Welcome to the Happy Healthy Hustle podcast, where we explore the intersection of health,
happiness and productivity.
I'm your host, Christiane, and I'm super excited to be here with you today.
Today's episode is something extra special.
In 2022, I started a series on Instagram, where during Instagram Live, I interviewed
women in wellness.
I asked them the same three questions to showcase their answers as an inspiration to us to learn
about happy, healthy hustling.
And it is really my pleasure to introduce today's guest.
As I said, the answers were recorded in 2022 and her secrets are really amazing.
Today's guest is Pilin Anis.
And Pilin is a yoga, barre, dance, and meditation instructor.
She's also a health coach, artist, and model.
Talk about happy, healthy hustling.
For over a decade, she has guided students of all ages through breath-centered inquiry
based offerings that seek to harmonize the mind, body, and spirit.
The reason why she is a healthy, healthy hustler is because she's passionate about building
community.
She has taught workshops in the United States and abroad.
A Howard University alumna, she's a Lululemon studio trainer, a faculty member at Kripalu
and the Ailey Extension and a Lululemon ambassador.
The three questions I asked Pilin were, what is your superpower?
What has been your greatest challenge, and how did you overcome it?
And who have been your biggest role models and influencers?
So listen to this special podcast that I edited based on the answers from the 2022 Instagram
Live with Pilin.
And let me know if you have any suggestions for future guests on the Women in Wellness
series.
Enjoy.
So we want to focus this around women in wellness.
And if there is certainly one woman that I look up to, it's you.
You're so inspiring, Pilin.
Oh, thank you so much.
Such a role model.
So a lot of my students and myself certainly feel that you seem to have accomplished it
all.
So I have a few questions that kind of maybe let us learn a little bit about you.
So I'm really glad you're going to be able to share some of your insights.
So let's maybe get started with the first question.
What is your superpower?
How would you describe it?
My superpower, I would say, is joy.
Joy.
I believe we are the essence of all of us is joy and joy allows us to tap into our personal
power.
It also allows us to overcome.
It gives us something to hold on to and to anchor into in challenging moments.
So always remembering that no matter what I'm moving through, that joy is always there
as my foundation and what I can always tap into whenever I need it.
Good.
So when you feel like maybe particularly stressed out or anything, do you have like a certain
mantra you're following or a picture you look at or what you really do?
For me, it's really coming back to my breath and finding some movement.
I believe in movement as medicine.
I believe in movement as transforming in those difficult moments and reconnecting me to my
joy.
Oh, I love that.
Exactly.
Getting your body moving, getting the blood flowing.
Yeah.
Something that's sometimes just the basics or getting out and getting some fresh air
there.
Let's maybe talk a little bit more about challenges.
What's been your greatest challenge and how did you overcome it?
Oh, that's a great question.
And I think something that all women are challenged with sometimes are the self-critic, the inner
critic that we all have, that part of ourselves that shows up and tells us what we shouldn't
be doing and gives us reasons why.
So for me, I think it's overcoming and allowing that little voice in the back to be there
but not listening to it.
So I think we all have it.
I think everyone has it, and there's a book by Elizabeth Gilbert where she talks about
being in a car.
So the book is called Big Magic, and she talks about driving the car and that we allow our
creativity to drive the car.
But that little inner critic can be in the backseat, but they don't get the will, they
don't get the map; they don't get to handle the GPS; they don't get to do anything but
be there.
And so coming from that place is probably the thing whenever I have a challenging moment,
that's what I tap into, and I just remember the power that comes within me and that I am driving
the car and not the little voice in the backseat.
Good.
You are in charge of your feelings and just ignoring whatever is going on there, tuning
out and really focusing on positive thinking.
Yeah, tuning it out because it's there and knowing that it's there too usually is there
to support us, it's there to be comfortable; it's a part of ourselves that wants us to
stay in our comfort zone because that's where we feel safe.
And so going outside of that is very important, and it takes really being able to allow that
voice to be present but then choosing to stay course, to stay where you're being guided
and directed to by your spirit.
