Jennifer Ohlsson is a yoga expert, yoga trainer, an accomplished model. She is based at New York, US. Her yoga journey started with a VHS tape by Rodney Yee and a few classes and then a friend asked her to come to a hot yoga class in 2002 on attending the same and bending and stretching she felt the sense of peace, an inner calm.
She is born in Sweden, but with 19 plus years in New York City, she has been working as a model since she was 14. She loves her job, to travel, meet people, and never knowing where it will take her next! She says “Practicing yoga is what helps her to stay healthy, grounded, and strong, mentally and physically”.
Her hot yoga has become her treat. The time on the mat, is her little “get away” in New York City. It was quiet and peaceful and her overloaded and overwhelmed senses could relax, especially after a long flight, or a long week of shooting -She says “Her body and my mind needed it”! She has been exploring different styles of yoga, and having tried to get each one to practice. In 2015 she travelled to Cahuita, Costa Rica, for a 200hr Yoga teacher training, with the Marianne Wells Yoga School (RYS). She says “It was humbling, scary and intense, but life changing”!
In 2019 she went to Bali to study 100hrs YTT, with Marianne Wells Yoga School, with focus on alignment and adjustment. She continued to grow for both herself and what she teaches. She says “Yoga is a journey after all and it is for everyone”! She adds “Yoga is something that brings me so much happiness, health and harmony. We all deserve to live our lives in the most blissful state! Yoga is an amazing awakening, a tool to letting go but yet soaking it in”!
Women Fitness President Ms. Namita Nayyar catches up with Jennifer O with Sweden Models Agency, an exceptionally talented Yoga Expert and Model, here she talks about her workout, yoga, diet, beauty secrets, and mantra for life.
Namita Nayyar:
Your first experience with Yoga at a personal level?
Jennifer O:
I remember as early as in my teenage years being interested in yoga and having a VHS tape with Rodney Yee Yoga class I would take in my living room. At 14 I started to model and eventually at 18 years old modeling brought me New York City. After 9/11, it was a time filled with such stress and anxiety in the city and it was then I really craved yoga and started to practice regularly at studios around the city.
Namita Nayyar:
Five factors that led you towards becoming a yoga instructor in 2015? Five reasons everyone should practice yoga.
Jennifer O:
- Yoga has helped me a lot with easing back pain that probably came from both being 6ft tall and then flying constantly for model jobs. It is when practiced right so healthy for the spine and a great way to build strength around it.
- It helps to elongate our muscles to find more flexibility. Not that touching our toes has to the goal but it’s nice to stay flexible through life and it is great for keeping our joints healthy.
- Yoga is a moving meditation, and it is such a gift and a way of honoring life to be fully present. It calms wandering minds and helps to find inner stillness. I really believe that finding peace inside is finding peace around.
- It is a very mindful practice and way to move. We live a lot in our heads but there is a whole-body there to tune in to. When you practice yoga, you practice balance and focus and will start to notice all the micro-movements within your body.
- You really need no equipment and it is an easy practice to do just about anywhere.
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This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2021 Women Fitness
Namita Nayyar:
Share the best part of your job as a model? How do you go about managing the demands of your job?
Jennifer O:
I love to travel and seeing new places and modeling has given me an opportunity to see places I never thought I would have seen.
There is both a challenge but also an excitement not knowing where you will go next and when. It can be overwhelming at times with the unknown, but, when we get forced to more or less learn to always “be ready “to go at any time it keeps you engaged and motivated.
Namita Nayyar:
What exercises is an integral part of your workout routine? Five must-do mornings stretches to relax muscle tension?
Jennifer O:
The yoga practice I do really depends on the time of the day, my mood, and energy. It can be a faster high intense vinyasa with fun music or sometimes very restorative and with a lot of pranayama and a very long Shavasana.
I also like switching it up with lifting weights to build strength and with Pilates to strengthen my core (which also ends up helping my yoga practice.) On a nice day, it feels great to go for a run; I am bad with running inside on treadmills.
Some nice morning moves,
- Lazy twists, lying on your back, knees bent and together to touch in the center, letting your feet be wider than your hips, then let the knees fall to one side and breath into the stretch. Repeat on the other side.
- Side stretches, from sitting cross-legged, tall spine, and keep both sit-bones grounded. Then reach right arm, up overhead towards the left, palm facing down. Let the left arm and shoulder be relaxed down on the left and stretch the right side. Repeat for the left side.
- Happy Baby, lay on your back, bend your knees and grab the outer edges on your feet. Allow the knees to stretch down towards the armpits on either side. Try to keep your spine flat and grounded on the floor and heels vertically over your knees.
- Supine twist, laying on your back and let both legs fall 90 degrees from your upper body to one side, turn gaze to the opposite side. Repeat on the other side.
- A couple of sun salutations to get your blood flow going.
Namita Nayyar:
How has yoga changed your life?
Jennifer O:
I would say it has made me more aware of my body and my breath. It has made me more fearless, with practicing inversions (that I used to be terrified of). Most importantly it has created this space of inner calm, and it is something you end up having with you, on or off the yoga mat. And in fact, the calm was always there. Just tough sometimes in life to find your way back to.
