Fran Hauser
This is the first time I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing a dear friend. Being a new experience, I took a decidedly different approach. I typically curate my questions around a specific theme, but instead I crafted a list of questions for my friend, Fran Hauser, based on the qualities I love most about her—her faith in the process, her devotion to family and ritual, her emotional intelligence, her decisiveness, and her generosity. Our conversation revealed not only a deeper understanding of my friend, but also of the core principles she has nurtured on her path to success.
Kathryn Budig
When I reached out to Kathryn for this interview, we had never met. Whatever I thought I knew about her was pieced together from mutual friends and—what else—social media. From the outside, she seemed to have it all: a happy marriage, a hugely successful career, and a multidimensional platform that included books, DVDs, and endorsements. Then, in what felt like a surprising shift, those tiny squares on Instagram began to tell a different story. While I had always admired her success, I became more interested in the fact that she appeared to be walking away from it all. Here’s someone who, at the top of her game, decided that the success for which she had worked so hard no longer made her happy. What I was surprised to learn over the course our conversation was that, at the height of her career in the yoga industry, Kathryn was miserable.
Colleen Saidman Yee
My friend Colleen Saidman Yee has written a beautiful, powerful book called Yoga For Life. It’s a riveting recounting of her personal story interwoven with insightful and relevant yoga philosophy. Part memoir, part guide, this book speaks to the struggles we all face. I was so excited to talk to her about Yoga For Life, but really I wanted to hear more about the story behind the making of her book—specifically, the work she did to excavate and articulate her own truth.
Jacques Torres
Jacques Torres is an accidental yogi. I’m not sure he would agree with this and I, for one, certainly did not expect to talk about yoga when I sat down with him at his chocolate store in Tribeca. Frankly, I’m not sure what I expected. Jacques, like many creative geniuses or successful business owners (in his case, both), is hard to pin down, and so I came prepared to be unprepared. While his attention appears to dart in a million directions, he is completely present, processing inspiration and connecting the dots between life and work at an impossible pace. He spots opportunities to share his passion with others, engaging with customers and showering them with chocolate. His generosity is inspiring. As I listened to him talk about his life as an artisan and his passion for creating, I realized that I was, as I had anticipated, caught completely off guard. I came to interview him and instead, he was teaching me about yoga.
John Derian
There are those people in the world who see things you never thought to see before. They’re our sources of inspiration and our gurus of possibility. In the world of style and home decor, I gravitate towards designers who embrace my ideal of the home (more on that as this blog evolves) and who empower me to break the rules and trust my instincts. As my students often remind me, it’s important to tell these people how they inspire your life. Dear John, this one’s for you.
Linda Rodin
Linda Rodin is my long-lost soul sister. We both adore shelling, scouring flea markets for treasure, and red lipstick. I met Linda when I discovered her luxurious oil, Olio Lusso, which has been a savior to my sensitive skin. The elixir is made up of 11 essential oils and smells divine. I’m eternally devoted. I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with Linda in her eclectic and loving home for a glass of vino (screw top Pinot Grigio served in small vintage glasses) to chat about home, passion, and (of course) Olio Lusso.