getting certified to teach yoga. I think it changed my life to be in a group environment where I met so many people who had similar interests and beliefs as I did.
I feel like I’m still figuring this one out. [laughs] But I try to keep my days well rounded and as active as possible. I started to get depressed after about a week of quarantine and I pushed myself to go do things alone. I started going to the beach every day and then I wondered why I don’t go more often. Then I started hiking and I realized how much I LOVE hiking, especially with a girlfriend. With both of these activities, I try to pick beaches and hikes that won’t be packed.
Going during the week is best as for some reason the weekends’ people are still going out more even though they’re mostly working from home. If you don’t live in a place where the weather permits getting out, do workouts at home. One more way that I’ve been taking care of myself is setting goals and working on them every day. I’m currently in the process of getting my real estate license, so I work on that every day. I also made the goal of being able to do a press handstand within 4 months, this requires a lot of practice every day, so I have my work cut out for me.
Find things that work for you, it will look different for everyone. Move for at least 30 mins a day. There are a ton of gyms, and other fitness studios offering free or donation-based live-streaming classes ( please donate if you can because oftentimes these teachers don’t have another form of income). Meditation, if you don’t have a meditation practice using an app. My favorite app is meditation studio but there are so many awesome ones out there. Make goals that you can accomplish at home, if it’s going X amount of pushups, starting an online course, whatever it might be. Keep your body and mind active. It’s nice to sit on the couch and scroll IG or binge-watch things, but we need to be doing more than just that during this time to keep ourselves healthy.
My number one tip for meditating is to get an app you love. If you’re just starting out and haven’t trained with someone using a specific technique I think you need guidance. I still use an app, I almost never meditate without one. Also, I meditate in positions that are comfortable for me, I will lay down with lots of blankets and props to get my body as relaxed as possible, you just want to make sure you’re not going to fall asleep.
This was one of my favorite jobs, to be honest. The entire team was so fun and easy to work with. When is met Jessica she came up to me and said ‘You’re even more beautiful in person.’ And I wanted to say ‘So are you!’ But I thought that might be weird, so I may have been slightly awkward. Haha. She was super sweet.
I actually use a lot of The Honest beauty products. They were sending me these large boxes of stuff and I got hooked. I don’t have a high maintenance routine, just wash and moisturize. I also really like all the Peter Thomas Roth masks, I use those a few times a week.
My biggest dream is to one day own my own business and to have a family.
Matcha, I’ve been drinking less coffee and matcha has become a staple for me.
Amanda Chantal Bacon of Moon Juice, I’m obsessed with their supplements and juices.
You may like this NBA coach’s morning routine: click here [/mepr-show]
Love it! More interviews like this, PLEASE!
Thank you! You may like this one too https://goodmannersla.com/culture/self-care-tips-meet-the-very-private-holistic-facialist-vinida-savant/
Impressive stuff, love the diversity of articles and celebrities.
Thank you so much! We do our best to share inspiring stories from insiders, personalities, and leading experts!