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Here is an interview i did back in July!  thought I'd share with y'all!

MEET ELISE.one of the busiest, happiest people i’ve ever met. and an amazing fitness instructor, actress, human being.

 what’s the best part of your day?

 it’s hard to say, because each of my days is SO different. aside from waking up and heading directly to my coffee maker/ life-ine, i have absolutely no routine! which…. i actually kind of LOVE. the best part of my day….. is the variety. the potential. i love that on any random thursday i can be found anywhere from the beaches of malibu to the cliffs of paseo miramar. i may be playing beach volleyball in venice, or surfing in hermosa, or re-reading the yoga sutras in palisades park. i may be blogging at the getty center… or taking trapeze classes on the pier. i’m never exactly sure where the day is going to take me! i love a life filled with spontaneity and adventure. if i had to pick a BEST part of the day… i guess i would say it is that moment at the very beginning of my yoga class where my students are sitting on their mats breathing collectively, and finding stillness. i begin each class by encouraging everyone to become present. to enjoy the rare and powerful opportunity to look inward, and explore meditating on their intentions and their gratitude. the power of this moment which equalizes the new mom and the ironman triathlete is awe-inspiring. so many people breathing as one. you can truly feel the “ocean of consciousness”…. And THAT is the best part of my day.

what inspires you?

 i am inspired by people who find wonder and see miracles in every day life. it’s pretty easy to see the majesty of the alps, or to revel in the tropical beauty of thailand. but those rare people who can wake up and find true JOY in getting their kids off to school, or walking their english bulldog are the ones that really inspire me. the buddha taught that “as we think, so we are.” happiness is a choice, and it’s one we have to make each and every day. how we see the world, becomes our reality. it’s pretty easy to be happy when we’re dating the love of our life, or landing our dream job, or eating chocolate peanut butter ice cream with rainbow sprinkles.. but it’s a lot harder to choose happiness when we may be struggling along on the unpredictable journey of life. the people who approach every moment of their day with integrity, and a desire to achieve and create and make the world a better place in their OWN way…. those are the ones who truly live blissfully, and inspire me to do the same. so each of my students who can smile when they tip over in handstand, or appreciate the beauty of a moment of silence.. these souls are my inspiration.

your favorite trip.

 impossible! they are ALL my favorite! i recently led my first retreat in the lesser antilles of aruba. it was an extraordinary experience of growth in so many ways. i also took a trip to paris this year.. and the MOMENT i stepped out of the underground, i knew i would live there one day… if just long enough to become proficient in the language and eat my weight in fromage et croissant! i learn so much on each and every exploration. travel is a HUGE part of my life, and i often just pick up and go somewhere spontaneously. i have been on a recent kick of saying “YES” to any opportunity for adventure that comes my way! i’ve been deep sea fishing in mexico, cave diving in new zealand, motorcycling in thailand… i’ve gone off-roading in the jungles of costa rica, and guru visiting on the island of bali. i’ve gone camping in the desert, i completed the “tough mudder” race in snow valley…. i’ve even ice-picked my way up the glaciers of franz josef! each experience taught me so much about myself. i learned that i can be fearless when i want to be, and that i have an absurdly intense love of good food and great beauty. i’ve learned that great works of art truly touch my soul, and that i can travel alone and enjoy my own company. i learned that I cry when i see snow falling on the champs elysees. i learned that when i experience something truly wonderful, i’m simply bursting to share it with someone special. i learned that life is short and should be enjoyed and embraced NOW. i learned that there is SO much of the world still left to see and experience…… and i cannot WAIT until my next “favorite trip”!

what’s your ideal sunday?

haha…. if i’m being honest, there have been a few sundays when i haven’t even emerged from my PJs! (these usually occur during football season, when i have been known to watch 10 consecutive hours of games across multiple TV and computer screens . you know…. to make sure my fantasy players were performing… true story).  let’s see.. sunday is my only day off so i usually try to keep it simple. it’s the one day i don’t set an alarm, so i like to sleep in ‘til about 9. on an IDEAL day, i would wake up and cruise directly to AXE on abbott kinney to meet my friends for 9-grain pancakes and fresh squeezed mimosas. from there, maybe a jaunt around the venice farmers’ market, and a dive into the ocean, followed promptly by a nap on the beach. then i might head to the pool at the shangri la to catch up on a few chapters of the latest “game of thrones” novel. from there… probably a sunset happy hour with my friends, who are major proponents of the “sunday funday.” then….hmmmm. if we’re really talking IDEAL world, i’d head home to my incredibly sexy (though currently fictitious) boyfriend who will have surprised me with a home cooked organic dinner prepared entirely from scratch with fresh foods from the farmers’ market. we’d enjoy this amazing meal over candlelight (if it’s not football season) and over a steelers game (if it IS football season). then it’s back into pj’s to lounge around before bed, having deep conversations, and reading osho and kerouac  yeah… i’d say that’s the ideal.

your favorite words of wisdom.

“don’t ask yourself what the world needs. ask yourself what makes you come ALIVE. and then go and do that. because what the world needs… is people who have come alive.” – attributed to howard thurman

when do you feel most “you?”

when i’m teaching.  when i’m practicing. when i’m kissing. and when i’m in the ocean…. especially at midnight.

what fulfills you?

 i have always been truly blessed to be able to make a living doing what i love so my work fulfills me. i followed my passion as a musical theater actress for many years in NYC, and when a vocal injury prevented me from continuing that career, i found yoga. or rather yoga found me. and that was when my trajectory shifted, and i was catapulted to my true calling – sharing my love of yoga, joy, and wellness. i am thankful everyday that i love what i do…. and all the people who enable me to do it. i am fulfilled by my students, my friends, my practice, my writing, my travels, and even all the obstacles, road-blocks, failures, and disappointments which have lead me to EXACTLY where i am now. and there is absolutely NO place i’d rather be.

your favorite outfit.

 oh my god. my friend alli recently had to stage an intervention in my closet, to rid my wardrobe of those half jackets that were popular circa 2004. i even had some sparkly ones. tragic. she made me donate them to goodwill. it was tough love, but it needed to happen honestly…. i live SO much of my life in lululemon and athletic wear that my idea of “style” is throwing on a pair of TOMS wedges to jazz up my wunder under leggings. it’s sad. but if i had to pick a favorite outfit…. a go-to…. i’d say it’s my true religion skinny jeans, a wife-beater tank, and then an off the shoulder flash-dancey top. then i try my best to class it up by throwing on a pair of jimmy choos. basic. i’m low maintenance. i like to keep it real. and easy. and not “dry clean only.”

what’s on your ipod?

 i’m afraid people might think less of me if they knew!! right now i have a lot of women who sing with their SOULS rather than their voices – nina simone, etta james, adele, aretha, amy winehouse. in bold contrast, i have a fair amount of dirty hip hop. i looooooove me some luda, marshall mathers, dre, even flo rida. i will admit to the guilty pleasure of GLEE mash-ups, and i even have some of my favorite sondheim musicals on there. i love the passion in classical music, and I’m partial to revel, bach, mozart, and tchaikovsky. i also have a few eddie izzard comedy shows. i absolutely adore him, and like to think of him as my secret boyfriend. then like everyone else, i have a fair amount of fun, the naked and famous, flo & the machine... OH! and there IS a special place in my heart for ‘80s music. not the hair band kind, the soundtrack of “the breakfast club” kind.

five things you love.

 my family & friends

my life

salt & vinegar potato chips

chris hemsworth

kissing...... and kissing chris hemsworth 🙂

how you feel in one word today.

 blissful.