Krissy Jones

Krissy Jones is the co-founder of SKY TING, a New York City-based community-driven yoga brand. In addition to teaching, she collaborates with brands like Nike, teaches celebrity private clients, and leads yoga retreats around the world.

On her morning routine.

Ideally, I’ll wake up at 7:30 am without an alarm. 

I don’t look at my phone for about an hour after waking up. Otherwise, I’m set up for a distracted disaster. 

Instead, I roll out of bed and go to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of warm lemon water. I’m really into Chinese medicine and Ayurveda, whose main philosophies surround not having anything cold. 

Afterward, I’ll ease into a meditation practice with my teacher, Tony Lupinacci, who gives me a mantra once every 40 days. 

I’m a huge coffee person, so I’ll brew myself a big pot of coffee in the mornings along with my breakfast. That’s how I start most of my days.

On curating her space.

During Covid, I was made aware of my craving for nature, and that's one of the main reasons I’m moving to the Upper East Side. I love the city and I love nature, so moving closer to Central Park is incredibly fulfilling for me.

The nature side of me built SKY TING in Chinatown because I wanted it to be a little sanctuary away from the hustle and bustle of the area.

I wanted to create this space full of light and plants so that people can recharge before stepping back out onto the streets. 

On the flip side, I am also super inspired by the energy, including the grit and grime, that makes up NYC. It influences me in a positive way, but I definitely need to take breaks and plug deeply into nature.

On launching SKY TING.

I run my business with an embodied yoga mentality.

It’s the most authentic way that I can run SKY TING. 

It’s definitely stressful to be a small business owner in NYC, and we have had a ton of things that have gone wrong. However, it all comes back to keystone habits you practice.

I hope SKY TING provides that space for people to practice so that they can calm overwhelm, fuel their day, spread happiness, and find community.

On the role of community.

I am a very social being — I’m an extrovert through and through. 

Dinners with friends, tennis, dance classes and other activities fill up my calendar in a typical week. I get a lot of my energy outside of yoga from seeing others, and I find that it in turn also fuels my personal practice in the studio. 

However, I’m definitely one to over-schedule my calendar, so that’s something I’m definitely working on.

On intentional downtime.

Most of my intentional downtime nowadays happens after Friday.

For the first time in my life, I’m not working on the weekends, except for the one Zoom class I teach on Sundays in my apartment. 

I used to have up to 60 people show up to our Saturday and Sunday classes pre-Covid, but now we just don’t do that anymore. 

My morning routine is sacred to me because that’s when I get my downtime fix during the workweek. I don’t schedule my first work call until about 10 am.

I like to start the day with my rituals rather than rushing out the door to work. 

On learning to say no.

There’s another side to being an extrovert.

It takes a lot of energy to teach and socialize in public. While I love to fill my calendar with social activities, in the past I’ve said yes to things that I don’t really want to do.

So, I’ve been learning to say no. As a result, I struggle less with FOMO.

If there are some people that feel draining to me, or if there is drinking involved and I don’t feel like partaking, I’m alright with letting people know that I won’t join.

When I do that, I’m always really pleased with myself because I’m making decisions based on what my body and mind are wanting to do. 

It’s all about intentional practice.

On overcoming stress.

When I feel things begin to simmer under the surface, I lean towards resting to find calmness, either by distracting myself or taking short 20 minute naps. 

I’ll also stretch to open up my body and do some breath work to clear my mind. 

Practices like these are why we set up SKY TING in the first place: to share tools that can help people change their mental state.

On her evening ritual.

A good night for me is eating as the sun goes down, and no later than that. 

After dinner, I’ll hop in the bath with a good book. I’ve recently figured out that I have the best sleep when I do this. 

After wrapping up reading, I light some candles to get my brain in a mellow zone. Having soft candlelight illuminate my room really helps me ease into sleep. 

I shut off my phone at least one hour before it’s candle-lights out. Before I settle into sleep, I’ll adjust the temperature to a comfortable cool, and close my blackout shades. 

Finally, I’m usually asleep by 10:30 pm on most nights.