Meet Kristin Arnesen | Wellness Instructor & Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristin Arnesen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristin, how do you think about risk?
Since I left Colorado after high school to study dance and performance in New York, diving into unknown adventures has been the theme of my adult life. That’s true of both my work as an artist and equally of my career in wellness. Most fitness teaching jobs in New York require an audition, and the first one I walked into as a new yoga teacher was with around 70 other people hoping to get hired to lead yoga classes at Equinox Fitness Clubs. I had two minutes to get up, lead the group, and try to communicate something about who I was as a person and a teacher. Such a limited time makes for a limited exchange, but I think all the previous experience I had auditioning for schools and then having to show my art and performance for critiques and for audiences really prepared me to be present and get up and do my best in the short time I was given. I was so grateful when I found out I was being hired, though as with many gyms and studios, my entry position was as a substitute, which was essentially an opportunity for more auditions, jumping in to teach large classes of members who had shown up for their regular teacher only to discover me there instead. Subbing these classes in my early 20s was a training ground that taught me presence, flexibility, groundedness and a good deal of humility. I had to get comfortable preparing as much as I could, but then ultimately diving in blind and making adjustments as I went. Getting comfortable with taking risks was the path to getting my own dedicated classes at fitness centers and studios, and then ultimately to beginning a private wellness practice coaching and working with my own clients. Every time I show up for a session, it has to be with that willingness to take the risk to be present to another, and to do my best to create a nurturing experience. Though I’m glad large group auditions are behind me, the practice of being vulnerable and taking risks is a beautiful part of life and of the intimate work I get to do as a wellness teacher that is thankfully never ending.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I get to work with my clients in the privacy of their own homes on their physical and mental health and wellness. The flexibility that comes from that one-on-one exchange allows me to draw from all my experience to put together unique routines to meet the needs of incredibly different people. It’s wonderful, and it just never gets old! Since the pandemic, I also started teaching video sessions which have become a huge part of my practice. With video sessions I’m able to provide a more affordable option and still give personalized one-on-one support. Whether in-person or over video, I get to help people work through pregnancies, recover from hip replacements, deepen their yoga practice, address chronic pain, work on weight loss or gain, prepare for a marathon, or even just get to touch their toes for the first time! One of the things I’m most proud of as a teacher is that I really show up for my clients and don’t make the work about myself. I tend to attract students who are looking for a guide to help lead them to the best parts of themselves. I have no interest in social influencing, I’m here to help people achieve their best physical, mental, spiritual health. In more holistic terms, I see my role as a doula or midwife and not a guru.
One special thing about working with me is that I have a big toolbox to draw from and some pretty diverse training to bring to my clients. Working for years in large gyms and fitness centers that offered huge varieties of classes pushed me to keep learning, training, and branching out as a teacher. I started teaching aquacise and then yoga, personal training & weight loss coaching, and then a number of group fitness classes like interval training, barre exercise, after school classes for kids, ballet for toddlers, and all kinds of classes for older adults including silver sneakers and chair yoga. I get to take all my professional certifications and experience and all my own training in dance and acrobatics to my work with my clients. It allows me to put together routines that weave together multiple disciplines to achieve great results and the happiness and sense of accomplishment that comes from taking care of ourselves and achieving our goals. It’s a constantly evolving lifelong journey! It’s not always easy though. Building a private practice in New York took a lot of hard work, and deciding to start from scratch across the country in LA was a pretty wild risk. That decision was partly the influence of a new romance (with a partner who’s now my husband), but it was mostly just knowing that diving into the unknown is the only way to get anywhere deeper. And I’m so happy I did. Los Angeles is a beautiful, wild, wonderful place to build things!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
One of the special things about LA is the absolutely beautiful nature surrounding an incredibly diverse urban metropolis. I love to walk through the eucalyptus trees in Ranchos Palos Verdes, and through the beautiful garden at the SRF center in Mt. Washington. Driving down palm lined streets, or riding my Vespa through the Hollywood Hills is pretty magical. For art and music in LA I love shows at 2220 Arts, Coaxial, Human Resources and Zebulon, or just hanging out wherever Don Bolles is djing and Karen Centerfold is playing the maracas. For eating, I love hand pulled noodles and dumplings at Lan Noodle in West Covina and homestyle Japanese at Makomae in Diamond Bar. I definitely have to take my guests to eat a ton of tacos too, and I could never skip X’tiosu Kitchen’s delicious lebanese/mexican treats. I also love staying close to my new home in Pomona: antiquing downtown, shopping at the farmer’s market near Lincoln Park, checking out the wild peacocks, cooking at home, and eating in our yard under our old camphor tree. While we’re near home in the magical Inland Empire, we couldn’t miss Dustin Krapes’ killer series Utopian Voids at Wish You Were Here in P-town. Everyone should go there to see some of the IE’s best bands. I sometimes play my downtempo love songs there with my sweetheart as Violet Violet.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
When I was still a college student, Monika Lukasiewicz-Kruk, who was the fitness & aquatics director at the Greenpoint YMCA, came up to me after her water aerobics class and asked me if I’d ever considered teaching. I absolutely hadn’t! She offered to let me sub the morning aquacise classes while the regular instructor was away, and even though I was terrified, something about the confidence this virtual stranger seemed to have in me, made me agree to try it. Getting up in front of a crowded pool of Brooklyn seniors, who didn’t hesitate to tell me what they thought of my class or my swim cap, was like being thrown into the deep end of a pool and having to learn to swim. It really changed the trajectory of my life. I loved teaching, and the class returned that love to me. Monika saw something in me I’d never recognized in myself, and she was a wonderful mentor. She gave me my own first classes as the evening water aerobics instructor, and then my first yoga class, and many other classes to follow. She really means the world to me because she changed mine. I have to also shout out my bharatanatyam teacher, Kamala Cesar in New York. Kamala is not only my dance mentor, but my mentor as an artist and businesswoman who has been running her own incredible organization, Lotus Music & Dance for over 20 years. She made me a better dancer, and when she gave me the honor of becoming my yoga client, she made me a better teacher as well. Developing a yoga practice with her that could accommodate some of the challenges that came from her many years as a professional dancer, helped me develop my ability to modify, combine disciplines and innovate to create uniquely healing routines for unique people. I also have to thank my beloved clients because they literally light up my days and make up my practice. I’m particularly grateful right now for one of my first clients on this coast, who I won’t name for her privacy, but when I was starting my practice over from scratch in Los Angeles, she took a little pull tab from one of my hand-drawn flyers in Runyon Canyon, and took the chance of having me into her home for an introductory yoga session. In the seven years we’ve worked together, she’s amazed me with her dedication and grace. She’s developed a stunning physical practice despite having to work through some serious health hurdles and the sudden loss of her dear husband. I’m so grateful to have been allowed into her personal space to work with her through these life changes. It’s been an incredible honor!

Website: https://wellnesswithkristin.com

Instagram: @wellnesswithkristinla

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Wellness-with-Kristin-100070327001176/

Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1eRxWRrIiocQhVvBaenuvb?si=JfJM-cu-TuG7KkB2FS15gw

Image Credits
Sonia Kissin (only for Kristin’s headshot)