Episode 24 - Finding Your Flexibility With Yoga Goddess Amina Taha (Full Transcript)
This is a full transcript of the Nirvana Sisters podcast Episode 24 Finding Your Flexibility With Yoga Goddess Amina Taha.
Editor’s Note: Please know that this podcast transcript is automatically generated and may contain minor errors such as typos and word switches. For more information, be sure to listen to the podcast here or view our podcast episode guide.
Amy 0:07
Welcome to Nirvana sisters, where we discuss all things health and well being to help you achieve your highest state your nirvana. Hi, I'm Amy Sherman, a marketing exec with a passion for wellness and beauty.
Katie 0:19
Hi, I'm Katie Chandler, a former fit model that has a passion for health and fitness. We are
Amy 0:25
sisters in law who share the same love for well being ready to sift through all the self care noise and bring you a splash of what we think is fun. So let's get started. Welcome to Nirvana sisters, Nirvana sisters family. I am so excited that we are talking with Amina Taha today, straight from Egypt and we're so excited to have her on the podcast. She's a friend of mine that I met a few years ago. She's an amazing human being and I'm so excited to hear everything that she has to tell us about her journey to yoga. So Amina found yoga at the age of 27. During the start of her career as a fashion designer, she was immediately drawn to yoga and how it taught her about her body and herself. Without further ado, I will say hello to Amina, how are you? Amina?
Amina 1:13
Hi, Amy, thank you so much for having me.
Amy 1:15
Thank you so much for joining us. And thanks for your time. I know you're in Egypt, and it's like, what time is it there? It's probably like eight hours ahead.
Amina 1:22
It's 630 right now. So like 36 hours?
Amy 1:26
Yeah, six hours. Okay. Amazing. So, we always start our show Amina with a weekly nirvana. And it's really just a way to talk about what was what brought us joy this week, big or small, just something that brought us a little bit of sunshine. So I'll hand it to Katie to do her weekly Nirvana first.
Katie 1:47
Alright, well, Thanks, Amy. Hi, Amina. It's so great to finally meet you. We've been talking about this for a long time. So excited to be here. So my weekly Nirvana I think honestly is about to happen. Aside from how fabulous This is, as soon as we sign off, I'm going to go have a special day with my mom and my two girls where we were getting ready to move out of the state. So it's been kind of crazy and hectic around here. So we're going to go do many petits and go shopping and just have a fun little girl's day. So I'm excited for that. One, yeah, it'd be fun. What about you, Amy?
Amy 2:17
Well, I'm probably about to have mine too, because my boys Jackson and Jules who are 14 and 11. For those who are new listeners have been at summer camp all summer for seven weeks. And they didn't have a visiting day this year, obviously, because of the pandemic. So we're going to pick them up in like an hour. So I'm so excited to see them. So that's my future nirvana. My my weekly nirvana. I've had a pretty busy week, I would say one little thing that brought me joy, which is kind of silly slash embarrassing is that I tried to not drink this week. And for the next like two weeks, I was like, Okay, I'm not going to drink anything. Because I mean, I've been like, on vacation and just having a summer you know, with the boys gone and drinking and just enjoying it. I'm like, this is just too gluttonous. I need to cut it off. So I like haven't drank a weed. I've eaten really clean and I feel so good. So it was just I don't know, I feeling really good this week, because I was cutting out all of the sugar and all the bad stuff for me. So that's my nirvana. What about you, me now?
Amina 3:12
That's amazing. I'm proud of you. It was it was also kind of related to motherhood. I was in this cute little town called the habit, Egypt's that's kind of a diving and snorkeling town. And I was walking with my son, and just ahead of us was my sister and her husband. And so we were kind of walking behind me and my three year old boy. And he just kissed my hand and said, I love spending time with your mama. And it just like, melted my heart. And I feel like keep this moment with me throughout the week because of how special it was.
Amy 3:44
Oh, he's so sweet. What was his name again?
Amina 3:47
Malik.
Katie 3:48
Now, like, that's such a good name. Remember
Amy 3:50
when we met, he was like a baby. And I watched him grow on your Instagram. And he's beautiful. And I love pictures with you guys together.
Amina 3:59
You know that? That I met? You was actually the first time I had left him ever.
Katie 4:04
Oh, wow. That's right.
