Pursuit of Wellness - Melissa Wood Health On Healing Your Relationship w/ Food & Finding Self Love

Episode Date: January 8, 2024

Shop the Healing Era Hat- click here! Ep. #62 Join us for an intimate exploration of eating disorders, starting a business, and infusing joy with Melissa Wood. Melissa courageously shares her battle with an eating disorder, binge drinking, and the self-loathing she felt about her acne. She discusses the life-altering impact of "You Can Heal Your Life" by Louise Hay and the pivotal moment when she hit rock bottom. Her journey is one of radical honesty, the courage to seek help, and the relentless pursuit of self-love. Listen in as Melissa's story unfolds, offering hope and inspiration to anyone seeking to rewrite their narrative and step into a life of wellness and authenticity. From the spiritual and physical benefits of colonics to the grounding practice of acupuncture, we share personal anecdotes and insights on how internal care is as vital as external treatments. We also reflect on the evolution of body image, the significance of joy in self-care routines, and how embracing multiple roles in life demands authenticity and the prioritization of joy. Whether it's through meditation, nostril breathing, or setting boundaries as a sensitive leader, this episode is a treasure trove of wisdom for anyone looking to navigate life's chaos with grace and self-compassion. Leave Me a Message - click here! For Mari’s Instagram click here! For Pursuit of Wellness Podcast’s Instagram click here! For Mari’s Newsletter click here! For Melissa Wood’s Instagram click here! For Melissa Wood’s website click here! Show Links: You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay A Return To Love by Marianne Williamson Melissa Wood Health app  Head to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code POW, you’ll receive UP TO $300 off air purifiers. Visit Carawayhome.com/POW to take advantage of this limited-time offer for 10% off your next purchase Seed Oil Scout is available globally for iOS and Android, download at seedoilscout.com/pow today! Topics Discussed: 03:49 - Where were you before Melissa Wood Health 06:02 - Hitting rock bottom 06:40 - Adapting with new tools for anxiety 07:10 - Taking full responsibility for your life 08:22 - Self hatred around acne and forming a positive dialogue 17:38  - Changing your perspective towards yourself 18:28 - Face breaks out in different areas for different reasons 19:21 - Benefits of acupuncture for nervous system regulation 21:21 - Colonics & meditation 27:44 - The importance of flexing within routines 28:22 - Tapping into complete alignment within ourselves 29:58 - Misery loves company and reassessing who you surround yourself with 31:44 - Communicating your boundaries 34:19 - Healing your relationship with yourself and navigating food triggers 35:45 - Therapy is a practice, not just for big issues 38:47 - Carving out your own identity with a successful significant other  40:37 - Meditation and redirecting your focus 49:55 - Mari’s journey started with feeling good and optimizing wellness, not with goals of a business 53:09 - Melissa’s business expansion and blurring the lines between business and relationships 54:31 - Sharing with your audience vs when to keep things private 57:25 - Changing your mindset between your different roles 59:14 - Infusing joy into everything you are doing

being on the floor after a night of drinking and binge eating and just it felt awful and I and just wanting I wanted something different. This is the Pursuit of Wellness podcast and I'm your host Mari Llewellyn. Hi guys, welcome back to the show and today is a very exciting episode. But before I tell you about our special guest, I want to let you know that the POW hats are officially live on the website. I will have it linked in the show notes. The hats go live at 9am PST. These hats are the In My Healing Era hats that you may have seen me wearing and Fi wearing on my Instagram. They're so cute.

We custom made them ourselves with a super high quality hat. They are dark green and beige and say In My Healing Era, pursuit of wellness on them. They are so freaking cute. All the girls on the Bloom team have been wearing them and they're officially live.

We didn't get a ton of them because this is our first ever merch items. We want to see what happens. So if you do want one, I highly recommend heading right to the website and getting one because I don't want you guys to miss it. I don't think they'll be around for very long. And then if you guys like it, we'll obviously do a restock and potentially another design. So I am so pumped about this first merch item and I cannot wait to twin with you guys. Today we are talking to someone who is a huge inspiration for me, Melissa Wood Health. She's a mom, she's a wife. Oh, and by the way, her full name is Melissa Wood Tepperberg. I just call her Melissa Wood Health because I feel like we all call her that. She's a mom, she's a wife, she's a business owner and an icon in this space. I think she is such a great

example for us in the wellness industry. She's present, she's grounded, she's in touch with herself and has such a way of lighting up the room and connecting with whoever she's with. What I love about Melissa is that she is honest about her journey to finding peace. It wasn't always easy for her. In this episode, we talk about her struggles with an eating disorder, binge drinking, self-loathing and acne.

We also talk about her current day routine and what she does to feel her best every single day. We talk about colonics, which I was very curious about, acupuncture, meditation, food, nutrition, and so much more. I know you guys will love this episode as much as I did. I truly left feeling so inspired and grounded. She has such a presence to her and her voice is so calming to me. If there's anyone that I want to be like when I'm older, it's Melissa. I think she's so awesome. And I was so grateful that I got to sit down with her while I was in New York. Without further ado, let's hop into this episode.

