Sophie Green at Sky Ting Yoga
Sophie Green, an incredible yoga teacher, art therapist, visual artist and co-founder of Toronto's glowiest juice company, showed us around Sky Ting Yoga. Read on to see how this radiant, kind and talented Canadian beauty glows. Sophie Green is an example of someone who truly glows from the inside out. She has a calming warmth and beautiful aura that makes you feel at ease just by being within her energy field. Sophie's yogic lifestyle started from a very early age, as she grew up with a mom who has been teaching yoga for over twenty years. She caught the yogi gene and followed in her mother’s footsteps, completing her 500-hour yoga teacher training through YogaWorks. In her yoga classes, Sophie creates a lighthearted, comfortable and relaxing environment for her students, guiding them through mindful movement, deep stretching and breath awareness. Her soothing energy and nurturing style of teaching brings relaxation and spaciousness to the body, mind, and heart. Sophie showed us around one of her favorite studios, Sky Ting Yoga, where she teaches weekly classes in NYC. This gorgeous studio is light, airy, vibey and down right glowy. Situated in Chinatown within a nondescript building, this unexpected zen getaway will transport you right out of the city and into the sky. A gorgeous rooftop, giant giraffe mascot, clean, open practicing space, and a roster of talented, cool yoga teachers make this place stand out.
Aside from her yogi background, Sophie also holds a Masters Degree in Art Therapy from New York University, where she studied in the same program as Jessie. The aim of her work is to provide creative opportunities for self-expression to individuals in all walks of life. Having experienced first-hand the powerful healing qualities of both yoga and art-making, Sophie has begun to incorporate the fundamentals of yoga and meditation into her art therapy practice, helping to enhance one’s healing process and initiate positive change. Not only is Sophie a dedicated art therapist, but she is a very talented artist and illustrator-- we are obsessed with her paintings and drawings.
If all of the above wasn't enough, Sophie also co-founded Greenhouse Juice Co, Toronto's leading cold pressed juice purveyor. Basically, it doesn't get much better than this down to earth #glowbabe... read the questionnaire below to see how she glows.
HOW THEY GLOW QUESTIONNAIRE
NAME: Sophie Green
NICKNAME: Soph
PROFESSION: Art Therapist, Yoga teacher (and co-founder of Greenhouse Juice Co. in Toronto)
WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? Toronto, Canada
WHERE DO YOU LIVE? New York
WHEN YOU’RE EATING HEALTHY, WHAT IS A TYPICAL…
BREAKFAST: Greek yogurt with berries and muesli or avocado toast
LUNCH: A mix of grains, salads and veggies from Smile to Go
DINNER: Homemade lentil soup, country bread and a big leafy, green salad
SNACK: Apples are my favorite!
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE SPOTS/RESTAURANTS TO EAT HEALTHY? Smile to Go is my ultimate go-to for healthy eating. Dimes is also a great one. Greecologies has the best Greek yogurt in the game. I love Cocoran for a hearty bowl of soba noodles and Hasaki is my favorite spot for sushi.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE INDULGENCE? Ice cream? Chocolate? I have a serious sweet tooth so I don’t hold back!
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE SPOTS/RESTAURANTS TO INDULGE? I conveniently live next to one of the best ice cream shops in NYC, A.B Biagi so that’s an easy one. I love Red Farm, tacos from Tacombi, pasta from Emilio’s Ballato and bagels from Black Seed!
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR LAST MEAL ON EARTH? Such a tough one… An Italian feast with tons of red wine? I love pasta. Or maybe my mom’s roast chicken, with mashed potatoes and all of her incredible accompaniments.
WHAT IS THE BEST DISH YOU COOK/ YOUR FAVORITE RECIPE? This brown rice, chicken & broccoli dish I grew up eating all of the time. It’s so simple and easy to make, and tastes even better for leftovers the next day.
WHERE DO YOU GROCERY SHOP? I do the basics at Whole foods, but my husband and I really do most of our cooking upstate where we spend the majority of our weekends. We’ll stop in Kingston on the way to Woodstock and get all of our food at the farmer’s market and then pick up our meat from Fleisher’s which is the best butcher around. It forces us to be more creative with our cooking if we limit ourselves to using only the seasonal produce found at the market.
TOP 3 ITEMS YOU ALWAYS HAVE IN YOUR KITCHEN? Apples, yogurt & coconut oil.
