The Bossticks - Liana Levi Of Forma Pilates On Maintaining An Active & Healthy Lifestyle, Finding Motivation, & Balance

Episode Date: June 9, 2022

#468: On today's episode we are joined by Liana Levi of Forma Pilates. Liana joins the show today to dsicuss how we can maintain and active and healthy lifestyle, stay motivated, and what it takes to have a nice balance in life.  To connect with Lauryn Evarts click HERE To connect with Michael Bosstick click HERE Read More on The Skinny Confidential HERE For Detailed Show Notes visit TSCPODCAST.COM This episode is brought to you by Feel Free from Botanic Tonics. If you are looking for an alcohol alternative try this euphoric kava drink and get 40% off your order or subscription by using either code SKINNY40 or code SKINNY240 at www.botanictonics.com  Produced by Dear Media 

The following podcast is a dear media production. Okay, so on one of the last episodes, I told everyone that you would come on here and share your symbiotica order, but I don't want you to overwhelm everyone. Give us your top three favorites. I mean, listen, at this point, and Sierra Bean's been on the show multiple times, and I think I'm their best customer, because I am fully bought into this brand. I take, I started small guys. I started with the B12 and the D3 and the D3 and the D3 and the D3. I've said it a million times. If you're going to start somewhere, definitely just dive into that D3B12 combo. But now they came out with the plant-based protein, which I'm doing every day. I got the magnesium three in it. I got the new heart product. I mean, it's too much. They also came out of the chlorophyll. I told you guys, he's a collector. But let me tell you why I love these products so much. One, their liposomal. So you can take them by mouth orally. You don't have to worry about when you're eating or not. It's actually food and you're getting your nutrients and vitamins to this. I think when you're talking supplements, this is about as top notch as you can get. I will tell you, Michael started with just the tip and now he's fully in.

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at symbiotica.com and get 30% off. Enjoy. Code Skinny. She's a lifestyle blogger extraordinaire. Fantastic. And he's a serial entrepreneur. A very smart cookie. And now Lauren Everts and Michael Bostic are bringing you along for the ride. Get ready for some major realness. Welcome to the Skinny confidential, him and her. Ah ha. I grew up in LA. I worked in the industry. I worked with a ton of celebrities throughout working in fashion, whether it was editorial or red carpet. And I think when you have a great product, it's one thing to get them to come in and try it. And it's another thing to get them to continuously come back. With Kendall and Haley specifically, like we had a few mutual friends,

and I think they would see people posting about it or would hear from their friends. And they wanted to try it out. So I would say they were in the group of my first few clients. And they've been with me ever since. Leana Levy is on the skinny confidential hymn and her show today. She is the founder of former Pilates. It is the go-to class for every model and celebrity in L.A. She trains Kyah Gerber, Haley Bieber, Kendall Jenner. She's literally everyone's Pilates teacher in L.A. And so I wanted to have her on the podcast to pick her brain on all things, wellness, health, diet.

We also got into relationships, and she was really, really honest and very, really honest and vulnerable. And then we talked business. She's really multifaceted. She's like an onion. She has all different kinds of layers. And she launched Forma online. And that's so everyone can access it. So if you can't go in person to her incredible LA studio that all the slubs and models go to, you can do it online. I have to say in person, her energy is absolutely contagious. And she's adorable, super fit, came in workout clothes. And like, she just has one of those energies that you lean into. Leanna is one to watch. So with that, let's welcome her to the skinny confidential him and her show. This is the skinny confidential him and her. 36 supplements. 36 supplements.

A day. Yeah. You guys got a lot in common. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, what does that routine look like? That's a lot of commitment. It's a commitment and it's a little stressful. I think for me, I, So it's 36 supplements and 12 with each meal. So that's how I keep track of it. And also that's how I keep track of my eating. Somebody who is always on the go and always moving and I'm super high functioning. And my life is so hectic that I now make time to eat because I need fuel. Where in the past, building my business and just hitting the ground running, I did not make my health a priority. And it really hit me hard around the holidays last year. Your business is one of the most iconic Pilates studios in L.A.

I have heard that I needed to interview you since we launched years ago. You're going to make me cry. It's beautiful, too. Your Instagram, you mixed branding with youth and sexiness and Pilates, and you're walking in in this cute set, active outfit. Like, you really seem like you represent your bra. brand. Yes. How did you even know to do that? Like, take us back? I didn't know. And I think the beautiful part of Forma and this whole journey for myself and our community is that it was very

organic. I had no intention of starting a business. I was in the same place. Every single person in this world was in March 2019, not knowing what's going to happen with the world, how we're going to make money, how we're going to meet ends meet, pay rent. You know, I used to work in the fashion industry for about 10 years. And I practiced Pilates. It was my passion for 15 years. It was something that gave me stability. It was my mental and physical therapy. And I really just decided to buy a reformer for myself. And that was going to be my outlet and in all this chaos and not working and being stuck at home. I just wanted to have a reformer because at least that would be like my escape and some sort of like give me some tranquility and peace. And when I went ahead and bought a reformer, I put it in the

studio, I posted it on my Instagram and naturally, I was one of the first girls, I think, in my age group to start doing Pilates. I would be in class with a lot of much older women, some athletes, ballerinas. It was not catered to a younger demographic back then. And so naturally, I just put my close group of friends on it and it kind of spread through word of mouth that Pilates gets you a long, lean body and gets you abs. And it's just, it's the best type of workout. And so when I posted on Instagram, I had friends naturally just reach out and ask if they can come get on the machine. It's been a month. They're missing it. They can't wait to get back into it. And I said, of course, come by. So naturally it was like kind of like a social time for me too to connect