I hope you really enjoy it. Don't forget to subscribe, follow and leave a review. Love you guys. Melissa, I have to tell you, it's so lovely to be with you here in person. I am such a big fan of your podcast. And I was just telling you, your voice is so calming to me. You always remind me to take a deep breath. And I know how busy you are. So I so appreciate you being here and talking to me. You are so sweet. Thank you so much. I'm so honored to be here. And my team was like, is obsessed with you. And I was like, yes. Oh, I'm freaking out. I'm honestly such a big fan. And I feel like you have really made such a big impact on the wellness industry. And I can tell just through listening

to you and watching you, you truly are living so authentically. But I know it hasn't always been that way. And it hasn't been an easy journey necessarily. Yeah. For anyone who doesn't know, where did everything start for you? Who were you before Melissa Wood Health? I was a very different version of myself. You know, really lost in life and living a life of a lot of shoulds, which I think happens to most of us. And we don't even realize that we're in that cycle because we haven't developed the self-awareness to be able to really like look deep within ourselves. And I can tell you, I certainly didn't at that place in my life. But it was, this really came to life through me being the most disconnected with myself. And just really wondering and

questioning like, this can't be it. Like there has to be another way of doing this instead of torturing myself and being so awful to myself. You know, I didn't have a great relationship to myself and it was being honest for the first time and wanting something different that really woke me up. And then asking for help was like the thing that really changed everything for me. Because I think a lot of us are living our lives in a way that maybe, you know, we're not the most proud of or we want more, but people aren't willing to really take a deep dive within themselves and make some real hard changes. And I had hit a point that I was just, that was my rock bottom of torturing myself and struggling with an eating disorder quietly for years

and just binge drinking, binge eating. And it was just such a vicious cycle of hate towards myself. As you just said, I think the honesty part is key and it was key for me in my journey. I feel like so many of us are, you know, we kind of tolerate a life that isn't exactly what we want, because it's not painful enough. And a lot of us wait to hit that rock bottom moment to be like, okay, I need to do something. So I can so relate to that. What did that rock bottom look like for you? I mean, it was really just not loving myself.

I think that was it. Just like really waking up to that realization and feeling really sad about it. And just, you know, being on the floor after a night of drinking and binge eating and just, it felt awful. And just wanting, I wanted something different. You know, it was like, that was like the moment where I saw two roads and it was like,

I can carry on down this road of mass destruction because I was very good at that. Or I could choose this new way and adapt new tools in my life to lean on when the anxiety came in or feeling really low, you know, at moments of my life, instead of resorting back to these old tools that weren't serving me. And it was like, I saw it for the first time laying on the bathroom floor and just being like, okay, buckle up because I know that's also not, it's not the easy path. No, right. It's the thing. It's also not, it's not the easy path. No. Right? That's the thing. It's the harder path. It's the harder path.

To be honest with yourself and say, wow, and take full responsibility for everything that you're doing and the way that your life is. Because I think, I mean, I know I personally looked for other things and people to blame for where I was at back then. Right? Like it was like an almost an angry shame I felt.

It was like, whose fault is this? Like, why am I not living the exact life that I want to? Right. You really need to turn inward and be like, oh, this is me. And I'm the only one who can get myself out too. A hundred percent. That is the thing that, you know,

I grew up with a very dysfunctional upbringing that I think caused a lot of traumas in my life. But you can keep carrying that story or you can work at, to me, it's not changing it, but it's like altering the way that you look at it. Instead of looking at it as like, oh, you know, this got me to this place and this happened to me. It's like, yes, it did. But how can we use that as fuel to fight for a different path, for something, for doing something different, for being someone different than maybe a way of life that we were used to growing up?

Another thing I've heard you speak about is the self-hatred that you had around your acne. And every time you talk about it, I get chills because I can relate in so many ways. I had acne for almost a decade and I'm just now starting to see progress. You're beautiful. Thank you. But it has taken so much time and energy to get here. And the self-talk, I think think is something that so many people can relate to. I mean, it's vicious, the way I would pull myself apart and even like physically pick at my skin and try to get it off of me, because it's almost like you can't see yourself. How do you work on having a more positive dialogue in your head? It was through the time when my skin was the most broken out that I actually, I started

reading two books that really helped me like turn to love within myself. And the first one was You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay. Did you read that? I have it, but I haven't read it. Okay. That's fine. I mean, I pick up so many books and start reading and don't finish half of them. This is a sign that I need to read. These are two that I did finish. And A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson taught me to, like, no matter what I knew I wanted, right? I wanted and desired clear skin so badly.

It helped me learn to love myself as I was. In that moment, like full acceptance of the place I was in, which is so hard, right? Because you're like, but wait, but I don't, but I don't want this. But it's like, but the way through and I say this a lot with people with weight loss too, because I think when someone is unhappy with themselves and they, you know, say like, I need to lose weight or I need to change everything in my life. I always try to, like, it's all about shifting the perspective because when you do that, you see yourself differently and you see the process of it differently instead of it just being like, I'm here and I want to get here. It's like learning

to be with yourself at every stage of the process because it's just such a process. And I mean, I used to put like the post-it notes on my mirror and I would say like, I love and accept myself exactly the way I am. And Louise Hay says to like, look at yourself and say it. And it's so uncomfortable when you're like, but I don't, but I'm like, but I'm working on it. And like to keep saying every morning. So mantra was, was really helpful. And, um, the thing that really like changed it all for me and for my skin, I was actually just having this conversation with someone who is struggling with acne. It was meditation because I strengthened my mind. Yeah. like I was able to really work at like being still with the thoughts that were coming up like those vicious thoughts and then find more love and compassion

for like that younger version within myself just being like, well, I'm still in here like, we grow into adults and evolve into these different humans. But like, that that girl is still in there. So learning to just be really gentle with that, but like that version of yourself really helped. So you guys know, I talk a lot about ingredients on this show and how important it is to be evaluating what's in our homes, what we're using every day. And one thing we don't really think about is the air we're breathing. I recently got an air doctor in mine and Greg's bedroom, and it has made a world of a difference. Greg is absolutely obsessed. It's basically purifying the air that we're