Amy 4:05
And we had that long conversation about motherhood on the boat. I remember that. So yeah, I Katie, I have just you know, I've been to some of Amina's classes in New York. And I've talked to her a lot. And I really wanted to interview her for the show because I one thing stuck out to me. I mean, and I think I told you when we were chatting that when I first met Amina, I was like, Oh my God, she's so incredible. She's so flexible. She's so beautiful. Yoga just must come to her like so easily. And I remember her saying, No, in fact, I just started yoga. I think it was at that point. Maybe you had started yoga five years ago, and you were like, I couldn't touch my toes. When I first started. I was not athletic. I would lay around on the couch and I was like blown away because someone like you seems to me like you would just like have it in your nature. So thank you for coming on the show. And I just wanted to give Katie that little update because I was just so impressed. So we have some quickfire questions and then we'll kind of get into the main interview. But how long have you been practicing yoga?
Amina 5:00
I started November 2014. So it's about seven years now, I would say,
Amy 5:05
amazing. And what is your favorite pose?
Amina 5:09
My favorite pose changes every week. This week. It's happy baby, just because it feels so good and happy, widespread. Yeah. Yesterday, we did a happy baby under the stars in a workshop. So it just felt so amazing. And I still love that post right now.
Katie 5:26
Sounds amazing.
Amy 5:27
That's awesome. Okay, so Amina tell us about growing up in Egypt and your background and kind of your journey to yoga.
Amina 5:34
So I actually moved to Egypt in middle school, and I always wanted to study fashion. So yoga was completely out of my, you know, ambitions or, or any kind of future plan. And when the revolution happened, I had just graduated. So the Egyptian revolution happened in 2011. And I had just graduated university, I had studied fine arts. And I was dreaming about, you know, living abroad and studying fashion because there was no fashion schools in Egypt. So I moved to Paris did an intro to fashion course. And then from there did another, applied basically to do a master's in fashion in New York. And I finished that. And then I was about to start my first job with choice and Abu Dhabi in fashion. And I had a month to kill. So in that month to kill, I was like, let me start something new, like a new hobby. And that's how I walked into my first yoga class. And my life just completely changed from there because it became my passion.
Katie 6:35
That sounds amazing. You first of all, you're a little you're not little but your big growth through passion sounds epic and Paris and New York, but must have no such an unbelievable experience.
Amina 6:46
Love it, like, yeah, it's always gonna stay a part of me. But if for some reason, I just felt more connected to the My purpose felt more true to teaching yoga, nothing brought me more joy than doing that.
Katie 6:58
That's really beautiful. Were you active before? Did you exercise or do anything prior to that?
Amina 7:04
Never.
Katie 7:05
Gosh, it's insane. That's
Amy 7:07
what I'm saying. I was like, incredible.
Amina 7:10
I could not touch my toes. I had never done any I just always also like labored labeled myself as a person who just doesn't enjoy sports who's not active. So I had the most unhealthy kind of foods lifestyle, I just had a really fast metabolism. So I would eat, I would wake up and eat cheesecake, I would just, I was like, oh my god over for a few years, I just had this disconnect from my body. And I felt like I was a stranger and my body never really understood my body. And then that's really what drew me the most to yoga was that at 27, I felt like, oh, I can start to actually connect to this to this vessel that I use every day, you know?
Katie 7:47
Yeah, I definitely understand that I started practicing yoga, I want to say like, maybe three years ago, but nowhere near anything like you. I'm so curious about your practice. Like when you first started, were you just taking the occasional class and then you realize that you enjoyed it and ramped up? Like, how did that transition happen? Because I mean, I'm lucky if I get like 230 minutes sessions a week, which is so lame. But how did that happen for you?
Amina 8:12
So I actually had that month to kill until my office was ready. So I was practicing very consistently, the first month that I started, I was going to yoga classes, I would say like about three times a week. And I just had the, you know, kind of the luxury of going whenever I wanted in the day. And then when I started my nine to five job, that's when I really felt the shift after doing it for a month as much as I wanted, then having that, like, I'm sitting on a desk nine to five, you know, then I started to have to prioritize it into my day. So I'd wake up really early practice at home, or I would finish my, my work my meetings, and I would go to like a yoga class in the evening. And I didn't have you know, an abundance of yoga studios around me. So I actually had to also rely on myself. And that process of just reading up about things, you know, reading about a reading up about the body or anatomy or like, whatever I was inspired to achieve. For example, I was like, Oh, I would love to do a headstand, it would be so cool if I could do a headstand. And then I would watch these tutorials and kind of teach myself step by step how to how to do that. So I was already kind of on the path of becoming a yoga teacher because I was teaching myself and everybody around me because I was so excited about these things that I was learning so I definitely prioritize it. And I would say I had a daily practice for the most part ever since I started like, wow, minimum maybe like five you know? Yeah, like three to five times a week but once I had that, that nine to five job I was doing it almost every day.