with friends that I obviously couldn't see because we were all stuck at home. And I'd say, okay, guys, have fun on the machine. Do your thing. I'd try to walk out of the room. And they'd be like, wait, we don't know what to do. Teach us. And I was kind of like, okay, sure. And I kind of just threw myself into it. In the beginning, I would make notes on my phone of certain series that I would want to do or how I would piece together the classes. It was definitely really rusty. I didn't know what I was doing. But I started with friends and it was fun. And then the friends referred more friends. And then it kind of spread through word of mouth. And I was like, I think I got something here, guys. And I decided to kind of brand it and create like a little bit

of a niche in terms of I didn't want to compete with all the studios in the area. I wanted to make a more intimate, smaller boutique style studio that cater to a specific demographic. that wanted personal training, that really wanted to understand the essence of Pilates and every movement and the technique. And I also realized along the process that Pilates is not really meant to be a group activity. It's such small movements and such small muscle groups

that if you move one centimeter in the right direction, you're going to feel it. If your form is not correct, you're not feeling it in the right place. Well, it seems like it's also so much about posture and pulling your abs in. And like, it's more than just going to the gym and lifting a weight. Well, it's a lot of mind-body connection, which I think a lot of people don't have.

Yes. Can you talk about that? That's, it's so interesting to me. It's like almost an awareness. It's lacking. Yes. So, you know, working out is Pilates specifically. It's dedication.

It's not, ugh, I have to go in and work out. Let me just get through this workout. It's, you need to be there and be present. It's very similar to yoga. the sense where even in yoga, it's so much breath work and just connection, Pilates is the same. It's just a little bit more movement. You know, you get your heart rate up. You can sweat a little bit. It is still low impact, but you're still working such small muscles that you really deeply have to connect to. And also, we're working your core 100% of the time. So most of the people,

they think, like, okay, we're doing a glued exercise. Like, I can just like lay here and move, and lift my leg up and down. It's like, no, you have to be long. You have to be long. You have to squeeze your abs and you and that's what helps you actually lift that leg in the air and engage your glue. So I think it's just a misconception of coming in and just working your body, but it's also just being aware of your body, which I've learned that a lot of people have no awareness of the muscles in their body and how they work and how to connect to them, how to breathe into them. If someone's looking to tighten up, aka me post-posed pregnancy, how do you do you implement Pilates into a plan for someone? I do recommend that people, you know, starting their

Pilates journey, start with privates. You can't jump into a class and get on a reformer, a machine that you've never been on and think that you're doing it right. I do think, again, it's dedication. It's a practice. You have to understand the fundamentals, the muscle groups, the machine you're on in order to really benefit from everything. I think a good start would be is either if you're at home or if you have a local studio, try to go in for a private or a smaller group class just to understand the flow of Pilates. And then once you get better, you can go into group classes and just getting that awareness of the muscle groups that you're working in and exactly what you want to tap into. Is this one of those things, like take someone like me, like if I, you know, I work out

regularly or train regularly, but I don't necessarily do Pilates. Like how advanced or how strong does your core need to be before you jump in? Is this, you jump in any time? you do like, hey, go do some things before you come in here. You can jump in any time. Again, that's the whole beauty of starting with privates. They're catered to you and what you need. There's not like a base level you need to start with. You'll build it from day one until the end.

You just, you grow. So we like to obviously layer. We start you out in, you know, the basics, and then we gradually increase. I always fully disclose that it never gets easier. but you get stronger. So you're able to kind of get through it. You can get through reps without taking as many breaks, but it's always going to be challenging

because you're working these tiny, tiny muscles that have probably no muscle memory. You started your business in 2019. I mean, what you've done in a short period amount of time, I know it's not short, but it's, I mean, it's a pretty... Relatively, yeah. To build a business with Kendall Jenner and Haley Bieber

as fans is pretty crazy. How did you get this celebrity buzz? Like, is it something that you sought out? Was it just word of mouth? If someone's out there and wants to start a business, how can they get that? You know, I grew up in L.A. I worked in the industry. I worked with a ton of celebrities, you know, throughout working in fashion, whether it was

editorial or red carpet. We have mutual friends. And I think when you have a great product, it's one thing to get them to come in and try it. And it's another thing to get them to continuously come back. Sure. With Kendall and Haley specifically, like we had a few. mutual friends and I think they would see people posting about it or would hear from their friends and they wanted to try it out. And they came closer to the beginning of when I started Forma.

So I would say they were in the group of my first few clients and they've been with me ever since. And I think it's also for me is building these relationships and I respect everyone's privacy and I take a lot of pride in what I do and I provide a service and I really pride myself on that. Personally, for you, when you think about training, is it specifically and only Pilates or are you incorporating other things? How does that look for you? Have you tried protein oats? Okay, I got this recipe from Ariel Lor, and I cannot stop making it. I make it every single time after I lift heavy weights. So I use ritual protein powder. It's vegan. It's delicious. It's plant-based. And it has three distinct formulas designed to meet the body's

changing protein needs. I do two scoops of that. Then I do a fourth cup of oatmeal. And then I do some hemp seeds, some chia seeds, and I cook it with water in a pan. And it makes like this mush. And this is totally Arielle Laura's idea. I put the mush in a bowl. And then I do almond milk around it with blueberries. It's absolutely delicious. And I'm getting my protein in a delicious way. Ritual's protein isn't shocky at all to begin with. So to put it in the oatmeal is perfect. It's like the ideal meal after I do heavy lifting. I would highly recommend it. You could also throw a couple scoops of their protein in a smoothie. Either way, you can't go wrong. I'm a fan because I'm a protein powder snob, but this one has a complete amino acid profile. It has all the essential nutrients and I've been

taking it my entire pregnancy. Like I said, I'm a big fan of just seamlessly integrating protein into my day. So the oats is fabulous. You should also know there's no added sugars or sugar alcohols. It's soy-free, gluten-free, and non-GMO. Ready to shake up your protein ritual? All skinny confidential him and her listeners get 10% off during your first three months at ritual.com slash skinny. Ritual even offers a money-back guarantee if you're not 100% in love. You're going to visit ritual.com slash skinny today for 10% off your first three months. I specialize in reformer Pilates. That is my thing. I can do mat.

