After catching our stories on outdoor gear and a grounding yoga flow earlier this summer, you’re probably well aware that La Vie Boheme Yoga is our latest lust-worthy brand obsession. Honestly, who wouldn’t love these boho-inspired, mantra-adorned mats in class? The patterns, the materials…and the Rumi quotes? For us hippies at heart, these tribal-tastic treasures are where it’s at.
This San Diego-based brand is the brainchild of friends and business partners Yvette Charlton and Michaela Moryskova. The boho babes bonded one summer over their love of yoga, fashion, and travel – then pooled together all their creativity to conjure up this line of yoga mats that brings their fashion sense and cultural inspiration to life with every chaturanga.
Get to know this dynamic entrepreneurial duo on and off the mat – how they stay inspired, their self-care musts, the one thing they wish more people realized about yoga – then click over and get your flow on with us!
Moment I fell in love with yoga:
Michaela: I was living in Barcelona working as a model in 2003, and a girl I was living with woke up every morning to do her practice. I started joining her each week. That turned into every day, and now I’m hooked for life.
Yvette: I was invited by a friend of mine to an Ashtanga class and I never stopped doing yoga after that day. I realized I was pretty good at it considering I was new to it, so I stuck with it and practiced.
Favorite yogawear staples:
Michaela: Always our printed yoga rugs and mats, I bring them to class and people are in awe of the beauty of the prints.
Yvette: Our super comfy bamboo bras.
I stay inspired by...
Michaela: My mentors. I have some very close dear friends who really make a difference in this world. One of my mentors is Robert Procop. He has started different successful businesses; he worked alongside Angelina Jolie to design a collection — 100% goes back to her charity; he’s built 14 homes (homeless shelters in LA) for women and children with House of Ruth. He’s a true inspiration for me.
Yvette: Traveling to different places and experiencing different cultures.
On my yoga playlist…
Michaela: I love listening to lounge music, like Sunlounger.
Yvette: Believe it or not, I don’t have one. I am not a practice-at-home kind of person, I like the energy of a class, so whatever the instructor plays is what I listen to.
When I’m not on the mat, I’m…
Michaela: Traveling around the world, taking photos (I have a passion for photography), editing, designing, being creative.
Yvette: Jogging on the beach and doing stairs.
I wish that more people realized that yoga…
Michaela: Can center your mind, balance your soul and cleanse your body of toxins. It’s the perfect mind-body cleanse.
Yvette: Is not just a stretch class. It is challenging and a great workout too!
Favorite way to hydrate:
Michaela: Pure coconut water, I buy whole coconuts and cut them open myself — so refreshing.
Yvette: Water and raw coconut water.
Favorite post-yoga fuel:
Michaela: Fruit/juicing, acai bowl, coconut water.
Yvette: Any green smoothie or juice.
Project or cause I am most passionate about:
Michaela: I have been involved with an orphanage in Costa Rica — 18 girls who I love. And want to continue a relationship with all of them. I would like to start a college fund for the girls who want to go to school. Normally, kids are thrown out into the streets after the age of 18, and I would like to start an after-shelter program for them.
Yvette: Definitely animal cruelty. I love all animals and would do anything to help prevent animal abuse.
Favorite quickie workout:
Michaela: Running on the beach, jump rope.
Yvette: The bluff stairs by my house. I run up and down the stairs as many times as I can. It’s a great cardio workout.
Healthiest daily habit:
Michaela: Drinking lots of water.
Yvette: Definitely my morning green smoothie.
Monthly must for self-care:
Michaela: Weekly massages, bubble baths, meditation.
Yvette: Hmmm…well, I used to be the kind of gal that had standing hair and mani pedi appointments until we launched La Vie Boheme Yoga. It’s kind of embarrassing, but I haven’t had a manicure in months and my hair needs some major help. I’m not complaining, it’s just priorities have shifted. I feel like I care for myself by working out almost daily and eating as healthy as possible.
Best advice I’ve received on balance:
Michaela: Breathing is the best way to stop any anxiety or stress.
Yvette: Focus on one thing and keep my entire body active and strong.
5 things on my Bucket List:
Michaela: 1) I have traveled around the world, but I would love to buy a one-way ticket around the world going one way, picking whatever cities I want to visit along the way. 2) I want to help build shelters for orphaned children around the world where they have proper staff and education. 3) Finish writing my book and get it published. 4) Bring my father to the U.S.A. to visit; he has never seen the U.S. before. 5) I want to learn to play the guitar really well.
Yvette: 1) Spend a week in the Maldives. 2) Go on a three-week African safari. 3) Have a baby at some point. 4)Take my mom on a mom-and-daughter trip to Europe. 5) Retire early.
Advice for my 16 year-old self:
Michaela: Don’t let anyone tell you you’re not good enough, smart enough or beautiful enough.
Yvette: Only date smart guys.
Current mantra:
Michaela: I have a personal spiritual mantra, but a mantra I live by is: Fear nothing, especially not your talent and strengths, be brave enough to show them off, be grateful enough to use them.
Yvette: Love.
