How to Live Well with Karen Koramshai

We sit down with model-turned-wellness-curator Karen Koramshai to talk balance—not the perfectly curated kind, but the real, body-led, breathwork-fuelled kind. From navigating illness to letting go of control, Karen shares her honest, grounded take on slowing down, tuning in, and building a life that actually feels good.

By Dandy / July 12 2025

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Balance. That ever-elusive thing we pencil into planners but forget to actually practise. For Karen Koramshai—former model, mother, wellness curator and quiet force of grace - balance isn’t just a lifestyle buzzword. It’s a lifeline. A daily practice. And, after a seismic health awakening, it’s become the cornerstone of what it truly means for her to live well.

Once immersed in the high-gloss world of modelling, Karen spent years navigating a life where surface mattered more than substance. “So much is focused on how you look, not how you feel,” she reflects. “I stopped outsourcing my worth.” Her shift away from that world wasn’t so much a dramatic exit as it was a quiet return to her body, her intuition, and her values.

But it wasn’t until a diagnosis of Breast Implant Illness that the true recalibration began. “I had to listen to my body in a way I never had before,” she says now. What emerged wasn’t a rejection of beauty or ambition - but a new rhythm, where alignment between mind, body, and spirit became non-negotiable. “Balance, to me now, is about honouring what I truly need - not what I should be doing.”

The Balance Blueprint

Living well, for Karen, is less about ticking off wellness trends and more about intentionality. Every part of her day is built around rituals that bring her back to centre - rituals that anchor rather than overwhelm.

Breathwork is a daily non-negotiable. “It brings me back to myself no matter where I am,” she says. Even just five minutes of stillness before the house wakes up helps her meet the day from a grounded place. Movement, too, is essential - but it’s fluid and intuitive: a swim, a stretch, a slow walk in nature. The aim isn’t performance- it’s presence.

Then there are the quieter touches: incense wafting through the room, the soft flicker of candlelight, the kind of tactile sensory signals that remind you you're here, now. These aren’t indulgences—they’re cues to slow down, soften, and reconnect.

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On Getting Messy

Balance, as Karen sees it, doesn’t mean pristine routines or perfectly timed matcha breaks. “Life gets loud,” she says. “And when it does, the body whispers - through anxiety, fatigue, or restlessness.”

That’s when she leans on her toolkit—breath, movement, presence—and encourages others to do the same. But perhaps more importantly, she invites us to ditch the all-or-nothing thinking. “Sometimes balance looks like giving yourself grace,” she says. Sometimes it looks like rest, even when the to-do list is shouting.

Letting Go to Live Well

The biggest mindset shift Karen’s made? Letting go of control. “I’ve learned to trust that life unfolds in seasons, and resisting that only creates suffering.” Rather than striving or pushing, she now asks a simple question each morning: What would feel nourishing today?

It’s a quiet rebellion against the productivity obsession. And in its place? Spaciousness. Sensitivity. The radical idea that living well starts with feeling well.