Through the meditation part, you become sort of honest with yourself, peel off the layers, good and bad, and become much more in-tuned and notice the power of the stillness there is even in the most chaotic times.
Namita Nayyar:
Your meal before and after a workout session? First thing you consume after getting up in the morning?
Jennifer O:
So I know it’s better to practice on an empty stomach but I go straight to the kitchen after getting out of bed. I love coffee, and always like to eat something to give me energy. Normally a banana, some berries, maybe chia pudding or granola.
Namita Nayyar:
Favorite meal of the day? What food would you call a meal of the day? Supplements you advocate.
Jennifer O:
Favorite meal is brunch on a weekend and dinner.
I was raised and have been a vegetarian my whole life. It has finally become much easier to go out and find amazing vegetarian food.
I take vegan algae Omega oils, and holy basil which has benefits for the immune system, anti-inflammatory and good for stress, sometimes probiotic vegan gummies, but besides that, not a big pill taker.
Namita Nayyar:
Define Women Fitness for WF viewers.
Jennifer O:
It’s time to be proud of our bodies and so very grateful for all they can do.
No matter what shape or size, we can feel that gratefulness, and letting each workout session and yoga practice be a way to move with love for what we are, and not a chase for what we think we want. With loving what we are, I think we will cherish it more and take care of it, and magically that often ends up getting us closer to what our goal originally was.
Namita Nayyar:
Five makeup hacks you swear by?
Jennifer O:
I love the Bobbi Brown shimmer brick. I put it everywhere, cheeks, nose, eyelids, and it gives a nice bronzy glow.
I use a tinted moisturizer for a second layer of SPF and to blend the tone of the skin but it is not as heavy as a foundation.
I tint my eyelashes at home, quick and easy. Nice when you work out, do yoga, and go to the beach and can be makeup-free.
I have used Kevin Aucoin concealer for years. It is pretty heavy and just a dip is enough to cover ANYTHING
I love the products from Retrouve before I put makeup on. Super hydrating face lotion and natural products that I can trust on my skin. It gives my skin a nice hydrated and dewy base to add any makeup on.
Namita Nayyar:
Three Biggest fitness/weight loss myths that needs to be busted?
Jennifer O:
I believe in finding an activity you enjoy and then putting it in the calendar to stay committed.
Quick crash diets and overly ambitious workout challenges can be hard to keep up with and if we feel like we fall behind, it can end up being discouraging. But getting excited about something you enjoy can last, and if you do it regularly you will get stronger and see the results. That can be a motivation to keep going, when you feel the difference and get that natural high from practice.
I also believe in moderation. Loving your body for all it does for you. Eating to give it fuel and to share social meals with loved ones and then not being hard on you for not keeping score of treats, but to enjoy it if it is a treat! Happiness is the main ingredient to health.
Namita Nayyar:
Yoga wears brands that you love?
Jennifer O:
I wear anything that moves with your body, it can be any brand really, as long as its soft and comfy.
For yoga mats, The Natural rubber Jade mat or Lulu lemon mats have a really good grip.
Namita Nayyar:
Three Yoga Resorts/Destinations that you would recommend?
Jennifer O:
I went to Bali last November for yoga teacher training. It is really easy to immerse yourself in yoga there as the whole island is very Zen and practice it is common and part of the culture. Our training was at a beautiful villa on the cliff overlooking the water, Villa Singa in Kula Selatan, which is a gorgeous area in the south.
Costa Rica, Pura Vida, its closer to NY and such lush nature and beaches. I took my first teacher training there with Marianne Wells Yoga School. Marianne has decades of experience and I can highly recommend getting your training from her. She is an Iyengar based yoga teacher. Iyengar Yoga is a very mindful and restorative style of yoga. It is down to the pure basics of what really real yoga is all about.
Any beach! I love the warm weather and being able to practice outside. In the summers I go to Montauk and have been teaching a few yoga Bootcamp weekends there the last couple of summer at Hero Beach Club, which has a really welcoming and laid back surfer vibe.
Namita Nayyar:
Resolutions or goals for 2021?
Jennifer O:
Well, the year has sort of taken its own turn, which has made us have to change our daily routine. And in that, is some time for reflection, to maybe have a look at our own routines, why we do them, and what they mean to us.
I believe with all the uncertainty, there is an opportunity for growth. Change is scary, but it is our perception really of the unknown that can be scary.
If we can come to peace with that we aren’t always in control that lots unfold around us we can start to take charge in who we will be going through it, the part we can control, and it can be very liberating.
Namita Nayyar:
Your special message for International Yoga Day?
Jennifer O:
It’s a day to bring people together, to celebrate and be a reminder of that every day can be yoga day. That every day is an opportunity to practice being present! That we can tune back in the core of what we are put an anchor down, and then when we head out in the world, staying with that connection!
Jennifer O Social Media Presence
- Official Website
- Jennifer O Official Modeling Agency : Sweden Models Agency AB, https://swedenmodels.se/
This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2021 Women Fitness