Meet Melanie Samuels and Melissa Coulier | Wellness Entrepreneurs

We had the good fortune of connecting with Melanie Samuels and Melissa Coulier and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melanie Samuels and Melissa Coulier, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Balance, to use, has always been about priorities. In fact, we would define balance as how you piece together your priorities into a daily puzzle. We both used to work in industries that demanded work to take up the entire puzzle. If you weren’t the first one there and the last to leave, you weren’t “doing it right.” However, this mentality started to take a toll on our health and we started to question if there was a different puzzle – one that built an enjoyable life. That’s what balance is really supposed to be about, right? So we pivoted our careers into health and wellness where, no surprise, we were able to include many more puzzle pieces that reflected a healthy lifestyle in the end.
Our biggest takeaways from this reconfiguration have been prioritizing things that help us thrive – nourishing meals, family time, “do not disturb” mode, and spending time outdoors. We also made it a point to separate “the hustle” from weekends, truly allowing ourselves to come out of the “if you’re not always working, you’re not going to be successful” trap.

We’ve found that by allowing ourselves to recharge and be more productive in a shorter amount of time, we’ve been able to avoid burnout. The best part is that we are so passionate about realistic and sustainable wellness that promotes a healthy mentality around balance!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Living Well with Mel and Mel’s mission is to provide an inclusive community that celebrates bio-individuality and uses all aspects of your life to manage inflammation. Our philosophy is if we can touch one life and inspire them to make the changes needed to feel better, we’ve done our job! We are so passionate about bringing realistic, sustainable, and well-rounded solutions to gaining back confidence in your body, whatever that looks like for you.

Our website features articles, recipes, wellness trends, and more. We are also active on Instagram and love doing Lives to connect with you and answer your questions about wellness and living an anti-inflammatory life. We are also in the process of creating goods that will help bring your personal wellness journey to life.

We are most proud of our focus on inflammation in the body that looks through a wide lens. Often times, certain protocols or advice about health focuses on only one aspect of your life, such as food. While nutrition is certainly important in this journey, we factor in all aspects of your life including mindfulness, movement, relationships, connection, environment, sleep, and even what you put on your body. Each of these important elements of your life make a big difference in how you are able to thrive.

If this resonates with you, we’d love to invite you to join our community by following us on Instagram and joining our mailing list on our website,www.livingwellwithmelandmel.com.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
LA has so many gems! Where to start? We would definitely do some hiking in Topanga Canyon, a favorite place of ours to be active. A beach day would also be a must at Point Dume, a beautiful and low-key spot. We’d hit up some galleries – a popular place like The Getty for its history and more of an “off the beaten path” gallery, such as the Fahey/Klein Gallery. Food would also be a destination, of course! For healthy eats, we would take them to Cafe Gratitude or Gracias Madre, Topanga Living Cafe, Malibu Farm, and Sunlife Organics or Kreation. For a more indulgent meal, we’d go to Jon & Vinny’s, Sugarfish, or Sol Y Luna in Tarzana. Other fun LA favorites would be visiting a small bookstore, like Skylight Books in Los Feliz or going to a comedy club, such as the Comedy and Magic Club in Hermosa Beach.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We would like to dedicate our shoutout to anyone who has pivoted to a career based in passion and purpose. It can be such an overwhelming experience, so we commend anyone who has figured out all of the moving parts to do so.

Website: www.livingwellwithmelandmel.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livingwellwithmelandmel/

Other: Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/livingwellwithmelandmel/

Image Credits
Melissa Coulier and Kacie Q