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globally for iOS and Android. Download at seedoilscout.com slash pow today. When my acne was at its worst, I feel like so many people I spoke to said that they healed through self love and limiting stress. And they told me to slow down. And, you know, I kind of was resistant to that. I was like, no, there has to be a diet, there has to be a skincare regime, there has to be a medication I can take. I had all these, like, you know, I wanted to find a coping mechanism that would be feel productive. Right. And you want to do something to fix it. But I actually feel like the reason my skin begun to clear up was because I accepted it. And I said, you know, I did the affirmation thing too. I looked at my face every day and I said,

my skin is telling me something. Like I appreciated the fact that my skin was telling me something was wrong on the inside. Exactly. Yeah. That's what it is. Yeah. It's like, where's the lesson? And it's through like, I did all the things too. I mean, and some of the things did help. Like I changed all of my skincare products, all of my beauty products, the clean beauty, all of my cleaning supplies. I altered and adjusted the way I ate, really practiced eliminating certain things to see if it helped. And it, it did. But the thing that got to the root cause of it was changing my perspective towards myself. Yeah. It's not one thing. No, it's not. And I think like I went on Accutane. I tried all the things, every topical that you possibly could think of. And it was like nothing,

nothing was getting to the root. So like, that's where I knew I was so used to looking like outside of myself for all of the answers because we want that instant gratification and we want it to be fixed now. But going in and being like with the true like seed of my soul is when it just, I remember it started here. It started to clear up and I was like, oh my God, I like, I see, I'm seeing myself differently, you know? Yeah. In Chinese medicine, they say different areas of the face break out for different reasons. And I kind of believe it. At first, I was a little bit skeptical. Oh, no, I do. But now when I'm emotional, I see it on the forehead. Oh, yeah. It's crazy. And hormonal in the chin. And I swear by acupuncture too. Do you? Swear. What benefits have you seen?

Oh my, immense. To just start, I think the nervous system regulation is the number one thing from someone whose baseline has, I try to be so careful the way I say this now because I think we attach ourselves to the things that we say. So instead of saying like, I'm an anxious person, I'm like, no, I am not, but I'm feeling, I'm feeling a little anxious. Like even those little like fine tuning of the way that we say things all make a difference.

I love that. It all makes a difference. And the nervous system regulation, the massive decrease in anxiety. Also like my menstrual cycle is very gentle from doing it once a month now. I do acupuncture facials too, which are incredible. Wow. Yes. Okay. And I just overall, I feel like the word balance feels loaded, but I overall feel like a sense of balance. Yeah. Like I can feel my two feet on the ground. I actually did it to get my period back. Oh, do you? Because when I came off birth control, I lost my period for over a year and I was panicking.

Wow. And I did a lot of acupuncture. And I don't know if that was the reason, but it did come back. Okay, great. Yeah. Because it puts you into your parasympathetic nervous system. Do you meditate during? I do.

I feel like there's nothing else to do. A full hour. And sometimes I drop into like a deep transcendence. Yeah. Like I like wake up and I feel like I just had the deepest rest of my life. But like I was, it's very interesting. That has happened to me as well. I go to Aura and the room is also so peaceful and beautiful and like that energy and the space and

I just, it's like a sanctuary. I need to get back into that. But like to think that like putting these little needles in you could be peaceful. It's pretty wild. But when you just lean into it, it works. Wow. Okay, everyone listening. Also, a lot of people had questions about colonics. Oh, I was going to go there next. We were on the same page. Well, yes.

Because I'm terrified. You are? I'm scared to have a tube up my butt. Right. I understand that. It's not the most, like when you talk about it, it's kind of like, wait, what? But it's really not that bad. It really all depends root cause of like making a massive change on a gut level. How often do you get them? So I don't have like a system where it's like I go once a month. I am so intuitive with them. I've

been, I've been getting colonics for over a decade. I like know when I need one. It sounds so weird, but I'm so in tune with my body. Which is fantastic. It's like, it's not even, it's not like a bloating. It's this, when I start to feel a real heaviness in my energy, because it's a very like spiritual energetic practice. It mentally, emotionally, and spiritually helps clean that shit out. Like

clean that shit out. You leave lighter, like so light. But I would say like my average is about four to six. I am not telling anyone else they should do that. It all depends where you're at in your life. And yeah, it's been a massive part of my healing process and my wellness journey. And I'm such a believer in gravity clinics. And I love Vanya. She's literally the best colon therapist in New York. That might have to be the first place I've heard of. She's an angel and she uses essential oils and she just knows how to massage you in all the right places

to have the most insane releases you've ever had in your life. Oh, we love a release. We love a release. Okay, yeah, I'm gonna need that. Thank you. I'll share that with you. So you guys know the New year's trend everyone's doing like the ins and the outs i'm seeing on everyone's ins is cooking at home and that's been in for me for all of 2023 and i'm definitely

