Q&A with Morgan Tyler of @findingmorgantyler

by Ali Bonar October 25, 2018

In a sea of yoga Instagram accounts, Morgan Tyler is a freakin' mermaid. Not only does she share her beautiful yoga practice, but bits and pieces of her real life (with real-ass captions, to boot). You can find her online at TheSouthernYogi.com or on Instagram at @FindingMorganTyler. Enjoy this interview!

Tell us a little bit about yourself! What was the inspiration behind your account?

Hey lovely souls! My name is Morgan, and I’m a 28 year old yoga instructor living in Louisville, KY. I found yoga around 4 years ago after finishing up competitive swimming for 10 years. Honestly when I began yoga I had around 100 followers on IG and used it like everyone else did - for photos of food, selfies, your pets and sunsets. The usual. Once I started posting my yoga progress, something shifted and much to my surprise I grew to 10k quite quickly. I didn’t even realize having a business on Instagram was even a thing, and as I continued to grow I was getting emailed by businesses, asking to collaborate with brands and invited to teach places. In a nutshell, I soon realized I had a platform to share my love of yoga with more people than I could have ever imagined which was what inspired me to write my Ab’Asanas books to help people start their own fitness journeys.

What does wellness look like for you?

If you would have asked me this question 5 years ago, I’d of told you it was wearing yourself out in a weight room or doing HIIT circuits day in and day out. Present day, I’m in such a healthier mindset, and wellness to me is moving your body in whatever way brings you joy. For me that’s a mixture of rock climbing, yoga, hiking, HIIT training and weight lifting. I don’t restrict myself to any certain way of eating or schedule my workouts. They become a natural part of my day and fit in differently on a daily basis.

You began your account focusing solely on yoga, but it has evolved into a place to share about all facets of your life. Was this a difficult transition?

It was definitely a hard but necessary transition. I feel I lost myself a bit when my account was known as @the_southern_yogi. I went through a hard divorce a few years back and jumped into a relationship right after that made me lose sight of everything I used to love about myself. The change of my handle to @findingmorgantyler was so much more significant to me than simple switching names. It signified the never ending journey of forever growing, changing and seeking out the best version of me. That was actually the start to a bunch of massive changes in my life including leaving a company I was working with on IG, leaning a relationship and buying my first home on my own.

Take us through a day in the life of Morgan. We want all the deets!

Oh my goodness, haha, well this is forever changing depending on the season of life I’m in. The past few years it was literally packing a suitcase only to get home and unpack/repack for the next trip. These days I’m sleeping in until around 8am and immediately head to the kitchen for an hour or so of what I call ‘quiet time.’ Anyone that knows me well understands I don’t like to talk in the morning until I’ve had time to sit, drink my English breakfast tea and just be for a bit. After that it’s usually caring for all the fur babies, taking the pups to the park and catching up with my partner in between school schedules. I like having an early afternoon yoga practice and spend my time after lunch getting on my mat or working out. Afterwards is reserved for handling my online business, whether that’s filming for YouTube, answering emails or heading out for photo shoots. Evenings are spent at home, usually sitting on the couch, offering food in, and catching up on favorite Netflix shows. Can you tell I’m not super social? Haha. It’s actually quite funny that my full time job has put me in front of an audience. I’m was quite the introvert back in the day, but the universe has other plans obviously!

And lastly, what makes you feel like a kween?

You know, it’s the simple things. For me, when I’ve found an EPIC lip color, I could be in sweatpants and have my hair in a topknot and still feel like I can take on the world. Y’all feel me?