Lady We Love: Bossbabe Spotlight on Kelly VanLeeuwen

How we converted the Yoga Pants Queen into a Beija-Flor Believer

You’re busy, with a life on the go. Comfort reins and your everyday go-to uniform is stretchy spandex yoga pants. This is especially true for boss babe on the move, Kelly Van Leeuwen of MAYA Movement Arts. If you know her, you know that she’s probably on the run to her next appointment and she’s probably wearing one of her favorite Lululemons. Just how did we convert the yoga pants queen into a Beija-Flor believer? It all started with a consultation with one of our Fit Masters.

Finding a pant that Kelly would love and provide the comfort and flexibility to move with her throughout her day, was the ultimate challenge and we were up for it. Also, we couldn’t wait to see if our jeans would survive her flying on a trapeze! Kelly prefers a high-rise skinny jean, so we brought her several options in Jennifer, our signature high-rise. She tried on Jennifer High-rise Chevron, Satin Black, and a Smokey Grey. For a bonus, we even had her try on our Sarah Leopard Knit Pant. Kelly looked amazing in all of these, of course, but her favorite was the Jennifer High-rise in Smokey Grey.

Beija-Flor Jeans Put to the Test

After Kelly’s fitting, she put our Beija-Flors to the test - the trapeze test. What impressed her so much with our jeans was the fact that she didn’t have to sacrifice comfort and flexibility. Kelly is a highly trained aerial instructor, pilates instructor, and massage therapist. On a typical day, she’s up by 5 am and off to pilates, then she hits the silks by ten. Maybe she has a few massages lined up that day as well. She’s truly a woman-on-the-go. If she were to choose a pant other than yoga pants, Beija-Flors High-rise Jennifers would be her go-to. She was impressed by their flexibility, comfort, and softness, truly proving that you don’t have to sacrifice style for comfort.

Beija-Flor Jeans was built to move with you and your lifestyle. Not only did our Chevrons hold up in the sky, but Kelly was also able to tame them on the ground too. She loved the print and mentioned it would be a great date night pant (as long as she can bring her trapeze along). See the Chevron paired here with a black stiletto, our Brenda Boatneck, and Kelly’s favorite accessory, her black trapeze!

This #Bossbabe Knows Her Stuff

We spotlight Kelly this month as a #bossbabe that is an expert in her field. As the owner of MAYA Movement Arts, Kelly is the first Sling, Trapeze, Aerial Yoga and AcroYoga teacher in Greenville, SC. She blends both a passion for anatomy and love of fluidity in her movement and teaching style. Kelly teaches Aerial Sling, Dance Trapeze, Aerial Yoga, Pilates, Mobility, Yoga Flow, Core, Conditioning + Inversions, AcroYoga and Partner Massage. If you’re in the Greenville area you should definitely check her schedule and try out one of her classes!

She began teaching yoga in 2006, graduated from the Asheville School of Massage & Yoga in 2009; studied Thai Massage at the Naga Center, as well as in Northern Thailand; became a certified AcroYoga teacher through AcroYoga International based in California in 2013; and apprenticed with Austin-based aerialist Lydia Michelson-Maverick the same year. She continues her studies in Atlanta with aerialists Amber Monson of Sky Gym, Constance Palmer and McKinley Vitale of The Space; in Asheville with Waverly Jones and Cody Hayman of Empyrean Arts; and in Athens through Canopy Studio. As you can see from the photos of our day with Kelly, all the hard work shows. If you get the chance to take one of her classes, you’ll be in good hands!

In her spare time, Kelly does a lot of reading on the women’s movement, studying female politicians and other strong female leaders. She finds it important to recognize every day how far women have come. She says, “it’s an overwhelming thought for me. What can I really do as a female entrepreneur? All I can do is make strong relationships and let go of the more toxic ones. I can decide each day what to give my attention to and just march forward. Every day is a win. I try to teach the women around me (because the majority of my students are women) to never get content and never to fear their own strength.” We found this to be a truly profound message from one very strong woman.

Beija-Flor is so excited to spend more time with the Ladies We Love, like Kelly VanLeeuwen. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook and don't forget you can always book a class and learn to fly with Kelly. Stay tuned, as we feature other talented, interesting, and brilliantly creative ladies in the near future.