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means minimal oil or butter slide off, easy to clean and easy to cook with. Over 65,000 people have rated five stars when it comes to their caraway pans and now it's time to try it for yourself. Visit carawayhome.com slash pow to take advantage of this limited time offer for 10% off your next purchase. This deal is exclusive for our listeners. So visit carawayhome.com slash pow or use code pow, P-O-W, at checkout. Caraway, non-toxic cookware made modern. speaking of being in tune with your body you've been very brave and open about your previous eating disorder which i think so many people relate to and can benefit from hearing you speak about how has your relationship with your body evolved from then to now? Because now it seems like you have such a healthy relationship with yourself. I do.

And I'm so grateful for it. I really love myself. Like I treat myself as I would treat my daughter. Like I'm just like, I do so much every day. And like this body, this soul carries me. Like I do everything that it takes and not in a strict or disciplined way. That is not the way I do things. It's just from love and care. It's like I get, I prioritize sleep more than anything else in my life. I get at least seven hours of sleep. Sometimes if Eleanor is having a rough night or something, it could be less, but I also factor in just in case things

could happen that I know I'll have enough sleep. It was definitely different when they were younger, but it's probably the one thing, like the way I look at my weeks. And if I'm really busy, I won't do as much because I know that I need adequate amount of sleep. Because then I'm just like great and I can like take on the world and do everything. But I treat myself really well. I like, I take the best care of myself. And I used to think that that was not cool, which is crazy. Yeah. And I almost think there's like a massive wave of a trend coming back

where like glamorizing hangovers and being completely wasted every weekend is cool. And I'm really here to let everyone know it's not. Thank you for that. Because I was the same way. I thought being as hungover as possible was cool. So cool. And I agree. I'm seeing it back on TikTok.

And I'm seeing, I mean, young, young girls are watching that. And it makes me cringe because I've been there and it's not cool. You miss out on life. And I don't even like mean to pass judgment because I've also been there. Yeah. But as someone who's lived through it and has come out on the other end, I just want to share like that you can bring so much joy back to your life when you have the capacity to really hold space for all the amazingness that every day can bring. And when you're laying in bed, sick and hungover, you don't care about anything. And it's just, you know,

it can really weigh you down. So I do all the things that like lift me up, like I am so into my routine. But I have a very flexible approach. I think it's really important not to be too strict and too disciplined. I'm consistent as a motherfucker. Like I am consistent as they come. You can rely on me because I prioritize my peace and my practice more than anything else. And then I'm able to do all of the things to my fullest potential. And I don't know about you, but I am here to live to the highest vibration

that I can possibly create in this world. And the only way that we can do that is by tapping into complete alignment with ourself. And I think the way to do that, as you know, through taking care of yourself and also being okay with like, like I have pizza once a week. Like I am so fluid with like what I eat, what I drink. And I don't shame myself. I don't guilt myself anymore because I did for so long. I would beat myself up for eating something that was bad. And that's what led me to being bulimic for a handful of years because I couldn't deal with that self-shame.

It ate me alive, literally. And I had to get rid of it. I had to get rid of that feeling. That was my tool. That served me well secretively for so many years. And then getting to a point where you can't even look in the mirror anymore. Like I share this work with so much passion

because I know it's possible. Like I know it's possible to change. I know it's possible to wake up every day and not even know what the day is going to bring you, but to find so much excitement for the unknown and for just being curious and content with being happy making your smoothie and like getting on the mat.

Like what a gift that we get to do this work. It's a privilege. And we all take, we take it for granted. And we hang around people who don't lift us up. That's huge. Massive. I just got full body chills, massive. And it's hard when you're in it because misery loves company and it loves to suck you into that vortex because then the people who are miserable don't feel alone. But you can still love people who are miserable from here. Like arms lengths and love and light and blessings and possibly have moments where you, you know, come together in different

ways or you just spend less time. But that's a really big, big piece of it. I just had that conversation with my best friend who's in the room. I, on my personal journey, cut out a lot of people from my life because they were my party friends. They were the people that wanted to see me as wasted as possible. And the second I started saying no, it was an issue. And I think the moment you notice that people don't respect a boundary, it's like a little bit of a red flag. Yes, it is. Some people can be trained to respect boundaries. Some people are trainable.

But it's all about communication, right? Which I think when you're young, it's hard. It's really hard to communicate your needs when it's like going against the flock, right? But I think that is what we need is just more strong leaders in the world who are not afraid to stand up and communicate what's right. And I don't know about you, but like even sitting here with you, I'm like, this is the movement that I want to be backing 100%. Like changing,

changing the way people see their lives themselves, the way they're showing up every day. And I also think when you learn to communicate the boundary, it builds so much confidence. I think back in the day when I was younger, I had no idea how to tell people what I truly wanted or how I wanted to be treated. And over the years, I've figured it out and it still scares the shit out of me. I'm horrible at letting people go. I'm horrible at letting go of friendships, but I still do it. And every time I do it, I feel more confident. And I also feel like sometimes it's the best for them to, to let go of the relationship. Like if neither of the, neither person is benefiting, you're kind of benefiting both parties in a way by saying, hey, I don't think this is a good

moment for us right now. I totally agree. And it also can strengthen your relationship. Like come full circle. Yeah, 100%. I've had people that I've rekindled with as a different person, then now we have an amazing relationship. Same. And it's so nice. But I agree. Like, when it works one sided, it's really not working for either one. And that goes the same for relationships, partners. Going back to the toxic relationship with food and exercise, how do you live a life now where you're so passionate about wellness, nutrition, exercise, meditation without re-triggering the triggers?

