The popular yoga and Pilates instructor returns to Equinox with an Artist In Residence tour.
To Kristin McGee, an Equinox Artist In Residence tour is a homecoming.
The celebrated yoga and Pilates instructor first discovered the modalities in the ‘90s, back when she was a student at New York University. While pursuing an acting career post-graduation, she picked up certifications and began teaching classes at studios across the city. In 2001, she led flows at Equinox for the very first time.
“I remember how Tao Porchon-Lynch was there,” McGee recalls. “...She was this woman in her 90s teaching yoga, which was so cool.”
Over the decades, McGee filmed yoga and Pilates DVDs for MTV, wrote for Health magazine and other outlets, and appeared on CNN, Good Morning America, the Today Show, and HSN. She performed as a yoga aerobics instructor (and Jason Sudeikis’ character’s eventual wife) on 30 Rock and personally coached household names, like Steve Martin, in yoga.
Throughout it all, the Idaho native kept a regular class schedule at Equinox. “I had this Friday morning class I taught at 10:30 on the Upper West Side on 67th Street [Equinox Sports Club] — it was like family,” says McGee. “We just had created such a nice community.”
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But in 2018, McGee says she had to “abandon” her crew at the Club, for good reason: She was spearheading the creation of the yoga, and eventually Pilates, program at Peloton.
Flash forward to today, McGee is back in her home state of Idaho, giving her children the chance to spend more time in nature and teaching through her own brand, Kristin McGee Movement.
With that freedom came an opportunity to revisit her Equinox roots — this time, with her own Artist In Residence series during an upcoming visit to New York City. Between December 7 and 11, McGee will be hosting two Vinyasa Yoga and two Mat Pilates classes at Equinox Clubs throughout the city.
Members can expect each class to be uniquely “Kristin,” with her signature mash-up of chill vibes and intense movement: “I somehow have this calming energy, but it, like, secretly kicks your butt at the same time,” she says. You’ll feel like your body is being pushed to its limits — but also as though you’re being wrapped in a cozy blanket.
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Her yoga and Pilates flows are creative, and no two classes are alike. Drawing on her dance and theater roots, she structures classes to tell a story, she says. The goal linking each session together, however, is to find your inner light and outer strength, she says.
“In my classes, you're ‘working in’ to get to know yourself better and shine the light from inside of you, but you're also getting strong, and you're getting flexible and mobile, and you start to feel really good in your body.”
Each session ends with her mantra: “Everything is inside of you.” “You already have everything inside of you to create the life you want, to create the body you want to move [in] the way you want,” McGee says. “I'm just a catalyst. I'm just there to help you tap into that.”