Plant Person Profile: Morgan Klovens

Meet Morgan Klovens, a Brooklyn-based Pilates instructor, store associate at zero-waste grocery Precycle, co-founder of The Trashy Mag and Plant Person we love. 

Tell us a little about yourself:

I’m a morning person - I love waking up a bit earlier just to watch the sun reflect off the buildings outside my window. It’s important for me to move my body daily--Pilates, stretching, walking around town--as long as it’s something. I was born under the sign of Scorpio (Taurus rising / Cancer moon). Friendships are what I cherish most in life. New York City is where I feel the most connected to my creativity. Surrounded by palm trees is where I feel the most in tune with my spirituality. I believe everything in life is best enjoyed spicy. 

What are you reading right now? 

Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss

What's your must-have Plant People product?

Relief+ Balm--it got me through months of virtual class teaching and biking back and forth over the Williamsburg bridge. 

What's your relationship to the world of "wellness"/plant medicine? 

I used to think of wellness as an extreme, which constantly provoked feelings of anxiety. For instance, some days I might toy with having an extra coffee in the afternoon… and by extra coffee, I mean my 3+ of the day. Just the thought of a 3rd coffee that late in the day might stir up feelings of guilt for future me who won’t be able to fall asleep at a normal hour, and then I’d waste 25 minutes going back and forth on the idea ultimately to just have my extra coffee even later than the initial time that gave me pause initially… cue deeper spiral. 

What I’ve learned or come to believe is that wellness looks different at different points in your life, or even your day. It ebbs and flows, like nature. There are times when prioritizing wellness comes more easily, and there are times of darkness when we can afford to rest and go slower and know that lighter days will come. 

I think we can all afford to ditch the ideal that we should feel our optimal wellness at all times. I’m talking physically, emotionally and spiritually well. Each cup needs to be filled, and it’s unrealistic to think they’ll all three will always be in perfect balance or each cup will be filled equally. Sometimes what feeds you emotionally isn’t always the best for you physically. 

This week my best friend mentioned that she’s not feeling the most healthy and empowered in her body right now, and I reminded her that though this isn’t the best she’s ever felt in her body, it’s also probably not going to be the lowest she ever feels. And that’s not meant to be scary. It’s just a reminder that things are impermanent. Feelings change, we physically change. There’s a lot of life to come and no linearity, so we have to work through the waves and be grateful for the little doses of wellness we can provide ourselves. We need to listen to our gut feelings more and trust what we need in a given moment. If that’s an espresso (or martini) at 4:27pm, so be it. 

What do you love about it?

I love that there’s unanimous support for owning self-care rituals big and small. It’s cool to take care of yourself and prioritize what you need to try and feel well, and that depends on the individual and the day. Some days the focus is just being hydrated. Some days it’s about bigger shifts, like cutting out friendships that no longer fill your emotional cup. 

I personally feel that I’ve entered a version of self and time where I truly feel like I can choose what to participate in without judgment from those around me. If I want to stay in, take a bath, smoke, and pull tarot, cool. If I want to stay out much too late and grab multiple slices of pizza on my way home, oh well. I realize that it’s a privilege to feel this way and that it is also very much about the people I’m fortunate to be able to surround myself with. I just think we all need to be a bit easier on ourselves, myself included. At the end of the day, we need to remember that self-care is about self-love, so remind yourself what it is you love about you and forget the rest.

What needs to be changed?

I want more people to see that living and learning and making mistakes is wellness. Forgive yourself for a late night spent drinking too much with friends because one day it might not even be an option. Forgive yourself for cancelling plans on someone last minute because you weren’t feeling grounded and needed some alone time. Do what suits you and let others do the same. Ditch the overthinking and let go of the pressure to fill up all your cups at once--it’ll never happen. 

What's one thing everyone can do today to create a more equitable "wellness" world?

A few things… Show respect and appreciation for the cultures and communities that we adopt wellness practices from. Educate ourselves on where the practices originate and pay reparations to members of those cultural communities. Financially support BIPOC wellness practitioners. 

What do you look for in a company that advertises its sustainability practices? How can we avoid being "greenwashed"?

A company that advertises its sustainability practices should always be asking itself and its community members how it/they can do better together. I think to avoid “greenwashing” it’s important to be completely transparent, take accountability for mistakes, and take action to improve. 

It’s also important to recognize that being able to run a sustainable, low-waste business, especially a small business, is expensive and therefore not accessible or financially feasible. It’s important for big business to lead the way and for the government to incentivize sustainable, low-waste business practices. 

I just rewatched Jiro Dreams of Sushi, and they discuss how the expansion of sushi across the world has led to overfishing and shortages of high quality fish. Despite this awareness and knowledge, demand for sushi continues to put fish populations, like the Pacific bluefin tuna, at risk for overfishing. Jiro’s son Yoshikazu says, “Businesses should balance profit with preserving natural resources.” This same idea of overusing/overproducing holds true across nearly every industry, especially wellness (natural herbs, Palo Santo, etc.) . We have one Earth and we must work to replenish the natural resources we take. Again, the government needs to incentivize these practices for businesses, big and small. The burden should not fall on consumers nor small businesses.  

What do you think sets Plant People apart?

I love that Plant People plants a tree for every product sold by donating to American Forests Association. I also just learned that PP uses products from regenerative farms and a third party tests all of their supplements--super cool. 

Also, fun fact--the little plastic bit around the bottle topper on PP tinctures is compostable :) 

Who are three people we should follow right now?

Joe Holder

Sarita Walsh

Ilya Parker

What's the future of "wellness"?

A collective shift towards healing nature versus just focusing on the individual. And acceptance that less is more. 

What's your #1 must-do tip to feel whole, nourished, grounded?

Stretching. Finding more space within your own body is instant gratification.