Great question. And that's probably the number one thing that people ask me who have also had history of eating disorders. And for me, I always thought that I had an eating disorder because of the food. And it took me years of working with professionals and then also committing to my healing practice, my internal practice. And what it did is it really helped me to see like, I never had an issue with the food. I had a dysfunctional relationship with myself. And the more that I committed to meditating daily, moving my body in a way that I loved myself, instead of trying to fix something or work something off that I ate the day before, the more I really built this like loving confidence within myself where I have gotten to a place now where I have zero triggers with food because I've healed my relationship with myself and I continue to heal my relationship

with self. And it is a never ending journey, I believe. But for me, and I think people who suffer from eating disorders, it affects, everyone is so different. And it was like really strengthening that internal system that made it all just become so vividly clear where I was like, oh, wait a second. Food isn't even the trigger. It was actually anxiety and just feeling so disconnected from myself. So if I do feel those feelings, which I do often,

disconnected, anxious, I know what to do. Yeah. Right. It's like I get back to work every single day. I wake up before my kids. I meditate for 20 minutes. It sounds long. It may sound extreme, but there is nothing more extreme than being on your bathroom floor with your hands down, you know, doing things to reverse something that you ate. So I don't look at it as any extreme, like I'm willing to go that extra mile for myself to do all the things that help me feel more mentally stable. And I'm a massive, just like believer for myself in therapy. And even when you, it's, what has been really interesting at this point in my life is like, even when I think I don't need it, committing to it is what is helping me live in more of a neutral place with myself.

I relate so much. Right? My therapist just went on maternity leave three months ago. And she was like, are any feelings coming up? Are you upset? And I was like, no, I'm gonna be fine. Not fine. Not fine. I was like, yeah, like, I feel good. I'm gonna be okay. Three months and I'm like, panic calling every therapist I can find. Oh, truly. Because I do think it is. It's a practice. And even if you have a week where you're not bringing up a crazy problem, it's a practice. And even if you have a week where you're not bringing up a crazy problem, it's nice to just be able to have that person, an unbiased individual to go speak to

and get everything out. I really think therapy is awesome. That's what it is for me too. Like it's not even like I go to therapy, like dropping problems. A lot of the time I'm just like talking through everything in my life. And I think too, as, as you become more public, right. And even with relationships in your life, people you

feel very close to, there's just some things that you want to talk to someone in a very safe space and never feel like, God forbid, they could tell anyone. Like, it's just really important to have safe spaces in your life. And listen, I think sometimes with friends, friends can turn on you. They can tell, like, you just don't know. And I also think even with my husband, I'm like, I don't want every conversation we have to be like, I need help or like, I'm trying to work through this on my own and having someone, it's brought a lot of like foundational support to my life. Because I think it can also add too much pressure to your relationship. So much. And I've done that before. Me too. Use my husband as a therapist and it's not it. It's not it. Like there, you know, it's, it's a heavy load for

them to carry too. Like, yeah, we have so much baggage, like don't go dropping that on everyone work with it. And they can be so helpful in so many ways, but also not so many ways. There's a different logic there. True. On that topic, your husband is a CEO entrepreneur, as is mine. And he has a very strong personality. I don't know about Noah, but Greg does. He is, but in a different way than I am. Interesting. How, and I have heard you speak about this before, and I think it's so important. How have you been able to carve out your own things and identity and life separate from his? Honestly, so seamlessly, because I think when you're really with, at least like for me, like a very strong supporter, a strong man, like they create the

space for you to shine. And being with someone and even starting to date someone who was very successful was first time for me. Like I had never dated someone who was so confident in what he was doing and was like already very established. It gave me so much space to kind of explore and discover what my thing was when I was like feeling so lost and just unfulfilled. Like I was a very different version of myself that Noah married me to the woman I am today. Thank God. But having him as like that strong soundboard in my life, like it built my confidence up. And it also taught me, like he really taught me how to focus. Like I am telling you, I had no idea how to focus my attention before him.

Even like, I think back to like school, like school was the hardest thing in my life. I still have nightmares about school. Me too. And feeling not smart, so insecure, praying to God they don't call on me. Like, it's like, I was in my son's class today and he got called on. I, my stomach dropped.

And I was like. That trauma still exists in the body. Yeah, but like he was fine. And I'm just like, I just, I just remember never feeling smart and never wanting anything to bring attention to the fact that like, I didn't know the answer. And Noah really taught me that when you focus your energy on the things that just make you like excited or things you're interested in. And you keep focusing that energy the next day, even if you're like, Oh, maybe not feeling but like, let's, let's bring some focus back to it. Your whole life can change. And like my whole life did change from redirecting my focus.

