Ex-model now strikes yoga poses

She ventured into the world of yoga out of curiosity a decade ago, and has since made it a part of her life.

But Italian-Taiwanese TV host and yoga trainer Liv Lo, 31, said the reasons to continue pursuing yoga has changed over the years.

The FLY Entertainment artist told The New Paper: "They change every day. For example, I did a handstand workshop two weeks back, and my purpose was to feel energetic and be able to do inversion yoga poses.

"On other days, it could be being able to teach, connect and share with my students my learning process as well."

Lo will be conducting an outdoor yoga and meditation session on Saturday, 8am to 9am, during the Green Is The New Black x SPARK 2017 festival later this week, and a yoga workshop at local yoga studio Yoga Movement next month.

The Reebok brand ambassador is also involved in the #PerfectNever Campaign this month. It is a movement that encourages women to not only celebrate their imperfections, but be motivated by them.

Lo said her mindset and attitude toward her own lifestyle have changed over the years.

In an Instagram post, the 1.7m former model revealed how she had only recently become comfortable in her own skin.

She wrote: "Modelling from ages 17 to 27 made me extremely self-conscious about my appearance.

"I cannot believe I spent every waking minute calculating what I was going to eat, how I could cut calories and work out without gaining muscle."

Lo, who weighed 54kg at her lowest, said she is definitely healthier now and has no restrictions on what she eats, although she has lowered her beef intake as she believes in trying to reduce the amount of methane in the environment.

"I just try to eat as healthy as possible, such as consuming whole grains and unprocessed food," said Lo, who has not stepped on a weighing scale in two years.

"I also love to drink and hang out with my friends. If they order a pasta or a pizza, I'm cool with that too."

A fitness advocate, Lo teaches yoga six to seven hours a week at Yoga Movement.

She has no plans to open up her own yoga studio.

She said: "I also like to do High Intensity Interval Training, cycle, and run when I'm alone as well."

"Right now I'm developing my own style, (based on questions like) what does yoga mean to me, what is my purpose, what is my style, and what do I want students to get out of it.

"My mission is to get stronger and make more videos that feature a unique yoga style which I can equip students with."

The bubbly Lo also hopes to teach her students that yoga is more than just about losing weight.

"There are more benefits besides losing weight, and I always try to teach those lessons to my students, to give them confidence and a healthy body image because I had to go through that too.

"I tell them that as soon as they leave the yoga room and drink water, they will gain their weight back, so let's not have that as the focus of the class, but being strong instead," she said.

Lo also trains with husband, actor and host Henry Golding, who is prepping to star as the lead in the Hollywood film Crazy Rich Asians, directed by Jon Chu and also starring Michelle Yeoh and Constance Wu. The couple, who exchanged vows in August last year, work out together whenever possible.

"We run, figure out new routes around Singapore, walk, and sometimes he will also attend my basic yoga classes."

But Lo lamented that she is always looking at Golding's back whenever they exercise.

"He runs faster than me, cycles faster than me, and even walks faster than me.

"I tell him to slow down because he used to hold my hands when we walk, so what's going on now?" she added, laughing.

"But I think he's just naturally faster than me and talented in sports as well."