Kira Jones is the voice behind Cacti Wellness and the founder of The Cacti Collective, an interactive wellness community that provides high-performing, millennial women with the tools they need to take care of business while taking care of themselves. Kira’s passion for wellness began in 2015 when she was looking for ways to control the stress and anxiety that went along with her busy schedule.
While working at Equinox in Santa Monica, she found that although people are at their highest when they’re taking care of themselves, our current society creates little connection between workplace culture and wellness practices. Upon leaving Equinox in 2019, Kira combined her business background and passion for wellness & productivity to create Cacti Wellness, which then led to the launch The Cacti Collective, in 2020.
What time do you wake up in the morning and how do you wake up?
My goal each morning is to wake up at 5:45 AM, but if I had a late night, 7 AM is usually the very latest I’ll sleep in. I set an alarm the night before on my phone and leave it in my bathroom so that I have to physically get up and get the phone to start my day.
What’s on your bedside table?
Currently, I have a lavender pillow mist, Love Wellness’ Bye Bye Bloat Supplements, my Lunya Silk Sleepmask, Pacifica Sleep Gummies, and the book “Traction” by Gino Wickman.
Do you prepare for your mornings the night before? If so, how?
This all depends on how organized I am feeling, haha. I definitely try to write out the main to-dos I have at the end of each day so that I don’t have to waste time trying to remember what’s most important the following morning. I also set my phone to airplane mode so that I’m not waking up for a ton of texts and emails before I’m ready for them. And lastly, I have a big glass of water next to my bed or in my bathroom so I can start hydrating right away!
What are your skincare/body care rituals?
I love to experiment with different clean skincare, so it changes every now and then, but right now I use Summer Fridays’ Gel Cleanser, Curology (a formula created for me), and BareMinerals Skinlongevity Night Treatment!
What does your morning routine flow look like?
Okay, here are allll of the details – keep in mind, this is a perfect morning and they don’t always end up this way. I wake up to my alarm in the bathroom and try my best not to snooze, but sometimes my puppy and boyfriend look so cute that I can’t help it. Either way, I’m almost always up by 6:15 AM and drinking water and starting the Nespresso (I drink the Bianco Leggero pods on ice with oat milk). Then I sit down and write in my Five Minute Journal and meditate for ~5 minutes (when I’m being good). After that, I check my phone and then like to either go for a walk in our neighborhood, a short hike in the Santa Monica Mountains, or an at-home Cacti Wellness Collective workout.
When do you kick off your workday? And do you have any starting-work rituals?
I kick off the workday between 8-10 AM, it really depends what the morning walk/hike looked like and if I have any early-morning deadlines. I have a list of five things that I do each day when I start working that mostly involves checking in on my google cal and getting any necessary social media content pushed out on @cactiwellness and @cactiwellnesscollective.
What would you like to improve with your mornings?
I desperately want to be more consistent with meditation. I’d say I hit it 3-4 times a week, but I’d like to be meditating every damn day.
What’s your #1 recommendation to others who struggle with mornings?
Each night, think of something you’re excited about for the next day. Even if it’s small like your coffee or your outfit. It makes all the difference to wake up with a PURPOSE and PASSION. Also, remember there are no do-overs. Let’s live this life to the fullest; we are so LUCKY that we get to wake up in the first place.