It's very much like meditation, right? I think in meditation, everyone's like, well, I can't meditate because I have to turn off or I'm constantly thinking and I can't turn off my thoughts and I'm like no no like we're not trying to turn anything off we're redirecting our focus to our breath and like turning up that volume on like that inner voice and that's I mean that was like a big change for me. And then I was like, off to the races. I love that you mentioned the meditation piece, because I think the reason so many people are intimidated, myself included, is they feel like there's this rule that like when you meditate, you cannot think.

And if a thought comes up, you're doing it wrong. Right. But I love that you said it's just about redirecting. It's redirection. And that applies to life too. I was just going to say that. Literally, we're like finishing each other's sentences. It's like when things go wrong, it's a redirection in life.

And I always love to say to people who are new to meditation is try your best not to judge your practice. Like after a meditation, sometimes, you know, I'll hear people say like, oh, that I had a bad meditation, I had a good meditation, just be with what is that day, sometimes I can drop into like, this transcendent state, sometimes it's super surfaced, I don't drop in, but I'm still committed to it. Because I know that being with myself and even like those moments of watching, like I'm a big, big believer in like watching that inhale. And I've been doing nostril breathing. I'm closing my mouth now when I meditate to really like deepen that resonance breathing, which helps lessen anxiety. And I mouth tape too. And I feel like from one anxious girly

who can feel anxious to another. Anxious feeling girly. Anxious feeling. We're not anxious girls. Yeah. Anxious feeling girls. Anxious feeling. That's a good t-shirt.

That's a really, I swear to you, I just saw that when you said that. That's a good t-shirt. I saw it, exactly. A-F-G. I love that. It's so cute. Listenshirt. I saw it, exactly. A-F-G. I love that. It's so cute. Listen, we have to embrace all parts of ourselves,

but it has helped me like really learn how to breathe. Like we're not breathing. And when you watch your breath, you're more apt to really breathe. And then when I thought it comes up, because it will, or the to-do lists or the thing you forgot to do or the appointment or the kids screaming in the background. Let it be there.

Don't force it away. Come back to your breath. So it's like it's just a retraining. That's what we're doing. We're retraining our brains. So good. And I feel like you could also carry that practice into the day because I'm someone who gets so overstimulated, like even the noises behind us right now. I hear it. That's okay. And it bothers me, but I keep bringing myself back here. And I think if you do that all day long,

you just keep getting better and better at it. You really do. And you learn that like, I think the thing that I have had really moved through with like my late 20s to, I was literally just counting the years I've been meditating because I started when I was 27. And through like my early 30s, I wanted everything to be calm. And then I had kids. And I was like, I would just meditate in the calmest, most peaceful place. And I was like, my meditation would not be a meditation if there was not quiet. Let me tell you that really changed so quickly when I had, I mean, I can meditate. I am not kidding you, I've meditated in concerts. I have trained my brain to go in in the most chaotic of places.

I've meditated in Times Square, park benches, taxis, like Ubers, airplanes, because I think what we have to learn to do is to bring these elements of calm and ease to all the chaos of life because the chaos of life is never changing. I was going to ask you how you survive New York City because I feel like you are such a calm person

who protects their peace so well. I'm like, how does she do New York? Such a great, and you're also in one of the most anxiety prone areas here. No, it is. It's like you walk out and you're just like, there's an immediate spike. Interestingly enough, it really

hasn't bothered me until recently. And I don't want to say bothered. I've become really sensitive to a lot of it. And I am such a diehard New Yorker, obsessed with New York. I love New York, but it's really made me realize that like the time I have with my practice and being in my home, like the more that I can just make it this is like as much as I can with kids, I just this element in the sanctuary of peace and feeling grounded, then I feel like I can handle it more. But the energy right now in New York is very chaotic. And I'm just trying to be like super aware on the street and not let the energies affect me. I'm like really big on protecting myself. Actually, Gabby, who was here before me, she is the one who taught me like, when you before you go out on the street, you I think of like, zipping up this invisible

cloak of just sealing and protecting your energy. And I'm like a very smiley person who like likes to connect eyes with people. I stopped doing that. And it's not because I'm, I just, I'm in here more and less out here. And it also helps me stay a little bit more level. How do you handle the public recognition? Because I feel like you probably have a really strong New York following. Do you feel like when you're out and about, you have to be ready for that at any moment? Yes, I do. And, you know, it's so interesting because it shifted quickly. It wasn't like as much of a transition where it was like occasionally being recognized to almost being recognized wherever I go. And I have the most amazing community and members and people

who, the people who come up to me, it's like, it warms my heart and it brings me so much joy. And I, I love it. I welcome that. When I'm with my kids, I'm more protective because I have to be for them. They also, you know, it's like the things they say now, it's like, they're like, mom, like everyone knows you here. And I'm like, oh, I'm recognizable from things. I'm like, well, you're famous. And I'm like, I really tried to redirect things because I don't want them to think like they have to be famous. And I'm like, I don't even think about it as fame.

I'm just like recognizable from people who do my workouts. And it's been really interesting. But it's really special. So it's something that like feels really good and never gets old for me ever. But yeah, you have to have an element of being very protected with your energy. I mean, really anywhere, but in New York is a different beast.

