Meet Olivia, founder of Liberate Studio, a mental fitness studio where you can practice a flow of mindful movement, journaling and meditation. Her studio is exactly what we need. We like the sound of "working on yourself workout" and wanted to learn more about Olivia!
1. What's your daily routine? I wake up very early (rise and set with the sun!) and meditate, drink a glass of water, practice yoga, and either run or strength train. I savor my morning routine and it can be even three hours long! I love starting my day like this because as the afternoon gets stacked with calls, meetings, and classes, I still feel so grounded and calm after taking the morning for myself. Nighttime includes restorative yoga, reading, and joining a Liberate class.
2. What's your favorite healthy habit? I love going for walks. Living in LA I feel so lucky to be in sunshine most days and I have a goal to go for one walk every day, even if it's just 10 minutes! It feeds my body, soul, and mind, and serves as a great mental reset during busy days.
1. What's your daily routine? I wake up very early (rise and set with the sun!) and meditate, drink a glass of water, practice yoga, and either run or strength train. I savor my morning routine and it can be even three hours long! I love starting my day like this because as the afternoon gets stacked with calls, meetings, and classes, I still feel so grounded and calm after taking the morning for myself. Nighttime includes restorative yoga, reading, and joining a Liberate class.
2. What's your favorite healthy habit? I love going for walks. Living in LA I feel so lucky to be in sunshine most days and I have a goal to go for one walk every day, even if it's just 10 minutes! It feeds my body, soul, and mind, and serves as a great mental reset during busy days.
3. What inspired you to start Liberate? I experienced a lot of anxiety, stress, and loneliness through the inevitable transitions that we go through in life like new jobs, new apartments, loss of loved ones, and so on. I felt really lost with these emotions and I was craving a supportive community where I could openly work on myself and build skills like courage, self-love, and resilience. I essentially wanted a physical fitness studio, like Barry's or SoulCycle, but focused on mental well-being instead of physical fitness. Nothing like this existed until Liberate!
4. Favorite workout that's not your own or a practice you incorporate with Liberate? I am working on becoming more of a runner, so I'll say running! Running challenges me in a way yoga does not. Running is physical activity but for me it's a mental challenge every time to find the joy in the exercise and go farther than I think I can every time.
5. Biggest challenge you've faced in work or life? For me, finding myself was a big challenge when I started out in the work world. I was employee #1 at a startup, and felt pretty lost within the role and within my new home in LA. I'm absolutely a work in progress; getting to know myself at this time and being comfortable being with myself was a huge challenge and is the most rewarding.
6. What inspires you? I'm so inspired by the members of our Liberate community! These human beings show up to class every week with such openness and empowerment, it's impossible not to leave class feeling connected and inspired thanks to them. I find vulnerability incredibly inspiring.
7. What's your guilty pleasure or something you don't consider as self care but when you think about it now realize its a form of self care?Reality TV! During Stay at Home orders in LA I reluctantly agreed to watch Real Housewives and The Bachelor with friends after refusing to for years. I will admit, it feels good to laugh at the ridiculousness of the shows and turn off my worker brain for an hour.
#MyRecess is meditation