Katie 9:42
Wow. And for the listener, Amina can do yoga positions that I mean, just are completely uncommon and very rare. I mean, you can bend your body into things I've never seen before. It's really amazing. The other day I saw on Insta you had you were like halfway up, sit down and you had your arm completely wrapped around you leg, your leg was over your shoulder. It was insane. So it's really, it's really impressive. It's so cool.
Amy 10:08
And being that you weren't able to touch your toes before you started, like, how does that happen? I mean, how how can you go from one to the other is it just just the practice and the repetition and your body just gets the mental memory and gets used to it. I mean, it's really remarkable.
Amina 10:25
Honestly, I think, I believe truly, that if you are in control of your breath, and if you are, you know, using your breath as a tool to keep your nervous system calm, and you're not forcing anything, you're actually just being curious and just breathing and, and also prioritizing stability over everything in your flexibility practice, you can do anything. That's what I always tell my students, like, if I can do this, you can do it, I had the most rounded upper spine when I started, I was always sitting down and hunching over on a table in like fashion school, my shoulders were tight, my hips were tight, like, so all of these things I feel like are just about convincing your bought your you know, the the brakes on your body are done by your nervous system. So if you are breathing slowly, using a lot of ease and a lot of like, just gentle techniques with your body, you will be able to release any kind of tension that you've accumulated. And I always like to think of it as we're all born flexible. This whatever tension we have or holding on to it's just accumulation of years of postural habits, or, you know, it's it's not something that's outside of us, we are all flexible, you just have to uncover those layers of of what doesn't need to be there.
Amy 11:38
You know, that is I've never thought about that before. And that is so true. Because if you think about babies, you're right, you are more flexible, and then the world takes over and you become not flexible. So I love that. And I think with the breath, I mean, I practice breath work as much as I can. And I think practicing the breath work is probably just as you probably have to do that just as rigorously as you practice the poses because they both require work and repetition, I would imagine.
Katie 12:04
What is that? What's the breath? I'm sure I'm saying like Awaji or something that you do on yoga, specifically, what is it called?
Amina 12:11
It's the Ojai. Yeah. And it's that that the reason this breath is so powerful is because it also it's meditative, because it has a sound. So you're just focusing on the sound of your breathing. And when you're focusing on the sound of your breathing, any thoughts about your body kind of start to you know, you have a little bit of space, because, you know, I've had these moments where I've gone into a pose and thought, Oh, I'm so stiff, oh, today is just not my day. My hips are tight, you know, our by our minds are always narrating and chattering and telling us judgments about us or about the world around us. So in your practice with your Ojai breath, you're actually able to just be like, hey, wait a minute, I'm just gonna tune into my breath and just allow whatever is to be and I'm not gonna try to make these constant assessments and judgments.
Katie 12:55
What is the trick that makes you make that sound? I can't remember, how do you how do you describe that?
Amina 13:00
You basically like constrict the airflow, so you squeeze the muscles of the back of your throat. And when you do that, it makes that sound like an ocean oceanic kind of sound. And it's so fascinating, because I always thought of it as a meditative breath. But I recently have been reading a lot about how this breath is tied to your deep core muscles and your pelvic floor. So it's actually when you actually activate that, that throat, breath activation, you're actually contracting your entire midline, all the way down to the base of your pelvis, your pelvic floor. So it even allows you to use your core without even being consciously squeezing your core. You're actually contracting your core just with that breath. So it's amazing. Wow,
Amy 13:42
that is that is incredible. So Amina, you've been teaching for a really long time. And then obviously, you know, growing and getting super popular. And for anyone who hasn't taken a class with Amina, I highly recommend that you do I did. I think the last time I saw you, Amina, we met in Brooklyn and I did that class and I felt so incredible afterwards. And I remember doing what's like a backward bent a wheelbarrow on the wheel. And I hadn't done that in probably 10 years and in your class, I was able to do it because I felt so relaxed and at ease with you that I felt comfort I don't know, there was something that came over me that I was like, I'm going to try this again and I feel safe. So just for anyone that is listening, please go take one of her classes and now she's I was going to ask you about your transition to zoom because I knew you were teaching in person then obviously everything hits so how did that work? The transition and tell us about that a little bit.