Yeah. And I also think being in the wellness space, it is kind of coming from a place of service. Like, I don't know about you, but when people come up to me, it's usually a story about their healing journey or something that they've been through. And it keeps me going. It warms, like my heart has expanded in size from, and that's what it is too. It's not just like, hi, I love you. It's like,

your meditation did this, or like, I went through this horrible breakup where I lost a family member. And it's like, it keeps you so connected to the purpose of why we're doing this, right? Like it's, it's very easy to get disconnected. I think when you look on social media or you pay attention to what everyone else is doing and you're like, uh, should I be? I'm like, no, no, no, no. You know, you know why you're like, stay here, stay here. Don't get too lost. And, and I think it's, it's like the glamorization of what everyone else is doing and, and just staying close to the reason why we started and the impact and, and how this can change people's lives because it's changed our own. So like we know the power of the work. Truly. Right?

Truly. That was, I mean, when I started, I was like, I feel like I have this secret I need to share with everyone. Same. That was it. Yeah. Did you start thinking you were starting a business? No, gosh, no.

I know. I was horrible at math. Didn't understand how business worked at all. No. Horrible at school. Same. Truly thought that business was like so far from anything I would ever do. I was just obsessed with feeling better and optimizing my wellness.

And then when I realized other women were too, I was like, oh, this is fun. Yeah. And I just kept sharing and it just snowballed. And my husband's my co-founder and he is business obsessed. Yeah, your story is amazing. Thank you. So I'm lucky that I have him

because it means that I don't have to do the numbers of it all. You're so lucky. I don't like that. I do not. I don't know what would be happening if I was sitting behind his desk because it's not my thing. No, it's hard. Yeah.

And I definitely like have put a lot of energy into ops and finance and things that like are not necessarily my strength. I think it's really good that I've learned and have an understanding, but I'm like, I know where the best use of my time is. I've been in rooms where I'm like, guys, I am the least helpful person for this meeting. I'm like, I know where the best use of my time is. I've been in rooms where I'm like, guys, I am the least helpful person for this meeting.

I'm going to go. Oh, I go in the bathroom and Google all the words. Like now I know all the words. Like I'm just like... The words are a lot for me. LTV, of course. Like there were times where I was like, swear to God.

Lifetime value, baby. Very important. It took me a while to learn too. Yeah, like I learned all that stuff in the bathroom and on Google. I think it's great that you're saying that. Because I'm curious. Yeah. I didn't even know what a CEO was.

And if we can do it. I was like, what is CEO, C-O-O, C-M-O, C-F-O? Swear to God, Google. Google. Are you CEO of Melissa Woodhouse? I'm CEO. Yes. Slay.

You got the CEO boots on too. Oh, yes, I do. Does anyone want them? Is there any? No, I like staying very deeply connected to it all. I, listen, it's like starting with a team of three and now being with a team of more than 25, it's very like, things change. Yeah. And there, there's still a lot of learnings and adapting to things I continually need to shift, right? It's like, talk about redirection. And I think when you're a highly sensitive person, it's so tough because I feel personally connected to everyone I work with. And I don't know how to set the line. I mean,

me and Fiona have no line. You guys are best friends. We've just accepted that there's no line. I don't think it's going anywhere. Best friends. Best friends. Yeah. That's that is different. That's different working together. And your husband works with you. So I mean, I will say I'm laughing to myself after like previous conversations I just had before this. It is important to have some lines to prepare for things that could come for the future because I also am like so deeply connected to people and wear my heart on my sleeve and become very invested. But you'll be disappointed. Agreed. You know, and I think it's, it's the hardest part. That's been one of the hardest things for me.

I can imagine. And when your business is so much about you and your personal experience, I think that makes it even harder. So much. Yeah. It's not like it's a separate product or a separate business. It's an extension. It's an extension. It's an extension. But you have two new trainers now on the app.

So I have two new girls who just joined and then nine overall who are sharing content on the platform. Incredible. And you have... I have two as well. You have two. Yeah. Yeah.

How awesome. It's awesome. It feels like it's really amazing to be able to lift up other women. Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean, I, I always say too, like when I started this, it was never the idea of like making it all about me. We're so much more powerful when we can unite and join forces and just collectively lift and rise and like do it as a, as a unit. Yes. It's, it's more fun too. And it's like, let's pressure on you and it's like more collaborative and. 100%. Yeah. As a highly sensitive person with your large platform platform if you're going through something behind the scenes you're anxious whatever it may be do you have a good sense of when it's a good time to show up and share or when it's a good time to take a, I have to go through the motions.

And a few times I've been sharing through the motions because I think it was actually Dylan on my team who said something to me. And she was like, I feel like you're always good at showing the, like the process when you come out and what you did, but like you never really show when you come out and what you did, but like you never really show when you're in it. I'm so tapped into my intuition in a way that I really let that like I'm a full gut leader. I let that lead the way. And I really try my best to bring forward like what's really going on and not just make it this kind of beautiful,

almost like success story or like happiness and all these things, because I am someone who's on a rollercoaster of emotions. Like I've been living in a neutral state right now and I'm almost like, I don't know what to do with myself. There's no high that's high. There's no low that's low. Is this how people live?

