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How did yoga enter your life?
I became a certified yoga teacher in 2001. I started doing yoga with my mother a few years earlier and I found a teacher that I absolutely loved so whenever I was home from university I was attending her classes nonstop. Once I graduated from college, she really pushed me to do a teacher training. I hadn’t really considered teaching but slowly found myself filling in classes for my teacher and eventually was running my own classes. Yoga is what moved me to Asia in 2006, when I got hired as a full time instructor at a studio in Shanghai. This definitely changed the course of my life…
Where and what type of yoga do you teach?
I mostly teach Ashtanga Vinyasa, Vinyasa Flow and Prenatal Yoga. I teach at Flex Studio in Central and I offer private and outdoor yoga sessions in Mui Wo where I live onn Lantau Island.
What yoga mat do you use every day?
I am currently practicing on a Zolo Wellness Yoga mat and loving it.
What yoga accessory do you swear by?
As for accessories, I sometimes use them for practicing and teaching but what I love about yoga is that all you need is a mat. And if you happen to find yourself without one, you can still practice.
What is your favorite yogawear brand?
For tops, I am super simple and always just wear basic cotton tanks. When it comes to pants I am a bit more particular. I really like pants made by Prana: the fabrics are nice, the fit is great and they aren’t so super crazy expensive.
What is your daily mantra?
My daily mantra is to remind myself how much I have to be grateful for. Click To Tweet When the going gets tough, I remember that I have great health, I have a beautiful hubby and son, I have a wonderful family and I live in this amazing spot in the world.
What yoga studio do you enjoy practicing at?
I love Yoga Mala. I used to practice at this studio when visiting Hong Kong from Shanghai in the days before I was living here. I found that they had such a dedicated group of students and teachers and that the studio had this super chilled vibe.
Where do you go to eat?
Nothing reminds me more of the couple of months I spent studying Ashtanga and Pranayama in Mysore, India than eating at Branto Pure Veg Indian Restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui.
What’s your favorite thing about Green Queen?
I love how the lovely ladies of Green Queen continue to educate the community of Hong Kong on how to be healthy, stay healthy and live consciously. This city changes fast and somehow they always manage to stay ahead of the curve and keep us updated on what’s happening in health, wellness and sustainability.
Jessica Simkin Williams has a Masters of Science Degree in Holistic Nutrition. She has over a decade of experience working within the nutrition and health industry, has managed one of the world’s leading detox and cleansing retreat centers and has taken hundreds (if not thousands) of people through cleansing and detox programs. Alongside her and her husbands’ detox, supplements and cleanse company Body Awakening, Jessica runs a nutrition practice and teaches yoga and pilates in Hong Kong. Email her to book a session.
Image courtesy of Jessica Simkin Williams.
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