Peloton's Ally Love approach to self-care: 'I'm holding myself accountable to show up and to let go'
My Beauty, My Way is a video series hosted by Yahoo Life beauty director Dana Oliver, where women of different ages and backgrounds break down their beauty routines to explain what beauty truly means to them and how it represents their cultural identity.
There are people who just have that “glow” no matter what is going on around them, and Ally Love possesses a light that the world could certainly use right now.
The multi-hyphenate shines as a Peloton instructor, arena host of the Brooklyn Nets and founder and CEO of a women empowerment collective aptly known as the Love Squad. Even though Love wears several hats atop her golden curls, her work is driven by purpose. But how does she remain purpose-driven in the middle of a pandemic and social unrest?
“I’m just like everyday folks. I have had to deal with this pandemic and wear it as well as I could,” Love tells Yahoo Life. “We’re just all trying to do our best.”
Movement, whether that’s leading a Beyoncé-themed cycling class or yoga flow on the Peloton app, is one way she’s able to get closer to her purpose of being a “facilitator of change.” Though Love notes that this approach isn’t solely for those who are “able body,” as determining what is your best and what does that look like leads to making small decisions towards a great outcome.
“So even that one day where I’m like, ‘Oh, it doesn't matter today.’ Or the next day I'm like, ‘I shouldn't do that.’ Those little decisions are adding up for me to be less in a position to perform to the capacity of how I want to change the world, to be present in order to do those things,” she says.
Over the last 10 months, Love has also tapped into clearly defining self-care. She admits that she did some serious “soul searching” and spent time with herself asking: What makes me happy? What allows me to get grounded? What really is caring for myself?
Love believes that self-quarantine has allowed many of us to discover what workouts are fun, how to do a quick 2-minute lipstick routine to get camera-ready for all those Zoom calls or what skin care routines work best for your complexion.
With the latter, she has curated a regimen as the new ambassador for REN Clean Skincare that not only keeps her skin clean, moisturized and glowing after vigorous Peloton workouts, but also aligns with her personal ethos of empowering people to make smarter wellness choices.
She’s a huge advocate for the brand’s Zero Waste by the end of 2021 pledge, and has made it her mission to “invite her followers on this journey” where she can introduce them to clean beauty products that “doesn’t end up in landfills or oceans.”
Ally also reveals that she had an ah-ha moment when delving deeper into the concept of self-care. “I think the missing piece that I realized was that most times I hadn't given much thought to mentally and spiritually, how can I take care of myself?” she explains.
In moments of anxiety, she’s turned to calming activities like baking and brain games, as well as prayer, breathing and meditation exercises.
This idea of self-care is making sure spiritually and mentally, I'm holding myself accountable to show up and to let go. I know that sounds counter-intuitive —show up and let go — but it's exactly what you have to do. That acknowledgment, giving yourself permission. Ally Love
In spite of not being able to connect in person with the Love Squad, Love continues to motivate each person in the collective to “unleash their inner boss,” while acknowledging what’s going on in society. So she leans heavily into her team and people who she says “may not have the titles or aren’t managers or [business] owners,” but still have the answers.
“Everyone was like, ‘We need to look at ourselves. What are we doing?’ she says. “We were pretty proud of the work that we had done so far. We felt like, no matter what, no matter who you are, how you look, there’s more work to be done.”
Luckily, they’ve got a fierce leader in Love who has done and is still doing the work to steer the ship.
Shop Ally Love’s skin care routine products below:
Follow Ally Love on Instagram and learn more about the Love Squad at lovesquad.com.
Read more from Yahoo Life:
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