Donna Karan, Sting, Michelle Williams, Gwyneth Paltrow….it’s not for nothing that most zen-seeming celebrities are vocal about their passion for yoga. Not only does it build strength and flexibility, it helps calm an overactive mind – a key for great skin (and just overall sanity!), given that few things are worse for your body than stress. To that end I spoke with one of my favorite yoga instructors, Halle Becker – the founder of Homegirl Yoga and an instructor at SoulCycle and Pure Yoga – about how she keeps her beauty routine in check during class, how, at the age of 50, she has the vitality and complexion of a woman years her junior, and what to do to kick-start a new workout routine.

“I have a pretty simple beauty routine,” Halle told me. She singled out Kiehl’s Blue Astringent Herbal Lotion  and Origins Night Cream as being two must-haves because she likes “to  sit in the sun  – yogis love sun energy – so I have to use a very intense face creme!” She also told me that her biggest secret for keeping skin healthy is adding cucumbers into your water as it allows for optimal hydration.

When it comes to her yoga practice, most of Halle’s classes are taught in a hot yoga room heated to over 100 degrees so the key, she says, is wearing your hair in one long braid, which will help keep hair out of your face while preventing it from getting dangled up like it would if worn in a ponytail.  When I asked her what she suggests to women looking to kick-start a new workout routine, she said that you need a combination of cardio and flexibility and there’s no better way to do it that than with “a 45 minute dance party on a bike” and an inspiring class on the mat.

Take it from the wise and sign-up for one of Halle’s classes!