I can do other things. But I really just like to stick to what I'm good at. For me, it's, I incorporate a little bit of everything. We're not classical, but we still keep the form and the technique and the true essence of Pilates. We just put a little bit of a twist on it. Most of my clients are athletic. You know, it's a younger demographic that wants to actually work out. But I would say the difference between like me and like the Lagree Studios or the

SLTs of the world and like the mega former, mega former classes. those are, I feel like they focus a little less on the precision and the technique of like classic Pilates and it's more of like a boot camp, you know, whereas I'm kind of in the middle where it's still classical movements, just banded ankle weights. We add dumbbells.

We add, you know, we add certain things to add to the challenge, but they're still slow and controlled movements. How much do you do Pilates? Because you look amazing. What do you do? 10 plus years of me doing Pilates. six days of week. Okay, so I should talk to you in 10 years after the baby.

Okay. Great. But the thing is, is I also like, I always tell people genetically, I'm small. Like, I have a tiny frame. And I was an athlete. I was a dancer. I've always been very active. I have a lot of energy.

So for me, I have to work out. I have to get it out, whether it's hiking, whether it's walking, whether it's Pilates. I've done it all. At this point in my life, I don't work out half as much as I used to. With timing, it's so hard and I'm also so tired. You know, when it's your business, you don't want to stay an extra hour to get on the machine and do it yourself.

I'd rather go home and like lay down for 10 minutes. How much are you working? Like, what's your workday? It seems like you guys are crazy. I can tell by what you set off air. Like, it seems like you're booked from the second you wake up. Yeah. So I wake up at about 5.30, 6 a.m.

every day and I work until about 7 p.m. So I train typically in the mornings are my busiest hours and I will break for lunch and then I have administrative stuff. So I also manage like the back end of the business. So meetings, things like this. Who does the Instagram? I do. It's beautiful. The Instagram is gorgeous. Thank you. Which is interesting because I remember taking Pilates like 10 years ago in San Diego and there was nothing like this beautiful aesthetic. So again, I have a creative background. So for me, it wasn't just creating a Pilate Studio. It was creating a brand and a community and something aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

And when I created the Instagram, I wanted to make it like colorful and vibrant and sexy and elegant and sophisticated and all of these things that really embody. what former meant to me. And I think that's the beauty of the fact that I'm, I work a lot, but it's because I'm also so hands-on. So when you're working these crazy hours, you also are going through stuff in your personal life with an engagement breaking up, two engagements breaking up? Twice, same person.

Twice, same person. How did you manage that? What did that look like throughout your business? How long were you with this person? Like, what was the details there? So I started Forma during the first breakup. And I started Forma actually from my own healing journey as well. I went through getting cold feet and being flooded with anxiety, which I've spoken about in the past.

About just getting married or? Everything. Everything went dark. And how long were you guys together before? We had been together for a year and a half. We dated for a year. We got engaged. And then I was planning a wedding, you know, across the world in Israel. Oh. Yeah. And it was really stressful. I ended up going from a full-time job to working part-time because I wanted to plan this wedding that I think everyone has this idea that planning a wedding is so glamorous and beautiful. And it was not. Yeah. And it actually caused a lot of stress and anxiety for me. And I think I also just started questioning if this was a lot of.

the right person for me and having a lot of doubts and just my world went a little dark and I wasn't able to eat because I had so much acid in my stomach that my throat was so dry I couldn't swallow food. And this was the stress of just like one getting engaged, planning all this, like what just starting this new chapter in my life that you know meant that I was independent from my family for the first time ever and kind of not knowing where my future was going. I think I just, I didn't feel that safety net. And that was a big, I say this now, knowing more that I just didn't feel safe in the environment that I was in. Is it because of the person that you were with? Or is it because you, you weren't doing the things that you needed to be doing? I think I still had to work

through a lot of things personally. Again, I think people are so excited. about getting married, that nobody understands really what that means. I cannot agree with you more. And I am very sensitive to energies, to just to everything. And I think my body was reacting physically to something that just, maybe I just wasn't ready for, maybe he wasn't the right person. It was so many things that I didn't have answers to. I just know that my body was reacting and I had to like listen to it and just pause.

So you break up? We broke up. And then I moved back into my mother's home. Love it. She nursed me back to health. I was in a bit of a bad place where I had, you know, very low energy. I couldn't get out of bed. I wasn't sure what was going on.

I, my heart would be racing. I couldn't eat. It was all so new to me. I went through different kinds of treatments in terms of acupuncture and, you know, a lot of holistic routes. And I finally kind of got back on my feet three months. months in and I started Forma. So you started Forma after all this happened. Yeah. And then you guys got back together? Yes. So I started Forma in about eight months after we broke up. It was summer of 2020. I decided to give it another shot because I think I was in a much better place mentally and

independently. I felt very empowered that I had built something of my own. And, You know, there was still so much love there. And I wanted to give it another go. And how was that? It was good for some time. We bought a house together. We opened another studio in our backhouse. Now, question, is he, and I just had this conversation with someone.

How do I say this eloquently? When you're a strong woman that has her own business, sometimes it can attract a man who wants to leach on. to that. You didn't say it. I said it. And I'm talking to a lot of very successful women behind the scenes and they're complaining about this type of man that is so like leachy and almost like gaslights you and comes into your life and starts now they're your photographer. Now they're they make themselves indespent. Like they sort of infiltrate themselves. I'm reading a book on it too by the way. It's a good book. It's called Pretty Thing. Great. I'm buying it.

It's called pretty things. And me as someone who owns my own business, I have to have my own thing. Like, I'm very outspoken. Are you? I'm very happy that the person that I married is comfortable with that. It takes a very quietly confident man to be comfortable with that. Was that sort of the direction?

Nope. You're going to play the fifth. No. Play the fifth. No, no. I mean, I think it worked for a good amount of time. I think Forma was still such a baby when we got back together. He helped me.