Amina 14:35
So I actually felt a sense of panic when COVID happened because my in studio classes were canceled put on hold for you know indefinitely so I was kind of I was upset because this is the main thing that I just love doing you know and and so I remember feeling like okay, I could sit here and panic or I have to just adapt so I right away started teaching I think Instagram lives. And then I remember that and it was it was really Nice, but I also felt like I would love to actually see my students as well, I would love to like, see them, you know, and just see what they're doing and give them life feedback. So I started teaching on Zoom. At first, it was very manual, I would collect people's emails and send them the link and it was like, and then it, it slowly grew, luckily, and then it got to a point where I just needed the platform to be able to manage all of this, it was crazy. So I found the platform. And then I started kind of growing it into like packages and subscriptions. And so now it's just super fun that I could just focus on creating workshops or immersion trainings or you know, classes and then people get to join and everything's automated. So it's been great. So people
Amy 15:41
how to, is it on your Instagram? Like if someone wants to sign up for your zoom class, they can just click a link and then you send them the link and it's all kind of easy. Oh,
Amina 15:51
yeah. So I have like a weekly schedule that they find on my in my Instagram bio. And then through that there's a schedule of all the workshops, all the live classes, and then some people are practicing from Australia so the timezone isn't like suitable for them. So what they'll do is they'll sign up still, but they'll get a recording to practice the class right after whenever they're ready.
Amy 16:12
Oh, cool. Yeah, that's
Katie 16:13
great. Do you practice are rather teach various types of yoga or just vinyasa? What do you what, what are you doing there?
Amina 16:21
Right now I'm kind of doing this, like kind of my own thing. So it's a blend of yoga and pilates. And so it's like a bit of sometimes I'll teach just kind of a more traditional vinyasa flow. Sometimes I'll teach Hatha, but right now what my body is loving is a blend of yoga and pilates. So that's kind of what I've been teaching and playing around with. And it's, it's, it's been really nice, because I've been balancing a lot of strength with, with flexibility with, you know, graceful yoga transitions. So it's hard to describe, but I would say it's a it's a mix of dynamic flexibility, breath work, and a lot of stability work as well.
Amy 16:59
And how long are your classes typically on Zoom.
Amina 17:02
So on Zoom, I do usually 75 minutes, if sometimes workshops could be up to like 90 to two hours, 90 minutes, but I am also doing some classes that people can stream. And so those I'm going to have them range from like five minutes to 60 plus minutes as well.
Katie 17:22
I need to take one of your classes stat.
Amina 17:25
I would love for you to come. It would be amazing.
Katie 17:28
So tell us about your being an alo ambassador. I assume they're probably one of your favorite brands to rock. But how did that all come about?
Unknown Speaker 17:39
Yeah, I actually used to buy all my Alo outfits myself, and I you know, this was always like a dream. And I would I would get these brand deals and I would wear this stuff. And then I would always be like, aloes, just superior, you know, and I still have these moments now that are like, when they release a new collection. And I get sent a new collection have these pinch me moments of like, wow, this is such an incredible opportunity. I love the clothing. Being a former, you know, fashion students, I truly appreciate how they keep, you know, they get you excited to wear to wear their stuff. And as a brand. I just really aligned with them. So it's been it's it's still like I still sometimes find it so surreal that this happened. It was like a dream come true. But yeah, I actually moved to New York when they were opening up a studio, their first New York studio, so So I feel like the studio was growing as I was also teaching there. So so it feels very personal to me that space and the brand itself. So yeah,
Katie 18:39
that's congratulations. I mean, that's really that's huge. It's really exciting at the actually they're their yoga app was how I learned how to do yoga. I mean, of course, I've taken classes before, but I've never practiced at home. So that's, I use their app and their their teachers to learn how and it's really it's a it's a great app, it has an offer so much, right?
