I met Kelsey through a mutual friend and was immediately drawn to her personality and the awesome jacket that she was wearing. When I found out that she owned the Pure Barre Beverly Hills studio, I liked her even more! So when I had the chance to feature her, I knew that I just had to introduce you to her!
Kelsey Patel is one of Hollywood’s leading wellness and reiki experts. She is not only a sought after spiritual empowerment coach, reiki healer and meditation teacher, but also a multi-faceted entrepreneur. Kelsey is a certified reiki master, yoga instructor, meditation teacher and specializes in the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). She is also the co-owner of I Am Vibes Activewear.
Tell us about yourself in a tweet.
I’ve been told I’m the go-to celebrity spiritual guru. To me, I’m a human being on a mission to inspire the human heart’s experience.
Where are you from?
Grand Forks, North Dakota
What brought you to LA?
I was living in Washington, D.C., working on Capitol Hill by day, bartending, teaching dance and dancing semi-professionally in a company at night. In a shitty relationship that made me feel insecure and question myself and my sanity every day.
Experiencing excruciating back pain daily and self-medicating with too much Advil and red wine at night. I knew I was on a destructive path. My friend called me one night, after I had just had another fight with my ex-boyfriend and was sitting on his couch in the dark crying.
She told me she was moving to LA to start acting and asked if I wanted to join. I said, fuck it. Yes, I need to get off of this rollercoaster. It was terrifying, thrilling and nerve-racking. But that was it.
What’s your favorite thing about LA?
The people. Many people would disagree with me, but I love people in LA. We are to some degree all self-centered, but I believe it’s in a way that is in service to our own hearts.
It’s a city filled with people who are in pursuit of living their life’s dreams and I love that. It’s also a city where most people are really open. Open to new foods, diversity, new work-outs, to energy work, to bettering themselves, meditation and wellness in general. People here are willing to take care of or at least look at their mind, body and spirit from a holistic perspective. That’s something I believe everyone should try.
What has been your favorite LA experience?
Too many to count! From being on the FOX and the Ellen Show to a private Chris Martin concert, the list is endless. That’s the best part about LA. Sometimes you just need to say yes and show up for a moment without expectations. That’s when I’ve found the experience to be more than anything I could have ever imagined.
What do you love about dance?
Dance is everything to me. It’s like a moving meditation for my soul. I used to think I needed to be in a formal dance studio to be ‘dancing’ since I was a trained student. I really lost a lot of my connection to it and realized how much pain and sadness I felt not moving and dancing. Now, dance is with me everywhere I go.
From my daily Instagram stories to fun group classes to family vacations where we blast the music and dance around like wild, it’s a part of my life everywhere I am. People always message me on Instagram and remind me of the joy dancing brings to the world. They’ll often tell me how happy it makes them to watch these silly little dance parties I have with myself every day.
Why did you decided to open up your own Pure Barre studio?
I had seen incredible changes in my own body after doing pure barre. When I first moved to LA, I was working in a corporate company for a few years, traveling and eating all the time and had really lost my dance commitment. I tried the gym and sporadically did yoga but nothing worked my body like dance classes. A friend of mine started working at the first pure barre studio in LA and she told me about the classes. I tried it and was hooked. Soon after they asked me to be an instructor.
Week by week, I kept seeing my body change. It was incredible. I lost 25 pounds and looked better than I did when I was dancing several days a week. I knew I had to share this technique and program with others because it was so life changing for me. I decided to quit my job and opened the 2nd pure barre in Los Angeles in Beverly Hills.
Besides your family and business, what are some of your other passions?
As someone who owns multiple businesses, my passions are reflected in all of my work. Everything I love doing, giving and creating is a part of my daily life.
I’m a Gemini, and we tend to love a lot of different things but some of my favorites include: hiking, non-profit work and/or awareness building, dancing, horseback riding, giving to my community in various capacities, traveling everywhere I can, being outdoors and in nature, good food and great connections with loved ones.
My passions can be summed up with this: I’m here to enjoy all I can during this precious life and give back to our world in whatever form God asks of me.
Do you have a mentor or someone you look up to? How have they played a role in your success?
Oh yes! I have several. One of my main mentors in life is someone I’ve never met. Mother Theresa. She gave her life over to be of service to those in need. It’s something I’ve felt inside of me since I was a little girl and am deeply drawn to her and her life’s story. Anytime I’m feeling sorry for myself or that I’ve given too much or feel depleted, I’m reminded of her and her capacity for love. The Dalai Lama is also a huge inspiration to me.
I have been fortunate enough to have amazing mentors and teachers along my journey as well. One of my teachers, Shiva Rea, lives in Malibu and teachers all over the globe. She is another human being that endlessly serves and gives to better the human heart’s experience.
Krishna Das is another human being I admire very much. I feel very inspired by anyone who is living a life of service. Those who truly dedicate their lives to a cause that is helping to make our world a better place is someone I quickly admire and look up to. I worked in politics for many years and have a deep calling, as many of them do, to serve in ways much bigger than me.
What inspires you?
Ha! Everything! I’m inspired by so many things: people’s capacity for love, my amazing and forever supportive husband, my family, hummingbirds, great ideas that become actualized, children, health and healing, reiki, businesses that are successful and giving back to the world, nature, creativity and any form of being in service to the world.
If I had to put that into two words, I’d say kindness and generosity inspire me.
What’s next for you?
Next up is in God’s hands! My intention is to write my first book this fall and take it on tour with uplifting and inspiring workshops around the country to expand people’s hearts and self-love.
I am also launching my first monthly subscription box this summer, which I am absolutely thrilled about because it will have all of my private teachings inside, including special energetic crystals, favorite products and manifestation techniques to get people thriving and connecting to their life on a whole new magical level each month.
Other than that, I’ll be dancing, meditating, teaching and leading retreats all over the world and just enjoying the beauty of life.
Find out more about Kelsey Patel on her website or follow her on Instagram!