Like just like drama free. It's great. Like, but what do you do? I swear to you, like have this exact conversation with my therapist. And she was like, this is where we want to keep you. And it's uncomfortable when you grew up in chaos. Exactly. And when you don't even realize that your anxiety likes it, you know? So I'm really big on when I don't know the answer, which has honestly come up a lot with the state of the world right now and just sitting in the stillness and the discomfort

and not someday, like just like not posting for five days, literally nothing because I'm like so knocked out of alignment with myself that I think it's a disservice sometimes to just go on and post away as if you're just in the normal state, you know, that you are portraying you're in when you're not, you're crumbling inside. So I really try to bring forward the elements of like what's really happening, but also be mindful of like my privilege and like the life

that I live and like what I have access to and to try to always share the most accessible tools and ways to help people move through it because that's how this all started, right? I appreciate the honesty and I feel like that is something I get from following you is just pure honesty every single day and tools that really anyone could apply. It's all you really need is yourself. It's really true. I mean, yes, I have a therapist. Yes, I love a treatment. Like I love these things, but it's like, if there's anything that I know I can rely on, it's like, it's like coming back to my practice, being with my breath, moving with my own body weight, like things that I know I can rely on, it's like coming back to my practice, being with my breath, moving with my own body weight, like things that I'm just like,

I don't need anything but me. Final question. Okay. How do you transition from creator to CEO to boss, wife, mom, like you do so much in a day? How do you change your mindset to each thing? I have learned to, let me rephrase that. I am continually learning to wear the hat of what I'm doing at that time. And it's new. Like I would say in the last year, this has been very clear to me that when I'm in a meeting to be the boss and when I'm creating to be more playful, more me,

when I'm with my kids to also still have like that firm grounding hand, but to have that like warmth and love and it's less strategy and it's more staying so locked in with myself and my gut. And like when something feels wrong or like, oh, should I have said that? You know, like I used to have those moments all the time and it's very few and far between, still do it sometimes. Definitely said something in the podcast before this. I was like, should I say that? But it's self-awareness and being so aware of like also how I affect people when I'm in that state of like being a creator and a meeting with a boss, like being a boss. It doesn't help people. So trying to stay really true to who I am, but remember like the rooms I'm walking into and bringing that energy forward.

It's tough. It's tough. Yeah. I don't know how you do it. And I still have, I have moments all the time where I'm like. But you do it. I try. Yeah.

I try. And if anything, I feel like I used to be too rigid actually about it. And now I've added more flexibility where I allow myself to have fun at my job. I think I used to be really strict about I'm at the office. That means I can't laugh and enjoy myself. Come on. Like I'm making a podcast. How cool that I get to be really strict about I'm at the office. That means I can't laugh and enjoy myself. Come on. Like I'm making a podcast. How cool that I get to do this with my best friend.

So let me have a moment of fun. So infusing joy into everything that we're doing, I think is the thing that people are not prioritizing enough in their life, like bringing joy and to be curious with like even walking in here we've never met before and just kind of being like curiously excited about how it could go or, you know, and it's, it's something I have had to come back to because I felt in the past couple of months, I'm like, I'm not laughing like I used to. Like I am not, I've been so stressed out and I'm bringing that stress into everything and

it's not working. So kind of just taking a step back to be like, why did I start all of this? Why am I doing this? And to never lose sight of that, to like bring that into bed before I go to bed, not focus on everything that went wrong for the day, come back to the things that are working and, and to bring that into like everything that I do. Period. Period. That was beautiful. You are so lovely. I just have to say. Thank you. And you are an incredible interviewer.

Thank you. And you just, you're incredible. Truly. Thank you. There's like so much flow and you're so present and just wonderful. So thank you so much for having me. I mean it. I'm honored to have you here.

I need to have you on. I fell in love with you. Oh, thank you so much. Full love fest. Tell us where everyone can find you online. Where can they download the apps? All the things. Oh, stop.

You're such a girl's girl. I'm the sweetest. You guys can find me. All of my workouts are on melissawoodhealth.com, the Melissa Wood Health app. And at Melissa Wood Health is my Instagram. Is that right? No, that's a lie. At Melissa Wood Tepperberg is my Instagram. And at Melissa Wood Health is my Instagram. Is that right? No, that's a lie.

At Melissa Wood Tepperberg is my Instagram and at Melissa Wood Health is the brand. That's so funny that you did that. No, I literally, you know. Well, because we switched it off. I have to tell you, I have never not called you Melissa Wood Health. To me, health is your last name.

Yeah, everyone thinks that. It's fine. You can call me Melissa Wood Health. Thank you so much, Melissa. Thank you so much. Thanks for joining us on the Pursuit of Wellness podcast. To support this show, please rate and review and share with your loved ones.

If you want to be reminded of new episodes, click the subscribe button on your preferred podcast or video player. You can sign up for my newsletter to receive my favorites at marilowelland.com. It will be linked in the show notes. This is a Wellness Out Loud production produced by Drake Peterson, Fiona Attucks, and Kelly Kyle. This show is edited by Mike Fry and our video is recorded by Luis Vargas. You can also watch the full video of each

episode on our YouTube channel at Mari Fitness. Love you, Power Girls and Power Boys. See you next time. The content of this show is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for individual medical and mental health advice and does not constitute a provider patient relationship. As always, talk to your doctor or health team.