Amina 19:00
Yes, it's amazing. Honestly, them as a brand with everything. They just really support their Yogi's in every sense, and it's incredible to work with them and just to be working with yoga teachers that I was learning from online when I started my journey, you know, it's, it's amazing. Yeah, so
Amy 19:16
speaking about starting your journey, we you know, I'm sure we have listeners that are across the spectrum from people that do yoga all the time, or people who haven't tried it and want to try so what would you what would your advice be to someone who wants to
Amina 19:28
start so I would say just let go of any expectations of what your practice should look like. And just know that starting anything as a beginner is going to be very humbling and very challenging. And I think it's just reminding yourself that it's not about being you know, quote unquote, good at anything. It's just about going and having this experience with yourself, getting to know yourself a little bit better, getting to know your body and just working with it very gently forcing nothing and just allowing that journey to unfold naturally. And I think that is just you know, the most important thing
Amy 20:00
Yeah, that's really good advice.
Katie 20:02
It is I heard, I heard somebody once say about yoga that like, it's it's not a pose, it's a feeling. And I just always try to remember that went through it. Yeah, cuz it is helpful because you think like, do I am I doing this pose? Right? Does it look cool? Am I like, if I was in a class right now what I look like someone that knows how to do yoga, you have to remind yourself like, yeah, it's about, it's about how it feels.
Amina 20:25
And also like, Instagram has also kind of set this, you know, crazy standard for yoga, like I take accountability for all posts, our best shapes. And you know, you rarely really see a person's millions of falls and struggles and how they actually learned to get to where they are. And that that process is really important. And that process is the beginner beginner phase. And you're always a beginner, you're never going to you know, in yoga, there's no such thing as ever mastering anything, you're always going to be to continuous, lifelong work in progress. So I think just remembering that and trying to keep it very consistent, just making it a habit, even when it's the last thing you want to do just get on your mat for five to 10 minutes, you can even just put on a song and breathe and move intuitively and and just just in that you're connecting to your body and your breath. And that in itself is so it's so life changing. Yeah, that's
Amy 21:16
a really good point. Yeah, I mean, speaking of the process of yoga, I've seen you'll share on your Instagram, a lot of your your community and and then sort of learning different poses and showing their successes and challenges along the way. So I love that you do that, because it's very relatable to see, you know, the people that are taking your classes and the things that they're learning, and they're not, you know, perfect either. So, that's great to hear. And also speaking of your Instagram, we love all the beautiful photography on your Instagram. It's just gorgeous. And of course, I love the ones with your family. Who does your photography? Do you do it yourself? Or do you have someone? How does that work? Because you just have gorgeous photography.
Amina 21:55
So it's actually my partner, my husband who started taking photos of me with a phone when I was first like still learning yoga, I would be taking you take this photo, and I would like fall out and he'd be like, learn it first before you want me to take a photo of it. And he would act like he didn't take it seriously at all, you know, but then when he would take a photo, he had such a good eye that I would post that photo and I had like 300 followers, and it would go viral. So I told him I was like, There's something special about how you take photos. And so can we just get a camera and just try this out. And he was like, Okay, I'm not very excited. And then it just grew because he like, I know that he has a very special eye in the way he captures anything. And so he's the main person that takes all of my photos. And he actually was the one that started filming my first online series. And he has no experience with us. He just knows how to like create something out of nothing, and just make it amazing. He's just so talented like that. So now we actually are releasing an app. And he's also, you know, my main videographer, my main to everything, he has another job, but he does this just
Amy 23:02
to oh my gosh, I had no idea that is amazing. It's a family affair I live in.
Katie 23:08
I mean, he has his gorgeous muse to propel this forward. That's really cool. And the photography is absolutely stunning. I mean, even the picture I'm looking at right now on our zoom meeting is insane. Well, thank you. So you just said you brought this app coming? Tell us Yeah,
Amy 23:23
tell us about the app and your website, I saw it said coming soon.
Amina 23:27
So this app, I wanted to create a platform that you know offers like kind of accessible movement classes from people for people all around the world ranging from like five minutes to 60 plus minutes, and for all levels. So whether you're completely new to yoga, you have a class that you can, you know, a series that you can do every single day that you grow with. And even if you're more experienced as a practitioner, you can also dive deeper into poses, take your time to learn, you know, different types of movements. So it's going to be a blend of yoga, pilates, and Barre and some meditation classes as well. And it's I just wanted to kind of have as an extension of my teaching to just, you know, be easy on people's phones on their laptops, and they can just have really good quality classes to use.