I wouldn't say that I think for me is I needed the help. And as a partner, I think I relied on him to kind of help me navigate through things. I'm a creative. I've learned how to run a business from the day I started Forma. I never. You're creative, you mean like you're more into the creative side? than like the, you don't want to look at spreadsheets and all that. Absolutely not.

I didn't even know how to run payroll. Like, I didn't even know what that looked like. Insurance, signing leases, agreements, taxes, like, corporations, like, corporation, like, it's attorney, CPAs. I was, that's a foreign language to me. Just let me create ideas and come up with, like, that's what I, I'm, I'm the brand, if that makes sense. Weston's got to take you on a date.

Sorry. God. God. This is Weston. Weston's got to take a growing day. We'll get to that. Keep going. Weston, where are you? Weston just came in. He's in the bathroom.

He's probably in the bathroom doing his hair or something. Weston's in the bathroom with coconut oil lube after meeting you. My God. TMI. TMI, guys. So basically, he is very alpha and very strong personality, which is why it didn't work out.

because there wasn't room for both of us in this relationship. And granted, he let me have my spotlight and he put me on a pedestal and he was my biggest fan. He also, it was a lot, I already put so much pressure on myself that I felt even more pressure to continue like steering the ship to like the moon. And it was too much.

And I think also during COVID, during a pandemic, living together, working together, that combination was a little toxic for us both. that was the demise of our relationship. It was just too much. I felt like a caged animal. I didn't feel independent in any avenue because we lived together, we work together,

our social lives were intertwined and we're getting married, we have a house together. It was too much. And I am somebody who needs to be extremely independent. I am a butterfly. I need to flap my wings. I need the freedom.

I can't have somebody trying to kind of like tie me down. One of the main questions that I have been asked is what is my skin care when I am pregnant. I am very specific about my skincare when I'm pregnant. What I do is I don't overwhelm myself. So I just do a couple of products. Like I'll pick five different brands, four different brands, keep it really simple and just reach for them. And one of those brands is Ocea. I have talked about their mist. It's like a vitamin mist for so long. Every single morning I wake up and I like a mist on my face. I feel like it wakes me up. Zaza even does it too with me. She'll be like skincare mama.

we'll both put on this vitamin mist. It's absolutely amazing. It's vegan. It's clean. It's cruelty-free. And it's safe for the skin and the planet. And they have so many different products that are so great. I would start with the mist for sure, like no doubt about it. And then I would probably reach for their celebrity-loved body oil. This is something that I feel like is talked about all over Instagram. It's a seaweed-infused body oil. And how I use this is on my arms. I'll use it on my stomach. I even use it on my chest, my tits, I rub it everywhere. I always take it down to my tits. You know this. Gives you the most amazing, glowing skin. So those are the two products that I would start with. They keep you hydrated, silky soft. But most importantly, like I said, I want to keep my skincare products

clean when I'm pregnant. Of course, they have a code for you. Find your new skincare and body care favorites at OcMalibu.com and get a special discount just for Skinny Confidential him and her listeners. You get 10% off your first order sitewide with promo code pink seaweed. At Ocena, Sia Malibu.com. You'll get free samples with every order and orders over $50 get free shipping. You're going to want it all. So go to O-S-E-A, Malibu.com. Use code pink seaweed and pick up that mist. It's funny to me that you say he's so alpha because it's almost anti-alpha to not let you spread your wings in a weird way. Do you know what I'm saying? It's almost the opposite. But it's also a control factor. Right. And, you know, I don't want to get too deep into

him specifically on that. I just ultimately, it was the dynamic and the personalities that just, they weren't complimenting each other anymore and it was,

we were just budding heads. And again, the safety thing was definitely there. You know, I lost my father seven years ago. And I think throughout my last relationship, I realized how many things

that I needed to work through in order to feel safe with anybody. And so I can't, I'm not, I can't put blame on him or the relationship. It more so made me take responsibility that I need to work through certain things for myself in order to attract that the right man, if that makes sense. What advice would you give to someone who's listening who's super confident, super independent, maybe has her own business and she's having trouble attracting that counterpart?

Listen, I think I find myself in this situation now, be it that I am a business owner, I'm an entrepreneur, and I do have a successful company. I do find that there are many men that are intimidated by that. For me, I would like to attract somebody that has equally as much to offer as I do, if not more. And those types of men, slim fucking pickings, man. Slim pickings, but also it's a type of guy. I think... I don't think it's slim pickings. I think what it is is that you're you can't speak on it well I can I think I and I will take the

we know you will we know you I love this dynamic the slim pickings it'll think it's slim pick is I think that the the problem is that the power dynamic of the household has been presented a certain way for so long that's obviously greatly shifted right totally and I think a lot of men grew up with a certain example you know we you know that traditional household and it's a it's it's a weird dynamic now for a lot of them to wrap their heads around that, hey, I may not be the breadwinner, there may be somebody else, and that's okay. Or also the weird dynamic that Lord and I in our career is like, sometimes I'm further up, sometimes she's further up.

Well, you compliment each other. You also grew up, and this is to be said, you grew up, and I've known him since he was 12, so I know this, with a mother who put on a suit every day and went to the office and made her own money and was independent and your dad embraced that, and she got home sometimes at 9 o'clock. That's my point is, I can acknowledge that I'm fortunate that that was my example. Like to the youngest age, I remember my mom. Like, she would wear like the power suit and run around. And my dad, too, they would both work.

So I never really saw the difference of dynamic. I thought, you know, men and women could both be successful, right? It wasn't like the guy or the dad had to provide everything or the mom had to provide everything. So I'm comfortable with it. But I'm saying a lot of men grew up with a different example and women, right? So it is Slim Pickens. Do you have a brother? No, he doesn't.

