In this series, The Busy Woman Project sets out to find out what moves the ladies, who inspire us through their social media accounts. Follow our series as you get to know these relatable digital darlings better!
Conscious Living. Yogi. Holistic Health & Wellness Coach
Karen Holt (@thehealthseedconcept) is dedicated to bringing her followers regular inspiration to live a healthier, happier life that you are fully present in, all while staying true to her philosophy of getting in harmony with nature, living a simpler life and making the connection between each of us, our food and our planet.
Karen was also named as one of the ten Yoga teachers you need to know in Hong Kong. Follow her account for some healthy recipes and nature inspiration. Congratulations to this lady who's expecting a baby!
What are some key messages you're looking to spread to your followers and why?
Through yoga and meditation, I teach about conscious living; bringing mindfulness not only into our practice, but also into our day-to-day lives. It is about how we interact with others, how we serve our community, how we take care of our planet.
I use ancient practices to navigate a modern, tech-driven world, which is incredibly grounding in busy cities.
Name a post you shared which got one of the most engagements from your followers
I recently shared a picture of myself that was taken by the incredible photographer and artist Katie Vajda for #theboldwarrior campaign in celebration of International Women's Day. The campaign featured 20 women who each made a pledge to make a difference to gender equality. I shared some very personal thoughts in the post, which was from an article called Gender Equality: A Spiritual Perspective I penned for the occasion.
It is about my quest to champion wholeness – so that we as women (and men) learn to embrace both our yin and our yang energies. I see my work in yoga and mindfulness as being key to this. As I say in my article, "The future is not female. The future is not male. The future lies in our level of consciousness and our ability to cultivate peace in our hearts. In celebrating women, we must embrace our yin side. Softness is not weakness. From the softness comes the strength." I am very passionate about this idea.
What are your thoughts on 'stereotypes' of Women in Asia (with regards to looks, bodies, mannerisms, etc)?
To be honest, I don't really buy into the stereotypes or labels out there. I think it can be dangerous because we risk losing ourselves in the process of trying to prescribe to these types, which ultimately is detrimental to self-love, and self-love is essential to happiness.
Find your own path and don't rely on someone else to tell you what to do. The practice of meditation, self-love, and dealing with negative self-beliefs is not taught at school. We were thrown into the world with very little to equip ourselves. That's why I am always trying to learn more – to give myself the tools to cultivate my own inner peace. Until we have peace in our hearts, we cannot have peace in our world.
We often think that we need to do something big or game-changing when its really the little things that we do each day to cultivate self-love that matters.
Do you think Women support each other in Asia (more or less than in the West)?
I think no matter where you are in the world, it depends on who you surround yourself with and having the courage to gently let go of whatever does not serve you. By surrounding yourself with epic humans and inspiring people that are on the same vibrational level as you, we put ourselves in the best place to serve, support and inspire.
It is about collaboration. But in saying that, collaboration does not mean how can that person/brand help me, but more about what would be beneficial not only to us, but to the community and the planet. It is about pure and purpose driven intentions to consciously collaborate.
Who or what continues to inspire you?
The what is always nature. Mother Nature is one of my greatest teachers – simply being in nature is a great way to find clarity, calmness and creativity. Hong Kong is so full of beautiful earthy & grounding places. By immersing ourselves in the outdoors rather than our urban concrete jungle, we not only come to know ourselves more deeply, but we become active in our own transformation.
The who is my husband. He is the most non-spiritual spiritual person I know. He is living proof that we don't need to subscribe to labels, but we just need to lead with love and unwavering faith & trust in our loved ones and ourselves. Every time we lean into life in this way, we are manifesting more of the same in our lives. We live from our hearts and not our heads.
What are some of the values you and/or your personal brand go by?
I believe that we should always value coming to know ourselves more. It is not about what you do or fill your days with; it is about looking deeply into what is really learning to be with everything – our courage as well as our fear, for example.
I think most importantly, to just be who you are – we are all so beautifully unique and each of us is on our own journey and the more you come to know yourself, the more you can really own whatever point you are at on your journey. When we do this, our light shines brightly and we really live – we become vitally alive and we will continue to move, partnering with both our courage and our fear.
What are your favorite morning rituals?
I love morning rituals - they set the tone, drive up my creativity and ability to flow with the day. I always wake with the sun (no matter what time of year) and the first thing we do upon waking is get out in nature, taking our two little dogs for a walk. My husband and I enjoy breakfast together and after he leaves for work, I have time for meditation and yoga.
Having said all of that, we do have a baby on the way; so I'm readying myself to flex and flow with the transition to parenthood! The more we can flow with our day instead.
Know someone who fits the The Digital Darlings profile? We'd love to hear from you! Drop us an email at [email protected].
YOU can do your part by simply celebrating and shouting out another Woman's achievement - it's the little things that matter! Let's empower one another to live, feel and be better.