Katie 24:11
That's genius. It'll do well,
Amy 24:13
when is that going to launch? Congratulations.
Amina 24:15
I think it's launching in September now. So it's very soon. I've been filming a lot of different things for it here. So I've been traveling around the country and just kind of sharing my home with with my app so that my students from everywhere can can get to experience it with me too. So I'm so excited.
Amy 24:33
Okay, well you have to let us know when it launches so we can tell our listeners well maybe by the time that this airs, it might be long it might be longer check it out. Yes, I can't I can't wait. That's awesome. Well,
Katie 24:45
the app sounds incredible and I'm I'm super excited for it and I'm so happy for you. It's
Amy 24:50
it's huge. It's we will definitely be subscribers for sure.
Katie 24:54
So that's ticket into our rap session. Amina. We have a couple of fun questions to ask you because you are Without a doubt the picture of health and wellness and beauty. So what is your favorite wellness or beauty hack? So
Amina 25:08
my favorite wellness or beauty hack is good, a good skincare routine, something new that I've started doing. And I just, I just love it. And now it's like my daily thing. And I've noticed such a big difference because it's also kind of a mindfulness practice, you know, just taking that time, especially if you're a mom, or you're running a business and running around. So I just really enjoy my daily very simple skincare routine. And what is that routine? So I wake up, I wash my face and I put vitamin C, my dermatologist is the one that recommended all this. And then I put my sunscreen. And then at night I wash my face with a like a double cleanse and then I put my retinol and moisturizer and then go to sleep. This is very simple.
Unknown Speaker 25:53
Routine, right? Yeah, it's my daily daily practice
Amina 25:55
for
Katie 25:56
the amazing you'll have to you have to give us the brand's ears and we'll put them in the show notes. Yeah,
Amy 26:01
I find to like sometimes now that I'm into a skincare routine as well, that it's very like therapeutic in a way. It's like relaxing to do that at night and have that ritual.
Amina 26:10
Yeah, it really is. And then I actually noticed, it's like it gives you these results after a while like it's not a quick fix, but it's like, now I'm really seeing the difference because I've kept up with it. So I always like believe that consistency is the most important thing consistency over like intensity, you know, and it's been great.
Katie 26:27
Yeah, sure. Love it. Okay, so the next one's kind of fun. We caught our five minute flow. You just got out of the shower and dried off and Uber pings you they're five minutes away. What are you going to do to get out the door and get in that Uber on time like your holy grails, what do you do to get it together and out there.
Amina 26:43
So I would get a get out of the shower, put honey oil on my hair. It's something I really like to do. And then sunscreen, and eyeliner. And that's it.
Katie 26:57
Honey oil that sounds intriguing.
Unknown Speaker 27:00
It's a brand called Gisou. And it's really nice if you have curly hair, it's and I've kind of relieving my hair curly. So I put it on the ends and it just gives your hair just stops like your hair from being frizzy, especially with like New York City humidity, where I live most of the time. It's like, very humid in the summer. So it's it's yeah, it's called Gisou. It's
Unknown Speaker 27:20
great. Nice.
Amy 27:21
Oh, those things often heard of that before? Okay. I mean, this probably goes without saying, but how do you maintain your daily nirvana.
Amina 27:28
It's either the daily movement or a five minute meditation every day where I just sit down, just focus on my breath and put it I actually put a timer for five minutes, and I sit and just see the thoughts that come up. And I just shift back my attention to my breath. And it's such a simple, small thing, but it makes the biggest difference in my day. It's a good reminder to us all. Yeah. And it's pretty easy. You know, it's just something that you kind of just keep up with and just do and like my husband says, it's annoying, because it's something that you really feel the difference when you don't do it. You know?
Katie 28:05
It's true. Well, I was gonna ask you, you know, when I started yoga, it was before I started meditating, and I noticed how present it made me and don't you feel like yoga is such a meditative practice that it can almost work. It can do the same thing for a lot of people I find Yogi's are always super present and engaging and calm. Which is Yeah, such a lovely byproduct.