You know, Weston. I'm not done with you in Weston. Weston is his brother. We've known Weston since he was 12. Okay, great. Great. I'm here for it. It's a confidence thing where men, and I'll pick on men,

but they have to get comfortable that it's okay, that they may not be, and that you could also still be successful. But like, if I'm with Lauren, I would love nothing more that her business explodes further. I mean, that's great. Right, of course. It benefits, I mean, at the end of the day, you're a team.

So you work together as a team. And again, for a long time, it worked for him and I, because I was the creative and he was the business side. And together it was, you know, there was always this running joke whereas I want to change people's lives through Pilates and like the health and wellness world

and he wants to, you know, build this business to a million dollar company. You know, so together it worked. But I think the dynamics of personalities did, and I'm Middle Eastern and he was Middle Eastern. We definitely did not grow up seeing that. You know, I grew up in a household, bless my mom.

She was a housewife and a mother. And she did a phenomenal job with, you know, I'm one of three. And my father was the breadwinner. And I think in most Middle Eastern cultures, the man is the dominant figure in the family. And the woman is, you know, a strong woman, but she manages the house and raises children. And doesn't work. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. There isn't.

But I think for me and the men that I have dated in the person, past, they look for a more submissive housewife, make dinner when, you know, have dinner ready when you come home. That's not me. Not saying that I don't like to cook and I can cook and I can do all those things, but like, I need more of a purpose than just being a mother and a wife. My advice would be to anyone who's in your predicament to own that. 100%.

Instead of trying to be the sub like, because I sometimes will see. my friends like chameleon to what the guy is. And instead just go in it so upfront and be like, I'm not cooking you dinner at six o'clock, figure your shit out and give that energy off from the beginning. Yeah. And that may be helpful set the table. Well, I think most girls are so gung-ho about being in relationships

that they lose that self-worth, that they're willing to conform to whatever they need to be, to land that man to one day walk down an aisle, be married, have kids, and then be unhappy. My advice, if I was talking to my sister, would be freeze your eggs and don't settle. Same girl. I, that's kind of, I don't want to say that's where I'm at, but I just, I'm at a place in my life where I don't need a man. I want a man.

I want a man who's going to compliment me and who's going to be a team player and be the ying to my yank. you know, like I'm not looking to just be with somebody to be with somebody. It's not like race to the finish line. Like, I don't, I don't care. I'm now 31 and I can say this. Like, you know, maybe five, six years ago. Like, I really wanted to get married because I didn't know what that meant.

I think, I think that's a really good point. And we haven't talked about this a lot on the show. So I think it's a great subject. I don't think a lot of people know what it means to be married. First of all, you have to really, really like the person because you're around them all the time. you're waking up next to them you're going to bed with them like you got to you're sharing everything it's a it's a big it's the biggest you know will smith says in his book the most important decision of your life is who your partner is yeah and whether that's marriage or whatever it is

it's a big decision right and there's a lot of just stuck in a hotel for two weeks and i saw eating this BLT last night in the avocado is flying the dog i'm like listen we've been together a long time but i'm not here yet i'm like we got we need some space because this now we're we're We need, you know, and that... Well, I had to open the toilet and see your pub hair that you had trimmed. So I don't give a shit if I was eating my BLT. The point is, it's like if we didn't really... You got to like the person, okay?

If we didn't really like each other. No, 100%. And like, off record, you realize that maybe you just don't like them enough. Yes. And I think that's a conversation that isn't being had enough. And I think people are sometimes afraid to admit that. Let me tell you, it is scary. because I walked away in December just a few months ago.

I lived in a beautiful home. I had an amazing business. I had a man who adored me and would do anything in this world for me. And I had anything anyone could ask for. And I was still so unhappy. Why? Because it just wasn't the right person for me. Yeah.

Like I don't know how to pinpoint it. It just, I threw myself so deep into work. that I actually, so I got COVID in November for the first time in two years. And I got Amacron. It was super mild. Didn't have crazy physical symptoms. It emotionally rocked me. And I think because I couldn't work for the first time in two years or see my clients or talk

to my team that I had to be alone at home in my thoughts. And for the first time, I realized, holy shit, I'm so unhappy. When I can't work, when I can't see friends. when I can't distract myself from everything, I'm not happy. You know what's so interesting to me is that your whole business and what you do is all about being aware of the body. And it's almost like you had that self-awareness moment connection with your mind. Yeah.

And I think also I'm a little bit too hyper aware of my body that it kind of always, it plays tricks with me, but it's always right. and I started feeling the same things that I was feeling a year prior or two years prior when I broke off the engagement the first time that I started losing weight. I couldn't eat. I was stressed. I had anxiety. And I had this business that I had to manage and run.

I was like on my ass for two months. I never thought I was going to be married to someone that basically lives in a mumu. I got to be honest. Our neighbors have just seen you in this mumu for months. All the time. And the other day, Michael and I got into a huge fight and I was wearing a sheet mask and a mu-moo running down the street screaming. This is a true story.

Okay, the most comfortable mummoos, I am telling you, I've been wearing my entire pregnancy, and I will continue to fucking wear them, Michael Bostick, are by Tommy John. They have these amazing, they're not mummoos. They're like second skin t-shirt dresses. The one that I have is in black. I need all the help I can get right now. And it's breathable. It's lightweight. It's so comfortable. It's honestly been one of the most comfortable things my entire pregnancy. I am into this like dress situation throughout pregnancy, postpartum, and even like just like to go to sleep in. I don't like things that cut off my lymphatic system when I'm sleeping. So it totally makes sense that I'm obsessed with their skin t-shirt dress. I mean, I just don't want things digging into my skin, like I said. So you should also know they have a lot of different underwear and loungewear and everything.

