Melissa Wood-Tepperberg of Melissa Wood Health on Authentic Branding, Daily Meditation, and Building a Self-Care Empire

At times it feels like wellness or elevating one’s wellbeing, is diametrically opposed to high achievement and high performance in one’s career. The stress, mental energy, long hours, lack of restful sleep and preoccupation that result from a high-achievement life seem to directly inhibit wellness. And yet, in order to sustain the creativity, flexibility, mental acuity and resilience that are necessary for high performance, wellness and wellbeing of the mind, body and soul are also mandatory. So how do we achieve both? This is the question I’m hoping to answer through conversations with high-achieving leaders and influencers who are practicing their own philosophies about how to maintain their wellbeing.

As a part of our series about “Social Media Influencers Share Their Top Self Care, Wellness, and Beauty Tips, I had the pleasure of interviewing Melissa Wood-Tepperberg.

Melissa Wood-Tepperberg is a mom, digital entrepreneur and founder of Melissa Wood Health. She’s a meditator, certified in yoga and pilates, and thrives on a plant-based diet. Now available on the Melissa Wood Health app, The MWH Method sculpts beautiful long lean lines throughout your entire body using precise, low impact movements. These workouts are designed to practice anytime, anywhere, using your own body weight. On top of the library of 60+ workouts, Melissa Wood Health also offers a cardio treadmill series, guided meditations and pre/postnatal-friendly workouts. Her practice isn’t just about building a body you desire; it’s about building a stronger, more honest relationship with yourself.

In addition to the workouts, MelissaWoodHealth.com is a platform where Melissa shares her favorite plant-based recipes, everyday favorite products and lifestyle advice. This ranges from how to anchor yourself with love to her favorite non-toxic beauty products. With a dedicated following, MWH has quickly grown to become a trusted platform that her 340K+ Instagram followers come to daily for inspiration and motivation.

Thank you for joining us! Can you share the backstory of how you came upon this social media influencer career path and how you are where you are today?

It was never an intentional career path working in the “influencer” space. It was through sharing my workouts, meditations and recipes that naturally began lending itself to working with brands that were in alignment with my message and lifestyle.

Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get here? Can you share some background on how they helped you?

I’ve been so lucky to work with some phenomenal women, like business coach Jeanne Grabowski. She helped me really hone in on my gifts that set me apart from everyone else. But, I’m mostly grateful that I listened to my calling and went for it. It’s so easy to hear the call, but it’s not always so easy to lean into what challenges you to expand and grow to your fullest potential. There’s not a day that goes by that I do not acknowledge how far I’ve come :)

Can you share any humorous mistakes that you made when you were first started out in your career? What lesson or take-away did you learn from that?

I would honestly say (and I’m not afraid to admit it) when I started working in the space of brand partnerships, it’s easy to naturally get excited to work with any clients. Towards the beginning, I worked with a brand that I wasn’t in complete alignment with and it read that way. What I learned from that is that no matter what dollar amount it may be — if you’re not true to the product you’re sharing (not promoting) it will always fall flat and your audience will know.

Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on becoming a social media influencer but know that this may be difficult to achieve?

To be completely honest, I have never referred to myself as a social media influencer. For anyone in the space who is interested in working with brands, I would say to start with just being yourself and sharing all the things you love. When you’re truly authentic to your own voice it naturally attracts people and brands end up wanting to work with you.

Can you share some of your strategies that you’ve used to build an engaged, loyal, and large online community?

I don’t have a strategy. What’s worked for me is being true, honest and 1000% myself, and not caring about what every other person is doing.

Can you share two self care routines, practices or treatments that help your body thrive? (Please provide a short story or example for each)

My mediations and my workouts. First and foremost is my meditation practice. I believe this is the foundation of bringing inner peace to your mental state. If there’s one thing I try to do every single day it’s meditate, because without it I’m much more reactive and move through my day with much less ease. Then of course my movement — even if its 10–15 most days — moving my body and staying consistent with my practice is what makes me feel the most aligned and empowered in everything that I do.

Can you share 3 things that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”? (Please provide a short story or example for each)

1. Say to yourself that you love and accept yourself exactly the way you are the second you look in the mirror each morning.

2. Gua sha — at least once a day — all I have to say is the results speak for themselves.

3. Avoiding alcohol — I’ve been sober curious for 6 months now and I can confidently say my skin has never looked better, which automatically makes me feel more confident and beautiful.

Is there a particular resource (e.g., a practitioner, expert, book, or podcast) that has made a significant impact on you and helped you achieve success / led you to never give up? Can you share a story about this?

My husband, Noah Tepperberg. He has given me the one thing that money can’t buy — amazing advice. He’s really my soundboard for most things and even if I don’t follow his exact advice and instead follow my gut intuition, I’m so lucky to have my husband be my go-to person. I also cannot recommend reading, “A return to love” by Marianne Williamson enough. It changed my life, my perspective and the way I show up in the world today.

Do you have any strange or funny wellness treatment that you’ve ever experienced? Do you have any favorite wellness treatments?

My favorite wellness treatments are daily gua sha, dry brush, lymphatic drainage paddle and colonics. I guess you could say colonics are strange/funny but I swear by them.

If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Daily commitment to your practice. I believe meditation and movement have the ability to make the world a better place for all.

Is there a person in the world (can be anyone) with whom you’d like to have a meal with, and why them if so?

Oprah. No explanation needed! Right?!

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

@melissawoodhealth on Instagram and melissawoodhealth.com