Amina 28:26
Yeah, it really is. I always love one of my friends says there's a you before yoga and a you after yoga, and those two people are not the same. And it's so true. You know, you can walk into a yoga class with so much just, you know, chaos and chatter and a lot of you know ideas about your day or about yourself and you just leave that class just feeling a little bit lighter. And that's so valuable.
Katie 28:48
All right, well, should we wrap with our product review? And then I think Amina, you have a mantra for us, right? Yes. Okay, great. All right. So let me kick in this product review. Really? Yeah, I'm
Amy 28:57
excited to hear this. Katie has been like bringing all these product reviews surprising me and I don't know what they are, like very excited to hear what you have.
Katie 29:05
Well, speaking of vitamin C cream Amina. It's part of your repertoire now. It's part of mine as well. We recently interviewed a dermatologist Dr. Nazarian, she'll be well her episode will be up shortly and she was talking about vitamin C creams. I've always had kind of uneven skin and I felt like it's been really dull lately. So I got this product. It's Sunday. Riley is fabulous. We've talked about Sunday, Riley before and it's their CEO 15% Vitamin C brightening serum. Nice. I have used it for a month now. And within probably like a week or two weeks, I noticed a difference instantly. Like my skin tone has always been a little uneven and it's now even down to the point where I don't feel like I need to put makeup on anymore.
Amy 29:48
Oh my gosh. It's amazing. Well, thank
Katie 29:50
you. It's also brighter, like I don't know how to describe the difference between my skin not being bright and when it is bright. It's just something I noticed and I See, right for it just felt like dull maybe sometimes like ashy and pale and now there's a brightness to it. So you can get this at Sundayriley.com or Sephora obviously I'm sure many other places it's $85 for 1.7 fluid ounce. And the ingredients that matter are the key ingredients is obviously the vitamin C has phytosterols complex and they are they help reduce the look at redness, which is partly like why I would be blotchy all the time I never felt like it was my skintone was even was like redness around my nose and stuff. And then saccharide SRE extra glycolic acid, all that good stuff. And then of course, it's without all the bad stuff that we don't like the parabens, sulfates and everything.
Amy 30:43
So Katie, do you put that on in the morning? Like is that the first thing you put on your? Yeah, do you do like a serum first.
Katie 30:49
So this is the very first thing I put on. I use two pumps. I was doing it day and night and I kind of ripped through it quickly. And now I'm looking at their website it says really like if you just use it in the morning, it works just as well. So I literally ran out yesterday. Yeah, I've been doing that. And then my serum and then yeah, and then my my lotion and my eye cream. But I love it. And it also happens to be it was rated by like Elle in 2020 is like the number one product for the year. So it's it's legit. It's really good stuff. Yeah,
Amy 31:22
I like that brand a lot. I am I have a I have the SkinCeuticals vitamin C, but it's like vitamin C, with Yeah, the E with folic acid, which I really liked too. But when that runs out, I'm going to try this for sure.
Katie 31:36
You'll love it. And I mean, it worked right away it really, it's really good stuff.
Amy 31:41
That's great. Well, good product review. Thanks for that. And we're going to close out the show with Amina giving us a mantra, which I'm excited to hear.
Amina 31:50
It's been my mantra for the past year since the pandemic hit and I actually another yoga teacher that I was teaching at a festival said it in his class and I stuck with me. And it's I breathe in. I love my body. I breathe out. I'm home in my body.
Katie 32:06
I love that.
Amy 32:07
I was just like taking that. I was.
Katie 32:10
I know I was just thinking about I'm going to be using that when I meditate later. That's beautiful. Thank you.
Amy 32:15
That's beautiful. Well, thank you so much. Amina, this has been great. I definitely would love to have you back. I feel like there's so many more yoga and questions about you. I want to hear I want to hear all about your Egypt experience this summer and other cool stuff you're working on. But I know we're running out of time today. But thank you so much for your time for dialing in from Egypt for sending us all your positive energy and vibes and just your your beautiful soul. I think you're such a great person. And I just hope I can see you sometime soon. Maybe when you're back in New York.
Unknown Speaker 32:46
Yes.
Amina 32:46
I hope you come into a class or even just take an online class. I
Unknown Speaker 32:50
know you have to join in. Yeah. And Katie. Yeah,
Amina 32:55
thank you so much for having me. It was so fun to chat with you and I hope we chat again soon.
Katie 33:01
Thank you. Thanks, Amina.
Amy 33:03
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