That's really important, kind of like anchoring it back to the basics right there and that
kind of also leads to the next question.
Are there some people that influenced you to get to where you are right now?
Maybe some people that have particularly helped you and in our own lives, who could they be
like to share with us who inspires you?
Yeah, it's truly all women, if I can be honest.
I've had some incredible teachers, and I think each of us here, I love people, I love connecting
with people, and I believe we all have a light, a spark that we can share and that inspires
each other.
And so I'm truly inspired by all the women in my life.
I've had some amazing teachers across yoga, across wellness, and health coaching that I've
had the blessed ability to be able to connect to and to really help to support and uplift
me.
And in addition to them, it's every person that I meet.
I just came off this weekend of leading a retreat up at Kripalu, and literally every
single person there has their wisdom, and each person there inspired me in some way because
we all are on this journey together.
We're all seeking to overcome, we all have these challenges in our lives that we're all
experiencing and so I think finding inspiration in each other, people who are going through
the day-to-day, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, all of us, and just the things that
we're moving through because as an adult, things show up, things are happening.
Let's just say that.
Right now I have a father, my father's in hospice care and that's something that we'll
get to if we keep living.
It's a part of life, it's a part of cycles and I'm sharing that because I found so much
inspiration right now in connection with other people who've had that experience in their
lives and it's really giving me fuel, it's giving me wisdom and insight to move through
this time in my life.
So I find inspiration in all beings.
I find inspiration in people who are living their lives to the fullest, who are choosing
every day to wake up to be their best selves, to connect to their breath and go one step
in front of the other.
I love that.
So you're looking at people as kind of a gift that everybody has something unique you can
learn from and tapping into that special characteristic that might enrich your own well-being.
I love that.
Absolutely, because we all have something to share and we all have something that can
empower another person.
Yeah, I love that.
Do you want to share a little bit about what maybe your secrets are to health or like I
know some people are joining in.
If you have any questions, put them in the comments down there because I know you're
really busy working on a cookbook, which I'm super excited about.
Can you maybe give us a little bit of a teaser or sneak preview about what you're working
on?
Oh, thank you for that.
So I actually just got off a call I have to run soon to with my publisher, but we're essentially
is in good.
So it's about the three pillars of wellness that have really empowered me and changed
my life and that's movement, meditation and mindfulness.
I believe those three pillars are really are the tools to help us find and live an optimal
life connected in all ways of our being and able to help us to live and thrive and share
our gifts with the world fully.
Wonderful.
So you're going to be sharing your personal journey and with the goal of helping others
as well.
Yes.
So it is a cookbook with a little with a little sprinkle of extras.
I love it.
Yeah.
So you're not only making the recipes because very much about your life is also connecting
your mind and your body.
Exactly.
So you're nourishing yourself, but also your mind.
Yes.
Oh, I love that.
Yes, your mind and your spirit.
So all the recipes to nourish ourselves completely and wholly.
That's the right attitude.
And I tell people to when you're moving, don't really watch TV or anything like that.
Just close your eyes or focus on your breathing.
Really connect with your inner self.
Because movement is really all about you and what you do and that you do something good
for yourself.
So I love that.
Hello there.
Everybody's joining in.
If you have any questions, put them in the comments down there.
When can we expect that amazing book?
I'm certainly excited about it.
Yeah.
So it's supposed to be spring, but it's going to be a little bit closer to summer now.
You know, with all the things that are happening, there's paper shortages and things like that.
So my birthday is in the summer.
I delay.
I'm going to be there too.
So I'm happy about that.
It will go on the top of my birthday wish list.
July 11th.
How does that sound?
Yes.
Perfect.
Can we make that publisher date?
Love it.
Beautiful.
Perfect.
Anybody has any questions for P'Leen?
She is certainly an inspiration and also letting us know a little bit about what's coming up
in her life.
And I know that for you, the wellness journey has, there are certainly a lot of experiences
that you have made along the way.
What is like the one big experience that you made that really you feel like changed your
life and you would love to share?
I would say for me, it was definitely starting and enrolling at the Integrative Institute
of Nutrition.
