My name is Jennifer Crescenzo and I’m a full-time yoga teacher in Melbourne Australia. I’m very passionate about Yin Yoga but when I arrived in Melbourne five years ago everyone was practicing Hot Yoga and Power Yoga so there wasn’t a lot of enthusiasm for a slow, deep stretching practice that emphasizes meditative stillness! Today I teach, write and facilitate Yin and Hatha Yoga teacher training, and travel to lead yoga workshops, trainings, and retreats.

I think people envision the yoga teacher lifestyle as really relaxed - teach a few classes, spend lots of time practicing yoga, drink some kombucha, talk about chakras - that kind of thing. But it’s really more like running your own small business with a research and development department, a sales and marketing team, and people who need to get out and deliver the product. Oh - and you are the head and sole employee of all those departments :) I am often up early to write - whether that is developing material for new workshops or writing content for teacher training. I don’t like to go straight from bed to sitting at my computer so I move around a bit first. Some mornings that means sun salutations but other mornings I go straight out to the garden and dig around in the dirt a little. It sounds a bit yoga cliche but it changes my perspective when I start the day caring for other living beings rather than seeing who has liked me on Instagram. Also I have discovered that my plants like coffee as much as I do! So, we share a morning ritual. I make coffee in my French Press and enjoy my morning cup and then pour the grinds over the plants.

Part of my job, like any other job, is meetings. And that means having some cosy meeting spots near my home or the studios where I teach. Current favorites include Urban Projuice in Albert Park because it’s a family affair run by a mother and her daughters and they make delicious vegetarian and vegan food. This winter I am especially fond of their Turmeric Latte because it’s earthy and spicy and warming and Turmeric is a potent anti-inflammatory and boosts your immune system.

Because I don’t have a car, I’m often on the go and I carry everything I might need for the day in my bag, a beautiful hand-sewn creation from my last trip to Thailand. Inside you’d find whatever book I am reading (currently it’s Connectome: How the Brains Wiring Makes Us Who We Are), my iPad, a scarf (I collect them from all over the world!) some sort of refreshing spray for my face (I picked up Yuli Cocoon Elixir in LA a few months ago ) jasmine essential oil from Jamal Kazura Aromatics in Singapore, YSL Touche Eclat, and usually a random piece of fruit (this week it's mandarins)

Since I’m on foot or on trams a lot, I’m a big fan of podcasts. I spent 10 years as a documentary filmmaker so I’m passionate about storytelling. On my podcast playlist you’d find RadioLab, 99 Percent Invisible, Serial, Invisibilia, Planet Money, and This American Life. I love how a good story can grab you and turn you in a different direction, compelling you to see the at the world from a totally different perspective. And I think that’s what yoga offers - twisting your body into different shapes gives you different ways of seeing yourself and the world around you.

Although I have built a reputation as a Yin Yoga educator, those who know me best know that I embrace the cooling, contemplative nature of Yin to balance my fiery, Irish-Italian Yang side. Whether it’s powering across the finish line of a race or facing an opponent in Kung Fu, I love to move! This year I found a new passion, Olympic Lifting. Although lifting something big and heavy sounds more brutal than mindful, it’s actually a delicate balance of the two. Like Yoga, it is all about a union of opposites! You have to be patient but violent. You have to be willing to fail but determined to succeed. The moment you put your hands on the bar, you have to coordinate all of your power and intention to lift it. But, when you take your hands off the bar you have to relax and let go. My Olympic Lifting coach, Luke Bryan of CrossFit 3000, said I was being “too zen” in a lifting session and that I needed to get a little more violent. So we created “Nej”, my lifting alter-ego who resembles the fierce Indian warrior goddess Kali. Kali holds a severed head and wears a necklace of skulls made from her fallen foes. I know - it doesn’t sound very yogic. But Kali represents the erradication of ego. She cuts through the illusions, forcing us to see things as they are rather than as we want them to be. And I would describe Olympic Lifting in much the same way. It quickly reveals where you lack coordination, power, or precision - like the parts of you where electricity doesn't flow. And if you are willing to work on those parts of your body and mind, you can electrify them!

I wear a lot of yoga clothes - comes with the job! Since I can spend all day in a sports bra or pair of yoga pants, I need things that are durable but feel good on my skin and can transition from the studio to dinner with friends. When I’m not in yoga clothes, I’m either in jeans or Melbourne-made Nevenka. Designer Rosemary Masic blends lace and edge. It’s like Stevie Nicks meets Lauren Bacall...

Jennifer teaches weekly classes at Ohana Yoga, MOVE Yoga, and Power Living South Melbourne and runs yearly retreats at Le Yoga Daylesford. For more about Jennifer, visit her website yoga.jencrescenzo.com

I’m Cat Woods [@cat13gram] and I author Core Integrity With Cat, teach barre, do some freelance writing and editing, and I’m also doing my yoga teacher training at The Yoga Social in Melbourne CBD. I have been doing yoga for the past 15 years and it is the one thing that remains a constant passion in my life, besides writing, and I know I will never know everything or master every aspect of it. I love that. I will always be a student! Being a writer and a barre instructor means I am not confined to conservative fashion or beauty. That said, I don’t feel like myself with a full face of makeup or shunning makeup completely out of some idea of yoga Puritanism!