is about comfort. So if you want like a cool cotton wireless bra, I like to be comfortable. I also like to look cute, but I want to be comfortable. And if Michael has to see me in a moo-moo with a sheet mask on, I don't care. You've seen their t-shirt dresses on my Instagram story. And I'm telling you, they are comfortable. That is what matters. You are going to go to shop tommyjohn.com slash skinny now for 20% off your first order. You get 20% off at tommyjohn.com slash skinny. That's Tommyjohn.com slash skinny C-Sight for details. And when you're on there, definitely look at the women's second skin t-shirt dress. I think it's like people trick themselves into doing things that may not be right for them just

because it's what's been done before. For example, if your example growing up is that your parents get married young, then you have children young, then you move into this specific house, you drive these kind of cars, you get these kind of clothes. And until your parents and previous generations, like that's the status of success. Like, hey, we upgraded the house. we upgraded the cars, you've upgraded the car, you've created the car. Like, you're getting all the stuff and doing all the things. So I think it's confusing to children or to young people. And they look and like, well,

this is what my parents did. This is what I'm supposed to do. I'm, I should be married at this age. I should have kids. If I don't, I'm actually not doing well in life. I think that's shifted so much. But people end up in this situation where all of a sudden they're with someone doing something, living somewhere. And they're like, wait a minute, I don't actually like this person, like this person. And this isn't for me. Why am I doing this? Right. It's breaking the ancestral patterns. I think for me, that's what I've been doing for the last four years of my life. And that's why I'm also grateful for the relationship and going through the breaking off engagements. And, you know, I think ultimately it has helped me work through things and shapes me to I am today. It's also helped me connect

with a lot of people. And as I said, like, I'm very transparent about my journey and my experiences because I want to share that with the world. I want people to know that it's not easy. And it's not all glamorous of what you see on Instagram, I hustle my ass off to the point where my health, my health falls through the cracks, my relationships fall through the cracks. It's really hard to manage everything altogether, but ultimately it gets you to the place that you need to be in. Again, breaking off these engagements and being in this relationship, I wouldn't have started my business and I wouldn't be, I wouldn't feel as empowered and filled with so much knowledge and awareness of myself if I hadn't done those things.

Well, imagine like fast-forwarding 10 years and you're with someone doing something that you don't like. Yeah. I mean, I have this conversation. And it's not just women. I have a lot of my guy friends. Lord and I were some of the first people in our friend group to have children and get married. Just happened that way.

I never envisioned myself getting married and having kids as young as we did. But I now talk to my friends who are still young guys. I call it like young 30s, mid-30s. And they're freaked out. And they're like, I don't have a wife and I don't have kids. And I'm like, listen. there are billions of people on the planet. You have time.

It doesn't have to be right now. And I find these guys making decisions in their dating lives now just because they're feeling the pressure of like, I got to do this because you guys did it. Right. Well, I also think that, you know, we're living in a different time. And I think what's nice is it that a whole IVF in freezing your eggs has become so much more popular.

And there's like not so much of a stigma around it anymore where that's giving women the opportunity to not feel that pressure. It's like, you know, an insurance policy where they're not just going to settle and marry the next guy that walks through that door. And I think the older you get it, you know, my mom, you know, I have a Jewish Middle Eastern mother. She always used to say get married young because you know less. It's true. It's on the podcast. That's amazing.

Get married young because you know less. Well, it's like it's a real thing because as you get older, you know more. You have more life experience. You're pickier. It's harder. And obviously it's like a Jewish mom. She doesn't want 40-year-old daughter that's like single and not married. You could be molded more.

You could be groomed more when you're younger. You can adapt better. And that's a real thing in the culture. And I remember looking at her and I'm like, absolutely not. Like, I want to have a career. I want to have a business. I want to do something on my own. I want to be independent.

I don't want to depend on a man. You know, so look at you now. Hey, we manifested it from day one. So how do you tell this person that you're leaving? You just say this isn't working out? I mean, yes and no. I was also in a bad place again. You know, I was 100 pounds in December and I'm 5'7.

I was 100 pounds. COVID also kind of worked a number on me where I like lost my appetite and I was, I got a little mentally sick. But I picked myself back up and I realized, you know, I'd been spending some time at my mother's home just to kind of get away from everything. and I realized that I didn't want to go back home. And I was scared, but ultimately I also thought, you know, I don't have kids yet. We're not married yet.

This is my time. And if I'm already feeling this now for the second time, it's not it. Yeah. And once you add kids to the equation and everyone tells you this, it's a whole different level. And I think even in the situation that I was in, be it that, you know, we had a home together. my business was in the backhouse. He had helped me. You know, he was a small part of it.

It was still scary to leave and walk away because I was walking away from a pretty chill environment. You know, like, why fix what's not broken? But it just didn't feel right for me. So now, months later, where are you at? What's changed? What's evolved? What's transpired?

I got back on my feet and I don't need no man to help me with anything. Everything that I... Don't get any ideas. Don't. I mean, when you have a good partner, he's a good partner. You know, it makes sense. But I will tell you this, I believe at this point in my life, if I was not with Michael, I would be single. So, like, Michael's great. But I, you know what? I see what you guys are dealing with. Yeah. No, it's rough. It's really rough. Michael.

You know, and we don't want to talk about this a lot. I think just the whole dating landscape has changed. And I think, I never really addressed this, but I think the rise of the majority of these dating apps has not been favorable to building meaningful relationships. And I, and I'll say the reason, and listen, obviously there's times when these apps can put people together and it works. But I think it's this abundance of an endless menu of being able to shuffle through person after person. It's so superficial. Yeah. And in the, you know, prior to this, you had to actually go and like woo someone and pursue them. and you didn't have, if that didn't work,

it's not like, okay, I got 16 others that I could just swipe through. It's like, you actually had to like take some time. My sister went on a date the other day. And they're going to tell this on the podcast. Like,

they're going to do a whole podcast on this. And she like met the guy and it was like fine and whatever. And then they leave the date. He texts her the next day. And he says like, hey, what's up? And she doesn't respond for two hours because like,

who does? Ew. Like, make him wait. Yeah. Keep him on his toes, bitch. Like put that shit on the back. I still don't pick up his call after six years.