So starting at IIN, which is the school that I attended, because that was really the catalyst
when I enrolled in that program 13 years ago to start my wellness journey and to really
start to build a wellness business for myself.
Love it.
Yeah.
So really connecting the mind, the body, the spirit, as you mentioned, integrating it all
and figuring out how you can back that up with science and with nutrition that goes
along the way.
Love it.
Really good.
What is your favorite recipe that you make after you work out?
My favorite recipe after I work out, it would probably be a protein shake that I usually
load up with good stuff like nut butter, things that are going to help to really, I have very
high metabolism and I need lots of fat.
So I throw in a lot of almond butter, a nice protein powder.
I add oats as well to kind of help stabilize blood sugar.
So having a nice smoothie is usually my go-to post-workout and then a meal a little later.
Yeah.
Well, where are you located right now?
Are you in New York City?
I'm right outside of New York.
Yeah.
Oh, okay.
So from California to New York there and here it's like breakfast time and there you are
at lunchtime right now.
So give us a little bit of an insight.
What is your typical workout week look like?
Do you work out every day?
Do you take rest days?
How do you really balance this movement?
Well, I listen to my body.
I'm a trainer in the mirror.
Yeah, I'm a trainer in the mirror.
So we work out with every time I go to work, I'm working out for two hours.
So that's three days built in of working out, but then I also take time to do my own personal
practice and that looks like however I'm feeling.
I listen to the energy in my body to really determine how I'm going to move and how I'm
going to work out.
But essentially there's always meditation.
Meditation is always going to happen every single day.
And then my movement practice is usually inspired by my mood or what I'm feeling that I need
in the moment to help me to energize, to fuel or to nourish myself in that moment.
And that could be a yoga practice.
It could be a bar class.
Now that it's becoming to be spring, I usually will get out and do a little run every now
and then depending on how I feel.
But it's nice to get that boost and that cardio.
So I'll go for that now that the weather is warming up outside.
I'm not a big fan, so I like to be outside when I run.
Good.
So the consistency with the meditation, every day the meditation and everything else, really
you listen to your body and you're tuning in.
What does my body tell you it needs today?
Right.
Yeah.
I like that because in a certain way it's good to have the structure.
Maybe it's some meals that you consistently do, the meditation that you consistently do.
But then again, we wake up and we might not feel like doing that cardio workout.
So maybe you replace that with a bar class, as you mentioned.
I like that a lot.
Yeah.
And there's a commitment and a devotion to moving and activating the body in some way,
but it doesn't have to look.
It doesn't have to be just this one thing if that's not what I'm intuitively wanting
to do in that moment.
I love that.
I actually had these little flashcards during the summer where I wrote down for my children,
today we're going to do trampoline, cycling or rollerblading.
And then I just had them draw a flashcard and I say, you know, if that one sounds good
to you, let's do it.
If not, you can draw again and we're going to do the other activity, but we will get
moving.
So let's figure out what sounds good to you.
And then we're going to get, we have it on our schedule.
We're going to get moving.
You just choose whatever sounds good in this particular moment.
I'm going to let Feline move on with her Tuesday, which certainly sounds like it's going to
be a busy one.
It's already off to a good start.
You had your publisher.
I love that.
Off to such a good start.
And thank you for the opportunity to come in and share with the community and leave
to everyone.
And it's terrific Tuesday.
I love that.
I also always name days because I always think it's tripping mindful Monday, terrific Tuesday,
thriving Thursday, Friday, whatever you do, label the days in a way that it maybe brings
a smile to your face and joy, as you mentioned.
Thank you so much.
I certainly am excited that we have the opportunity.
You have anything else?
Reach out to Pilin, reach out to myself and I hope that we will connect soon again.
Thank you.
All right.
That's it for today's episode of the happy healthy hustle podcast.
I hope you enjoyed our discussion with our special guest, Pilin Anis today.
Remember health, happiness and productivity are all interconnected and we need to prioritize
all three to reach our full potential.
Thanks so much for tuning in and we'll catch you next time.