Melanie Holst Collins Chats About Holistic Health & Keeping Your Inner Peace

I had the pleasure to chat with Melanie Holst Collins about being a sacred space facilitator, her daily rituals to keep inner peace, and ways to practice wellness.

*Melanie Holst Collins, Holistic Health*

How long have you been practicing holistic health and what led you to create a brand doing it?

MC: “I have been practicing Yoga since about 2010. I have always had an affinity to holistic health, the healing arts, metaphysics, and Yoga seemed to be a practice that resonated with me so much for as long as I can remember. About 7 years ago, I began receiving internal messages that all the positive transformation I have experienced within myself was something that needed to be shared with others. Around that time, I began accepting my intrinsic gifts for holding space for and guiding people, so I decided to make it my business to create a platform and brand built on the experience of my own personal and spiritual transformation. That’s how Grow Your Lovespace was born.”

What did you want to be as a child growing up?

MC: “Honestly, I wanted to be a singer and dancer. In fact, I wanted to be Brandy lol. I learned at a young age that I loved performing even though I was shy and ashamed of my appearance. I wanted to be famous and known for something. Singing and dancing felt like freedom to me.”

What are some methods and rituals you include in your daily life to keep your peace?

MC: ” There are many, but I’ll mention the two that have had a profound impact on my life. A daily practice of gratitude has been the currency of abundance for me. On a daily basis, I say ‘thank you’. This allows me to focus my attention and energy on all that is already here instead of focusing on what I don’t have or what I don’t like about my life. Gratitude is a message to the intangible world that opens you to receive more things to be thankful for by creating a perpetual stream of abundance. Another method I use is drinking tea. I will engage in little mini tea ceremonies with myself. Time with tea is sacred. The leaves, flowers and roots are earth’s resources that have a lot to teach us. Spending time with one of the most healing beverage choices in the world is a sure way to bring you in tune with all of your senses and the present moment. Drinking tea has become a daily ritual of presence and peace for me.”

What are some personal affirmations that lifts you up on challenging days?

I state, “Everything I need, is already here”. Gratitude brings me back into a mindset of abundance. As this specific time in growth with my business, I often feel overwhelmed and it becomes very easy for me to feel like I am lacking time, resources, motivation, creativity etc. But stating that mantra/affirmation helps me re-frame that. It helps me shift my perspective about what I am capable of. Another affirmation is ” I am not exempt from anything that is human”. Stating this affirmation keeps me looking at life from the lens of a student, a lens of humility and non-judgement.”

What’s the best piece of advice you received when you first started out in your personal brand?

MC: “The best advice was the reminder that people are buying into YOU. You can have the best offerings, best products and all of that is great, but your story and your journey are what people are inspired by. If you are being the best you fully and transparently, your brand will always thrive.”

How has yoga changed your life? What are some common misconceptions people have about yoga?

MC: “Yoga has changed my life immensely. It has taught me to prioritize presence, to utilize embodiment as a way to heal myself. It doesn’t just affect me physically, but also emotionally, mentally and energetically. It has taught me that self-awareness is not only a tool for introspection for myself, but also a way to relate optimally with my outer environment and other human beings. There are many people that believe Yoga is a work out and its only the physical practice.”

What does success mean to you? Has a mistake ever led you to success?

Honestly, success, to me is being in alignment with yourself, your values, and the flow of life. If you are doing that, that is success in my eyes. So many of us fall out of alignment with ourselves and the things that fuel our hearts, which is a normal part of life, but then we don’t do what we know to be able to fall back into alignment. We just stay out of alignment and get comfortable there. Success for me is the dance of falling out of and into alignment again.”

What is your biggest goal for your brand this year?

MC: “I have many pots on the fire, but the biggest broad goal of my brand is simply expanding my reach. I believe that so many people can benefit from my passion for facilitating, creating, and holding sacred space for them. The more people who can experience healing experiences like this, the bigger the ripple effect will be. This effect is the healing, intention, and humanness becoming the center of our generation and the future.

What are some of your favorite ways what you practice wellness? How do you apply it to your brand?

MC: “Honestly, I practice wellness in every moment. Shifting a self deprecating, negative thought to one that affirms my worth is practicing wellness. I rest when my body needs to. Saying thank you for everything I have right now is practicing wellness. Waking up early to perform a ritual and going to sleep early is practicing wellness. Allowing a perspective shift is practicing wellness. Anything that I do to be better, more self-ware, more intentional about my life is practicing wellness, contrary to what our society defines as “wellness practices”. I feel all of this is infused into my brand and what I share with my audience. Wellness and humanness is all encompassing.”

What does the world need more of? Less of?

MC: “The world needs more presence. As ‘connected’ as we are through and to technology, we are deathly disconnected from out bodies, our hearts, our minds, our humanness, the Earth, and each other.”