WHAT IS YOUR FITNESS REGIMEN? (how often & what you do) My fitness regimen really just consists of yoga… and a ton of walking! I try to get to as many yoga classes a week. I love being a student and getting inspiration from so many of the amazing teachers around NYC.
WHAT IS YOUR SKINCARE ROUTINE? (products, facials, etc) I keep it very simple. I wash my face before bed with le Mieux cleansing gel, followed by Le Mieux booster and a Skinceuticals overnight moisturizing cream. Keeping the skin moisturized is key! I discovered the most amazing facialist named Toni at Bloom Skin Care. She is a skin wizard and I try to see her once every six weeks.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE MAKEUP/NATURAL BEAUTY PRODUCTS? I love Weleda, Tata Harper and Earth tu Face products. Coconut oil works wonders on the skin as does a little lavender aromatherapy oil here and there to help release those forehead wrinkles during stressful times.
IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND, WHAT 3 PRODUCTS WOULD YOU TAKE WITH YOU? My Muji pen, a notebook, and my watercolor set.
WHAT PROFESSIONAL BEAUTY/HEALTH/FITNESS/SPIRITUAL GURUS DO YOU SWEAR BY? All of my amazing yoga teachers! Ally Bogard is a dream… Krissy Jones and Chloe Kernaghan of Sky Ting Yoga are also goddesses. They have inspired me to learn more about Katonah yoga which has completely changed my practice, and teaching.
TOP 3 FAVORITE SONGS?
1. “One Love”- Bob Marley
2. “Redemption Song”- Bob Marley
3. “Stir It Up” – Bob Marley
And if it’s not Bob Marley- At the moment, I am obsessed with Christine and The Queens
MOST-WATCHED MOVIE? Dumb & Dumber (is that bad?)
MOST LIFE-CHANGING BOOK? Oh man. This is such a tough one. I wouldn’t say life-changing but some of my favorite books are: “What I loved” by Siri Hustvedt, “The Signature of All Things” by Elizabeth Gilbert and “The Girl who was Saturday night” by Heather O’Neill. I’m learning a lot from the book I am reading at the moment “Staying Healthy with the Seasons” by Elson Haas- so much good information about staying balanced with nature through the changing of seasons with specific nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle choices.
FAVORITE SHOPS/BOUTIQUES? There are so many gems in NYC! Some of my favorites are Calliope, Goods for the Study, Primary Essentials in Brooklyn, Pas de Calais, and Roots Canada which recently opened a store in NoLita.
COOLEST PLACE YOU’VE EVER VISITED? I love traveling so have been very fortunate to have visited some pretty amazing places! Rishikesh and Varanasi in India were very powerful and inspirational trips. Pipa beach in Brazil where I tried surfing for the first time alongside dolphins was pretty spectacular.
FAVORITE HOTELS? Devi Garh in Udaipur, India, Goldeneye in Jamaica, Hotel les Roches Rouges in Corsica, Como Shambhala in Ubud, Bali
WHAT IS THE BEST GIFT YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED? Can I say my family? My husband proposing to me?
MOST PROFOUND HEALING EXPERIENCE YOU’VE EVER HAD? A few days before my wedding, my best friend sent over this incredible energy healer to my house. I couldn’t have asked for a better gift – this treatment was life-changing and helped ground, nurture and restore the imbalance I was feeling from the stress and anxiety of moving into this next chapter of my life.
WHO ARE YOUR MOST TRUSTED HEALERS? Xiaolan Zhao (my Chinese medicine doctor in Toronto). And Ally Bogard.
DESCRIBE YOUR PERFECT DAY. Waking up in Algonquin Park with my husband and family, swimming in the refreshing, cold lake, eating a big breakfast, reading on the dock, building a fire to cook dinner on, drinking red wine and lounging by the fire.
WHAT IS YOUR MOST VALUABLE GLOW TIP/SECRET? Let things go. Keep yourself moving (physically), get plenty of sleep and drinks lots of water.
FAVORITE QUOTE? “Nothing goes right on the outside when nothing is going right on the inside” – Matthieu Ricard
WHAT ARE YOU GRATEFUL FOR? This life! My husband, my family, my incredible friends. Grateful for so so much. You will never get this questionnaire back if I continue writing down my list! It’s endless…
WHAT MAKES YOU GLOW? Being with my girlfriends, date nights with my husband, time with my family, laughter, feeling rooted and satisfied in my work routine, and spending several minutes upside down in headstand ☺
Photography by: Jai Lennard