I'm like, I mean, that's why he's still sitting here. I'm like, I'm at the pediatric office with our child. There's a big decision I need to make. No, but he can wait. So, but he, so he got mad that she didn't text back after two hours. And he said, why aren't you texting back? I should just tell you up front. Here's the list of my red flags.

And he said her. Oh, my God. That's already a red flag. To a website. with 30 of his red flags. And I'm not going to tell him. We're going to tease the podcast. It was a website called

his name.com. It was like his name. I don't believe you. This is true story. So the point is it's like 30 lists of 30 red flags. You guys there's no whole. It's like what are you talking about?

What's wild is. This is a red flag. What's wild is like you can make a Google doc or something and send it. Imagine having to build a domain with the red flags. But who's writing down their red flags and why is there? They're 30.

Does he want to go viral on TikTok maybe? I mean, maybe. See? There's always a motive. The list was pretty funny. The list is hysterical. You guys have to stay tuned.

I'll tell you off there. I'm excited for that one. Because that podcast is going. One of them was like not too short but not too tall. No, you can't tell anyone. Don't tell the other ones. That one's not even the worst at all. That's nothing.

No, no. No. No. No. Spoiler alert. Spoiler. So the point is is that it is rough out there. I think it's even rougher when you,

you have your own business and you're wildly successful like you. So where are you now? Tell us about who you are today. Like with your Pilate studio, you moved it, I'm assuming out. Yes, I moved out of the house.

Got it. I moved out of the house and I'm, you know, officially by coastal. So I live between L.A. and New York. We opened our studio last week in New York on Monday. Congratulations.

Thank you. That's so crazy. It's a fucking awesome. Excuse my language. But I had the, best time, I mean, it was a grind for the last 10 days in New York, but I would walk back from the studio after a long day and I swear tears of joy would just come down my face. And I don't, I'm not big on like celebrating the winds just because I don't have time. And I'm already moving on

to the next seven things that we have going on. But in New York, I really had a moment where I said to myself, Leanna, I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you that you did this on your own, obviously with the help of my amazing team. But this is what I wanted and I made it happen. And although in January, I was still quite unwell to the point where I couldn't travel by myself, I made my mom, my brother come with me to New York looking at spaces. Fast forward to March, we hit the ground running. And we got a studio with eight reformers in the heart of Soho, jam-packed, referral-only,

great partnerships coming up, and just building that buzz and momentum in a new city. and it's the most exciting thing ever. Every single morning, Michael wakes up and he feeds Zaza breakfast. This is when I'm able to meditate. And how I've set it up is he uses Once Upon a Farm when he's in a pinch. It's the leading baby food and kids snack brand and it has organic, cold pressed fruit and vegetables, dairy-free smoothies, overnight oats, ready to cook meals, and more. So Michael will like make her eggs and then he'll give her the overnight oats.

She absolutely loves them. They have these organic plant-rich meals for babies and toddlers. Zaza loves it. It's been super seamless for us to integrate into her routine. They sent us a bunch of different stuff for her to try. And I do have to tell you, she has three favorites. She likes the sweet potato, mango, coconut milk, and chia seed situation. And she also likes the spinach banana, Kiena chia seed, and coconut butter. Like, oh my God. And then lastly, her number one favorite, which she has for dinner all the time is the mango carrot, navy beans, turmeric, and coconut butter. If you stay, in each of the ones that she really likes, there's good healthy fat. So they have like chia seed

or coconut butter, which I think is really important to a toddler's development. I try to cook for her, but sometimes I just don't have time. So to know that I have a nutrient-packed puree or something like an overnight oat is really, really helpful. What's so funny is I was at ballet school with her, and I heard a bunch of moms raving about this brand too. So I know that a lot of moms love this. Like I overheard them talking about all the vegetable recipes and like the spices. It comes with like mint and turmeric and avocado oil. Tell me another baby brand that does that. I can't think of one.

Everything's nutritionist recommended for healthy development. It's organic non-GMO unsweetened, no preservatives and no artificial ingredients. This is so nice to take all of the pain points away from moms, right? And dads. Get started today and enjoy an additional 35% off your first subscription order. You're going to use code Skinny at Once Upon a Farm Organics.com. That's once upon a farm organics.com. Use code skinny. It's so interesting because we have this guy that comes on Ed Milet. He's amazing. Everyone should listen

to him if you haven't. And he says confidence comes from, it starts with you. And it sounds like that's the journey that you've been on. Instead of looking for any outside sources, like it just starts with you. That's when you're the happiest. Yeah. Well, I think scaling a business in general is scary. Yeah. Especially when it's IRL, you know, and you have an actual space and you need customers. But I think I'm such a diehard former girl and I believe in our method and my team so much that I feel like everywhere we go, it's like magnetic. And people just love the energy, the vibe, the brand, feeling a part of a community. And we really, we pride ourselves on building relationships. You're walking advertisement. Well, you'd probably be doing this stuff. Even if it wasn't a

business, right? Like you love it so much, you would be doing it anyways. Yeah. I mean, I'm the kind of person that for me, I've never really, I've been fortunate enough where my family's always supported me and I've gotten to do things that I genuinely love versus having a nine to five job where I need to, you know, make ends meet and pay rent and support myself. And I think that means a lot. I, I hustle for me. And I hustle for something that I love and that I believe in. And I hustle for the people that I work with. So providing a service, showing up, being there, making someone's day just 10% better, that's what I live for. I would get killed by the audience if I didn't ask you your wellness and healthy eating

tips. Okay. Like what are you eating for breakfast? We got to know snacks. Like a little more about your supplement. Okay. Anything beauty. So that's going to come out.

