Yogis Uncovered | Meet Lesley
In this edition of Yogis Uncovered, we sat down with Lesley, a Nashville native and multi-talented yoga instructor, contortionist, and singer-songwriter. She shared a glimpse into her creative life in LA, her journey into yoga, and how she stays grounded through movement and self-care. Get to know Lesley in her full interview!
“I think you have to love yourself first and foremost before you can share love with others or take care of others. And I think sometimes people think it’s selfish to take care of themselves… You should make yourself a priority.
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Hi, my name is Lesley. I’m originally from Nashville, Tennessee, and I currently live in Los Angeles, California.
What was it like growing up in Nashville?
I really loved growing up in Nashville because it’s a music city, so I feel like I was always surrounded by incredible musicians. It’s just a nice place to grow up. It’s very different than it was when I was living there, but I feel grateful to have spent my childhood days there. It’s gotten a lot bigger, and there are a lot more restaurants, bigger buildings. It’s funny, my parents are always complaining about the traffic there, and I’m like, it’s nothing compared to LA.
What do you do for work?
I am a yoga and Pilates instructor, and I’m also a professional contortionist, so I do performances, and I’m also a singer-songwriter. In LA, it’s kind of hard to make your living if you’re in the creative world, or even the fitness world, just doing one thing. So I dabble in lots of different things. I actually initially moved to the city to pursue my career as a musician, and then I fell into the performing arts world because people were like, “you can do all kinds of crazy stuff with your body, you should look into performing!”. So then I started training contortion. Music has been a bit on the back burner, but I’m still recording and releasing music under the name Lyra Star.
What kind of music do you make?
I would categorize it as ethereal folk pop. Some of my main inspirations are Tori Amos, Radiohead. Some people have compared it to Lana Del Rey, it’s just very mellow, chill.
How did you get into yoga?
I started yoga when I was living in Portland. I’ve been practicing now for about 19 years. I used to never do any stretching at all. I was not flexible, I know that sounds really crazy now that I’m a contortionist. I used to run five or six miles a day and never stretch. I played ultimate Frisbee competitively and all that stuff is just very harsh on your body. So eventually it was catching up to me. When I was in my mid 20s, I was like, “I need to just find something that’s going to be better for me in the long run” as far as movement goes. So I took my first hot yoga class and it was one of the hardest things that I’ve ever done. But something in me was like, “you need to stick with this”. And so for five years straight, I did a 90 minute heated yoga class seven days a week, and that’s how I gained a lot of my flexibility. Once I got bored with that, I traveled to Bali and just kind of immersed myself in all other forms of yoga and everything continued to unfold from there.
What is your favorite yoga pose?
I hate to pick a favorite pose. There’s so many that I love. Dancer is definitely one of my favorite shapes. It’s a beautiful balancing backbend. I love the way it looks. I love the way it feels in my body. That or Pincha Scorpion. I like to put my feet on my head.
What is a fun fact about yourself that most people probably don’t know?
I’m actually a world champion in Ultimate Frisbee. Before yoga and all of that, I mentioned it earlier, but I used to play Ultimate Frisbee very competitively. And right after high school, I went and played on the junior world’s women’s team and we traveled to Germany and we beat Canada in the finals. So I have a gold medal.
What is your favorite self care practice?
Going to a Korean spa. I usually get a massage. Body work for me is very important, especially with what I do. Going in the steam room and the sauna and cold plunge, soaking in the pool. Water for me is a very healing element.
And where can our viewers find you online?
You can find me on Instagram. It’s @moonchild.movement or Lyra Star Music if you’re interested in the music and the performing arts stuff. I’m on TikTok under Lyra Star Music as well.
What’s a motto or philosophy you live by?
Self love is the best love. I think you have to love yourself first and foremost before you can share love with others or take care of others. And I think sometimes people think it’s selfish to take care of themselves. And for me, I feel like that’s number one. You should make yourself a priority.
*this interview has been edited for brevity and clarity