Realizing Self-Empowerment On and Off the Yoga Mat: Nina Boost
Nina Boost is a passionate yogi and founder of Daily Yoga Boost - a daily inspirational site she uses to inspire herself and others. Only introduced to yoga in 2010, Nina used the meditative poses to help her rediscover her life after quitting her high-stress job in the corporate world. She shares her story on what lead to her to make the decisions that would eventually shape her to become the positive, fun-loving and empowered woman she is today.
“A lifestyle shoot for Spiritual Gangster was a complete blast because I was able to mix my passion for yoga, my style and my home all in one photo.”
Growing Up Active
I’ve always been a really active person so my parents brought us up to exercise and eat healthy and it didn't matter what you were doing as long as you enjoyed it. I was awful at anything that involved a ball. My hand-eye coordination was so bad, I was the girl running down the wrong side of the court, shooting in the other team's basket. Then I found dance and I really liked it.
“I always felt really good about using my body and expressing myself through physical practice.”
Trying to Find Peace in Corporate Life
I came back down to LA to find a job after I graduated. The job I landed was with a big Membership Company and I was an event manager for 4 years there. Towards the end of it, I was in an unhealthy relationship, a less than ideal (for me) work environment and didn't like where I lived. It was almost like I was working just for the money and that had never been who I was and all of a sudden I didn’t recognize myself. Although I was in this really high level job and worked a lot, I realized that I’d been in LA for 4 years and had been neglecting personal relationships outside of work because I was working so much.
“Decked out in Jala Clothing and holding one of my favorite poses Crescent Moon.”
Stealing Away to Costa Rica
Four years after I'd been with this company I walked in and I said ‘you know what, I think I need to stop this.’ I moved out of my apartment and I decided to go to Costa Rica. I knew that I needed to be alone with yoga for a while and figure out what to do with my life because I’d ended up in a miserable place. And one of the reasons I quit my job was because yoga was starting to really clarify things for me. It was the only place that I felt really comfortable and in control.
Restarting My Life
I had been talking to this company on and off while I was backpacking in Costa Rica and I was really interested in what they did, especially the female empowerment part of it. I was doing some soul searching of my own because there were multiple areas of my life where I wasn't feeling fulfilled and this seemed to fall into my lap at just the right time.
“The first Acro Yoga pose I ever did during the first yoga shoot I ever did.”
Empowering Myself
I still work for that company, and I'm the director for all of our members. I also teach yoga at night and on the weekends at a couple different studios, and I’m constantly growing.
“I take yoga classes from as many studios and teachers as I can to keep learning.”
I found a couple of different studios in LA and one that I really liked is called Power Yoga and I started going every day. I now work there, and I love it. It makes me realize new things about myself.
A photo posted by Nina Boost (@dailyyogaboost) on Feb 18, 2016 at 10:59am PST
Daily Yoga Boost
The past 2 years have seen a lot of growth, a lot of looking inside and figuring out what's going to make me happy. When I went to Costa Rica, I started my Instagram account. I had no professional photos, but I just knew that I wanted to document my journey. Instagram ended up being great for me. I do it every day, it is called daily yoga boost. Sometimes I kick myself in the butt for creating my brand around that because daily is a huge commitment.
Every morning I have to choose a photo that feels good to me that day and I have to write a caption. I'm not preaching, I'm not telling other people to do anything, it's something that I need to hear that day and I'm just posting it and hoping it inspires someone else.
What I’ve ‘Earned’ from Yoga
You don't realize how uncomfortable you are, how strained you are, or how sore you are until you do the complete opposite of what you’ve been doing the whole day.
I had a yoga teacher that made us jump around like weirdos in the class. And afterwards she said, “If you want to change something, you have to change your state.” Anytime I need a perspective shift, if I have any anxiety, if I'm feeling not so great about myself, I practice yoga. It's calming and it’s empowering.
“Jala Clothing is a local brand in Redondo that partners with Yoga Gives Back - a non profit organization whose mission is to help mothers in India start their own businesses and send their children to school. One of my favorite yoga brands!”
The Journey of Yoga
In yoga, there is the physical growth and at the same time there is the mental growth. That’s what builds confidence.
“Your body is showing your mind that you can change and you can grow and you will continue to change and grow, It's never ending.”
Connect with Nina Boost Website - dailyyogaboost.com Facebook - Nina Boost Instagram - @dailyyogaboost Twitter - @dailyyogaboost
Written by C.L. Brenton
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Image Credits: Nina Boost, Nina Boost.com