The Love and Life of Tiffany Cruikshank

SHOP THE SEVA LEGGING

Tiffany Cruikshank, up close and personal. An internationally acclaimed yoga instructor, author and health and wellness expert, Tiffany Cruikshank is passionate about living life to the healthiest and fullest, and she travels around the world inciting others to do the same. With the combination of her extensive yoga and holistic medicine training along with her spunky personality, she makes yoga and overall health not only approachable but fun. Her passion for yoga as medicine inspired her to found Yoga Medicine, an organization with a global vision to make medicine and health through yoga more accessible to all. She has a particular gift for fusing eastern and western medicine together and applying it to our experience of yoga for optimal health.

It's a dream come true to have her as one of KiraGrace's Global Ambassadors, and we are so thankful for her support. We are delighted to be in partnership with Yoga Medicine this season to help support children in need through Yoga Medicine's India Seva Project. A percentage of the Seva Legging, designed by Tiffany herself, will be donated to the Seva Project to sponsor three months of care for a child.

So without further ado, the brilliant and beautiful Tiffany Cruikshank!

KiraGrace: We are so excited to partner with Yoga Medicine to help support children in need through Yoga Medicine's India Seva Project. A percentage of the Seva Legging - designed by you! - will be donated to the Seva Project to sponsor three months of care for a child. With an abundance of charities, causes, and people in need, what is it about this issue in particular that grabbed you and inspired you to get involved? What significance does this project hold for you?

Tiffany: As a woman who has had access to education and a support system of people around me who believed in and supported me along the way, I know how valuable it is. As strong, independent women, I believe it is our duty to pass that along both in our acts of service and the simple ways that we encourage and believe in the women around us. Kira has also been a role model for me as a strong, successful woman who is still doing her part to make the world a better place through her nonprofit work, so it's a perfect fit. In Yoga Medicine we often talk about the anatomic, but the physiologic effects of the practice are a huge part of it as well. This project is a way to pass that onto other parts of the world that don't have access to it. To me, the thought of having to sell your body to support your family seems like one of the worst possible scenarios for a woman. As a woman, above all we feel it is our duty to protect and support those we love, and empowering these children with a way to do that is essential to me. Our centers provide shelter, food, medical, and most of all the education and yoga component that is so essential to empowering these children.

KG: What does Yoga Medicine aim to accomplish through this project? What are your hopes and goals?

Tiffany: My hope is to raise awareness around these issues and to raise enough money to support these centers year round that support over 525 kids. I want to get people more involved in this global community. The children are our future, and as we are experiencing more and more, we cannot separate ourselves from these more remote places. We are all connected, and we must do our part to support our global community. 

KG: Why is service important for our growth and development? Do you think it is directly correlated to our own health and well-being? 

Tiffany: Absolutely! Service work of any kind helps us to get out of our own limited perspective and to see the big picture. It reminds us that our problems aren't as big as they seem, and our nervous system can respond to that in a way that helps us adapt to stress. I've definitely noticed it in my patients and my yoga students.

KG: We absolutely love your design of the new Seva Legging - you have such a knack for it! What inspired this design? Have you always had an interest in fashion design or is this a new hobby? Can we expect more from you in the future?

Tiffany: I love fashion - it's my guilty pleasure when I need to relax and unwind. I've loved it since I was a kid, though I have definitely gone through long periods of being a tomboy or a hippie and being less interested in fashion. But I think fashion is a way of expressing yourself. It's how we speak to the world. It's about finding what you like and embracing it; and it's a constant reminder that what's really valuable is within. I think there will definitely be another collaboration. I adore Kira, and her line is top notch quality that's classic and still uniquely stunning. 

KG: Through teaching and service, you give so much love to those around you, but what about your personal love life! With your busy schedule do you have time to date? Is there any special someone in your life? We want the juicy details!

Tiffany: Relationships teach me a lot about myself. It's an extension of the yoga practice for sure. I've been dating someone for a little over a year now. I'm not sure how I found him but I'm grateful that I did - he's one of a kind! He's not a yogi, but he loves to meditate and truly inspires me in so many ways. He's so supportive, it's been so incredibly helpful this past year with so many changes and so much work to be done with Yoga Medicine. The travel is the hardest part on a relationship, but he travels for work as well and we make it work. I guess like anything, when you meet the right person, you figure it out. I feel really blessed in that department.

KG: Are you able to have a normal relationship when you're living in the spotlight? What are the pros and the cons?

Tiffany: I don't really see myself that way so I don't know. The biggest challenges for us are making our schedules overlap.

KG: What is the best pick up line someone's ever said to you?

Tiffany: I'm not sure I have one. It's pretty rare that I get hit on, probably because I live in yoga studios with mostly women. But I'm also very focused one my work and I think people can sense that. 

KG: For such a jet-setting generation, we would love it if you would share with us your top travel tips since you're always on the go! What are your carry-on essentials? 

Tiffany: I try to make flying fun, something to look forward to since I live on a plane. I bring cozy socks, organic dried mango (my favorite treat, always nice to have a treat on long flights), fashion magazines (reading on planes usually makes me sick but I love the pics!). For long flights, I like loading up on shows or movies to watch on my iPad, then it feels like fun. And though I know wine dehydrates you and isn't so good for jet lag, sleep, etc, I swear by a glass of wine on a long flight to knock me out. I've been known to sleep for 11 hours on a long flight with only wine as my aid. But my boyfriend also calls me a professional sleeper, it's my gift! I also take jet lag homeopathic pills, I find it helps.

KG: What's the best recipe for beating jet lag?

Tiffany: Adjust to your time zone asap by adjusting your watch as soon as you get on the plane and don't look back at the time in your previous country. Lots of water. If you land in the morning, resist the urge to nap, I always make myself wait until at least 8pm to fall asleep, so I'm good and tired and get a good night sleep.

KG: Any packing tips?

Tiffany: It's an art for me. I'm kind of obsessive about not packing anything I don't need and trying to make my bag as small as possible. On teacher trainings that's almost impossible with all the gear we need, but otherwise I'm almost always in a small carry-on. There's nothing worse than losing your bag. I bring lots of versatile stuff in the winter that can be mixed and matched, so I don't need to bring too much. In the summer it's usually all dresses for me - they are so comfortable and easy to slip on and so easy to pack. 

KG: What are some ways you connect with others, especially in a different country?

Tiffany: Yoga is the universal language! 

KG: What has been one of your most memorable destinations? 

Tiffany: People always ask me this, but every place I visit is so unique it would be impossible to pick one or even a few. I love them all but it's the people that really make it special to me. 

If you liked this blog, check out our other blogs like: "5 Smart is Sexy Looks: Tiffany Cruikshank's Collection Inspiration," " Peace of Mind: Q&A with Tiffany Cruikshank," "Bold & Beautiful: Kathryn Budig's Collection Inspiration," and "3 Reasons to Give: Tiffany Cruikshank on the Power of Giving"