May 12, 2014 8 Questions With: Michelle Lou Lan / MeshYoga
When Michelle Lou Lan’s dancing career ended in 2006 due to a serious injury, that was just the beginning of the MeshYoga story. By combining her passion for dance with the tradition of yoga, Michelle developed her own unique but simple take on classical yoga. Her practice has taken her to great masters around the world, and on to teaching in Shanghai, Bali, Hawaii, and New York. You can sign up for MeshYoga workshops on her website, and you can also follow Michelle’s brand on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
What are you currently working on?
I’m always working on creating something and right now I’m concentrated on quite a few things. A lot of my attention’s going towards a product designed for people who want to develop their yoga. It’s a tool meant to help the person achieve perfect alignment so there’s no fear of injury, which I think is really dope. Then there’s yoga pants. I’m addicted to buying them, but I’m still very picky because I use them so often. I’m always thinking about how they could be better, until one day I thought, why don’t I design the perfect pair? I’m in the process of creating my own line of yoga pants, so a lot of my time has gone into perfecting the cut and the quality of each piece.
How would you describe your job?
I would say my job is incredibly fun, but also pretty dangerous. I know it sounds funny, but I’m always bending over backwards…literally. Yoga instructors have to be pretty well versed in a few things. sometimes we play the part of a doctor, and that involves being learned on things like nutrition, fitness, how to work the body, how to achieve proper alignment to avoid injury, and muscle function. Then at times we become philosophers, knowledgeable of all yoga teachings and what they mean. We even have to know other languages, since a lot of yoga positions have names in Sanskrit. Finally, we have to be able to communicate all these things to those that look to us for guidance. It’s tiring, but even more so, it’s rewarding.
What does your average work day look like?
I don’t really have a set work schedule, but my day usually starts at around nine or ten in the morning. I’m not a morning person at all, I think I have an incurable case of jetlag since I’m always traveling between New York and Hawaii. The happiest part of my day is when my team arrives. It’s actually very funny, I go from basically sleep walking to being full of energy in the course of a few seconds. When they arrive, we go straight to work. I love working with them because I feel we all want to create something amazing, it’s such great teamwork. After work I take a nap, and then I just concentrate and do yoga, for anywhere from one to five hours, depending on my energy. At the end of my day I’m usually playing with my dog, Bobo, who’s in the middle of everything all day, and showering him with kisses.
Where do you find inspiration?
I’m inspired by nature. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, tired, confused, or just in a bad mood, I get out of the house and go somewhere, some place where I can be alone and observe the nature around me. It’s how I stay sane.
What’s the best thing about living and working in Hawaii?
The best thing about Hawaii is that I get to relax and concentrate on myself, surrounded by the nature that I love, but sometimes I get too relaxed. It’s tough, people think Hawaii is easy, and I guess in a sense it is, Hawaii is a very chill place, no one’s rushing and you feel like you can take your time, but when you’re coming from NYC it’s hard to relax when there’s so many things you want to do. The hardest thing in life is trying to find a balance; If both my personal life and work life are busy then I’m fine. But the Hawaiian lifestyle is really, really slow and it’s hard to have to keep switching my pace. My life isn’t just teaching, there’s the clothing line and so many other ventures that I’m dealing with, so it’s hard to stop and slow down. Eventually I’ll make a decision, whether to live in Hawaii, or to keep as I am, living between both places.
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grow up?
I would say exactly the person I am now. Cocky, right? But it’s true. I don’t think we should be afraid to say what we want to say. I’m doing the job I love to do. All my life I’ve wanted to be free and to create something, and I feel like that’s what I’m doing. I am who I wanted to be when I was a kid.
What are you reading at the moment?
I read Instagram, Facebook (laughs). I love to go through the responses I get from the people who follow MeshYoga. My focus at the moment is on work (I don’t have much free time) and the people I’m connecting with; I don’t usually have time to sit down and read.
What’s your favorite post-work destination?
The coffee shop! Whenever I’m mad all I need is someone to hand me a hot coffee and I’ll be happy. It’s a place where I can go whenever I can’t get away; the smell of coffee relaxes me. Even if I’m not drinking anything, the coffee shop is just so warm, and at the one right around the corner from my house the people know me, so when I come in looking moody, they just hand me my usual order and I smile again.
