What does your morning routine look like?
Always meditation and breathing exercises. It's like brushing my teeth - I feel like I'm missing something if I skip. Plus 20 minutes of basic hatha yoga a couple of times a week - to stretch my body.
Every Wednesday morning 7.15-8.30 I go to kundalini yoga at Dalgasyoga.
How do you best spend an hour in your own company?
In silence and absolutely perfect out in nature.
My reality, however, is that I live in the city and am self-employed. So the silence is ok – I work from home 2-3 times a week and never have the radio or anything running. And my morning routines are also in silence. But nature is sometimes far away, at least on weekdays. On the weekend we very often run away to the summer house – and here there is nature – and I enjoy that incredibly much. And fill myself up – that's how it can feel anyway.
What is your best advice for showing self-love and prioritizing yourself in a busy everyday life?
To meditate or do meditative exercises. In order to feel and love oneself (and others), the “noise” should be cleaned out. And we all get an incredible amount of noise in our lives. Alone a ride through the city on a bike during rush hour, alone a trip on Instagram, etc. So in order to give ourselves attention, we must first be balanced.
And for me, inner balance, when it's there, is the best luxury in the world and love for myself.
Have you made a decision in your life that has been particularly good for you?
When I took my first yogic course in 2002 – where I learned the importance of breathing, yoga and meditation. It gave me a deeper level.
I feel much, much more in myself and in life, for better or for worse (quite honestly), when I have meditated.
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice on how to create a balanced life, what would it be?
Put the big ego on the shelf. Or the unbalanced ego on the shelf. The ego can do something, it can drive you to a career and good grades, etc. but it can, when too big (out of balance), also create chaos in your life (inner chaos). It is the ego that judges, creates drama and has a thousand opinions a minute. Almost to the point of driving you crazy. And it takes the focus away from life itself in a way.
Your best tip for a strong and healthy body and a balanced mind?
Yoga. My own mind is more balanced than my body is strong :)
So I could, also considering my age, do strength training. But that's not the case right now. And I choose not to feel guilty about it. As long as my body is flexible and doesn't hurt, I'm okay with it.
Why is ecology important to you?
Oh, it's like a must for our planet.
Ecology is basically = the absence of poison. Poison that kills weeds, insects and fungi. All three are important elements in the small and very large ecosystem that we humans are a part of. So conventional agriculture is like sawing off the branch you are sitting on. We can and we must do better. And we start with ecology.
I feel like shouting it out loud and to everyone. It's like it's not important. We talk about it a lot. But organic is still a very small part of all agriculture. It's crazy, actually.
Do you have an easy beauty tip that we can share with others?
Yes, so a beautiful appearance is not my ambition. So to look like a model or some other beauty ideal. So you can't get traditional beauty tips from me :)
But I now also see beauty as an inner thing, meaning when we feel good and at peace within ourselves, we are beautiful, we are wonderful. So the best tip is to get in balance – and it is daily meditative training that can probably take the longest :)
The chin of having been or being in balance – it is that you very quickly notice when you are not. Ohh, I have that myself. And it is a bit annoying, but in a way also “a blessing in disguise”
If you could freely choose an activity that would give you lots of energy, what would it be?
Dynamic meditation – a movement meditation that is honest, powerful and effective. If you are interested, watch it on YouTube. Do it sometimes at the summer house – if the family is out or with others on retreats or morning sessions. Otherwise a 1.5 hour kundalini yoga.
And finally, and this is my luxury, a 4-5 day silence retreat on Samsø or Møn with lots of meditation, yoga, plant-based food and peace.
Joy has been a valued sparring partner for our creative director and founder Camilla Gullits for almost 10 years. That's why we're especially happy to share Joy's inspiring, self-loving and sustainable thoughts here with us.
If you also want to follow Joy's and The Organic Company's organic universe, follow @joy_theorganiccompany and @theorganiccompany
The Organic Company
The Organic Company was founded in 2007 by entrepreneur Joy Vasiljev, with the clear mission to prove that a responsible company is good business. Functionality, simple design and organic cotton are the foundation of the company, which today produces more than 200 different, delicious lifestyle products in 100% GOTS-certified organic cotton, and exports to more than 26 countries.
Like our own cotton collection, The Organic Company's organic cotton is also certified with the international organic standard GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard).
GOTS certified organic cotton is a much more responsible way of producing cotton compared to conventional cotton, and the certification is your guarantee as a customer that the production is 100% organic and free of harmful chemicals, toxins and heavy metals and made in a way that minimizes damage to the environment while taking care of the people who work with the material.
Explore The Organic Company's organic universe here