We're launching a formal wellness club, which is going to be a whole platform that's focused on health and wellness and diet tips and nutrition and supplements. And so we can, we can go a little bit more into detail on that once it launches. Excuse me, but basically, I always like to frame it that, again, I'm petite. I'm a small person. I'm genetically built a certain way. And everybody is different and certain foods affect people in different ways. for me, what tends to work is having a balanced diet. I start typically with, you know, two to three hard boiled eggs in the morning. And then I run to grab a matcha. I start my day. I train for about three, four hours. If I get hungry, I'll have some sort of protein supplement

bar to get me through it or some almonds or some walnuts, just some good fats. And then I'll typically have a salad for lunch with a protein, whether it's meat, chicken, shrimp, I don't discriminate. And then I go back into some meetings, trainings. I really focus on, not focus, but I kind of eat the same things every day. I'm not a, I don't have a sophisticated palate. I wouldn't call myself a foodie. I enjoy eating. I just also pick certain foods that will give me energy. And I use food as fuel because I've been in a place where I've deprived my body of food just because I'm so busy. I forget to eat. And you can just go down a rabbit hole. And there is something, there can be a thing as being too skinny and it being scary and unhealthy and just not properly

nourishing your body. So I think for me is just finding that balance between having a bit of a stressful life and work environment that now I prioritize, you know, three meals a day. I try not to eat after eight o'clock. I want my body to kind of, you know, and my dinner is usually the lightest meal. I don't like to go to sleep feeling full. And ultimately, I always like to tell people that your stomach is small. And it takes eight hours for your body to process food. So if you're eating every like three, hours or snacking or whatever it is, you're just backing up your digestive system. It's slowing, it's slowing it's slowing it down. I mean, it's not rocket science. It is what it is. So I think try to stick to really just having three balanced meals. If you need to snack, choose healthy alternatives,

try to stay away from sugars. And again, everyone's body is different. Some people work really well with keto. Some people work with intermittent fasting. There's not, it's not one size fits all. And I think that's where kind of the former Wellness Club kind of taps in where it's individually catered to every person's needs. So we'll curate specific meal programs and fitness programs to each person versus a general kind of diet. Really cool. So the peanut butter and jelly sandwich that I ate in bed at 10 o'clock last night wasn't the move. Oh, you're growing a child in there. That 8 p.m. tip I've now heard from so many super fit people.

And your husband for five years. But I'm just going to like say this. It's so nice to eat in bed. 100%. I do it sometimes. He hates it. He can't stand it. See, you got to like the person because I'm eating in bed.

He doesn't like it. This is true. Listen, it's just. You don't like to have sex on crumbs? No, it's just a mess. It's just a mess. It's like, bend me over. There's only one position I can do on the crows.

Like there's crumbs bouncing along everywhere. That's kind of hot. There's dogs flying all over the place. If the peanut butter goes in your mouth. Peanut butter is my thing these days, by the way. I cannot stay away from peanut butter. It's not good for you, but it's same. I put it in everything.

But it's not terrible. It's not. No, it's not the worst thing. It's not. Oh, you guys could go down a hole because he's got his supplements. Yes, I know. He's learning about all these things. We should do a separate podcast about the supplements.

This will be here until tomorrow. Yes, literally. You got to come back on when you launch the platform. Yes, I would love to. Congratulations on everything that you're doing. Where can everyone find you? It sounds like it's referral only. We are.

So we are referral only, but we answer everybody on DMs and through email. So we are community-based. We like to keep it small and tight-knit. It's not that hard to find a referral, though. We now have four studios across the country. So call phone a friend. And you can also email DM me on Instagram. Instagram. I love hearing from everybody. And yeah. Careful Weston's going to DM you.

West is at Leana Levy. And at Forma Pilates, right? Yes. Okay. At Forma Pilates, LA. Go check out her aesthetic. I recommend anyone who is launching a brand to look at your roadmap because or your formula really worked. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for coming on. Thank you. Thank you for having me, you guys. Do you want to win a goodie bag from Leanna of Forma Pilates? All you have to do is to do is Tell us your favorite part of this episode on my latest post at Lauren Bostick and make sure you're following at Forma Pilates on Instagram. As always, thank you guys so much for listening. Okay, so on one of the last episodes, I told everyone that you would come on here and share your symbiotica order. But I don't want you to overwhelm everyone.

Give us your top three favorites. I mean, listen, at this point, and Cher Bean's been on the show multiple times. And I think I'm their best customer because I am fully bought into this brand. I started small guys. I started with the B12 and the D3. I think those are phenomenal products. I've said it a million times. If you're going to start somewhere, definitely just dive into that D3B12 combo.

But now they came out with the plant-based protein, which I'm doing every day. I got the magnesium 3-8. I got the new heart product. I mean, it's too much. They also came out of the chlorophyll. I told you guys, he's a collector. But let me tell you why I love these products so much. One, they're liposomal.

So you can take them by mouth orally. You don't have to worry about when you're eating or not. It's actually food and you're getting your nutrients and vitamins to do this. I think when you're talking supplements, this is about as top-notch as you can get. I will tell you, Michael started with just the tip. now he's fully in. So he's obsessed with symbiotica. My three favorites by far, I've taken them my whole pregnancy, are the little packets. I do half a packet and give the other half to Zaza. I do the vitamin C. I absolutely love the magnesium. And then they have like a chlorophyll super food

packet. So easy to implement in your daily routine. I put them in my purse and never forget to take them, which is like such a big deal because it's so easy to remember when they're in those packets. And they all taste good too, which is what I was saying. They're food. So you get all of your essential nutrients and vitamins. Plus you get good food and it tastes good way you're doing. You're not grossed out. You know, many of these supplements on the market are gross. This is not gross. This is actually really good stuff.

Also, Zaza always is trying to sneak symbiotica. Yeah, she says red and yellow because the D3 comes in a yellow bottle and the red is the B12. So guys, check it out. Use Code Skinny at checkout for 15% off your first purchase. This is an addition to custom bundle discount so people can get up to 45% off. It's a massive discount. Create your custom bundle at symbiotica.com and get 30% off. Enjoy.

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