I had terrible acne as a teenager and went through two courses of Roaccutane. It cleared up my skin, but it made me extremely conscious of using products that genuinely hydrate, cleanse and nourish skin as opposed to stripping it of natural oils or clogging it and causing spots. My favourite brands for skincare are natural and I flit between using different ones from day to day and week to week. I love Kiehl’s toners and eye creams. Thalgo does great cleansers and serums. At the moment I’m using their Foaming Marine Cleanser (smells ocean fresh) and Hydra Marine Serum. I also love a weekly exfoliation with Goodness Every Week Facial Scrub. It’s a new range that is all about chia seeds. Smells fab and the pastel coloured packaging makes me smile.

I am all about a great sports massage, even though it’s so expensive, which is why I figure if I’m teaching and talking for work – why can’t I find a facial massage therapist? So I did my Google research and contacted the most highly rated Australian facialist, Jocelyn Petroni for her local recommendation. Jocelyn only works in New South Wales, but she said there was no other option than Valli Shubere if I wanted the ultimate facial massage. Valli operates from Herbario and has been doing herbal beauty and health for over 30 years. Valli, Marcel and herbalist Vito Cozza take traditional European Botanical Medicine and apply it to internal and beauty treatments. Unlike most, the herbal preparations are totally pure and potent. It is a little like being pummelled – I won’t kid you, it can hurt to have your cheeks and jawline massaged when you’re a typical tooth-grinder, but it is worth it for the glow you get later. Valli does nutritional assessments and programs too but I haven’t tried these.

I am all about nail colours since I am looking at my fingers and toes all the time as an instructor. I love OPI and Orly in particular. They have great colours and they are paraben, sulfate free with cute names. Especially loving the new Purple Palazzo Pants. I also love Orly Nailtrition as a paint-on treatment for broken, brittle nails that have seen too many colour changes and too much remover! It gives a really shiny, glossy finish too. I paint it on while I’m binge watching The Americans or Game of Thrones.

Daily, I wash and tone then after a few espressos, I apply L’Oreal Lumi Magique because it’s the perfect shade and it lasts through my workout and class without caking or dripping or clogging my pores. It is lightweight but it covers any redness.

I am all about the glow so I love Physicians Formula Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls applied with a big brush. I’m an amateur but I know how to wield a brush when it comes to blusher and bronzer. Definitely not with a heavy hand! I don’t spend a lot on brushes. The Real Techniques Bold Metals Collection is available in chemists and beauty shops. It looks much more expensive than it really is! The Flat Contour Brush is my most used. It’s super soft and does triple duty on bronzer, blusher and highlighter.

I love Lancome Blush Subtil in tawny 011 Brun Roche as a bronzer. I sweep it from the top of my ear lobe under my cheekbones then apply a bit of blusher (Urban Decay Afterglow in Crush for true pink or the paler ballet pink of Youngblood Mineral Blush in Zin.

I love lip colours and I find them in my glovebox, my bathroom, my loungeroom, under the bed, in the kitchen, falling out of my iPad carry case... literally, I have lipsticks, lipliners and lipglosses everywhere. I’ve just discovered Bite Beauty from Canada. They do food-quality, all-natural lipsticks that are highly pigmented so they last through a lot of talking and coffee. My new addiction is Luminous Lipstick in Cassis, a deep fuschia.

I find that my eyes get red and sensitive if I wear much eye makeup beyond a simple slick of liner. I don’t make it a regular habit, but I do indulge in eyelash extensions a few times a year because it means I look glammed up without having to do anything! If I’m careful not to use oil-based cleansers and don’t fiddle with them, they last around 3 weeks. I am super fussy about where I get it done though because I don’t want any messing around near my eyeballs! I go to The Lash Beauty Bar in North Melbourne. Aniya started this tiny, gorgeous salon a few years back and has since introduced massage and facials. I had a massage there years ago that was wonderful, but now I’ll just go for lash extensions on the rare occasion. When I flutter them in the mirror, it reminds me of classic film actresses of the 1930s and 40s. theatre actresses and ballerinas.. That big, dramatic eyed flutter that says ‘I’m costumed and I’m bold. Bring on the stage.’

Onzie Ahimsa Tank Top

Having said that, I am not able to be anything or anyone other than entirely myself when I’m teaching. I don’t become any louder or stricter. It’s not a performance, after all. I am really fortunate to share my love and knowledge of pilates and body awareness, barre, dance and soon yoga too. I love it. I love doing it, I love researching and choreographing, practicing and correcting and empowering people to feel flexible, strong and balanced.

Since I spend every day in gym clothes, I have amassed a wardrobe of outfits that is like a rainbow of lycra. There are some $10 Kmart singlets in there but mostly it’s OmShanti , Onzie, and Mika Yogawear for leggings and crop tops.

Purusha People Leggings

I have also just discovered Purusha People for mermaid print, iridescent, highly original yoga pants and there’s also some amazing iridescent, very Australian Gothic “Black Opal” leggings at DivaFit.

Finally, my unruly and naturally curly (but mostly just frizzy) hair responds best to the Pureology brand. They don’t use sulphates, parabens, lots of preservatives and chemical ingredients. My poor scalp reacts to most products by getting dry, itchy and flaky. So I’m careful to stick to what I know works! My latest haircare addition is Pureology Serious ColourCare Strength cure Cleansing Conditioner– it leaves my hair soft and non-greasy or heavy. Smells divine.