In Conversation With... | Alice Hu of Woo Woo Company
In Conversation With… is our latest series profiling incredible women in the wellness industry. Our second installment is with Alice Hu, founder of Woo Woo Company, a community focused on educating skeptics on various elements of the wellness industry.
As a brand that focuses on elements of wellness, it’s important for us to continue educating ourselves, our customers, and our whole Sijo community on topics like health, wellness and sustainability. Alice Hu, founder of Woo Woo Company, has dedicated herself to creating a community that does exactly that -- focuses on educating and sharing a wealth of information regarding unique wellness and health principles to skeptics and those interested in wellness.
We wanted to learn more about the community Alice has created, and her own journey with wellness. Read on to learn a bit more about her!
Image Courtesy of Alice Hu
Sijo:What sparked your interest in wellness? What is your perspective on it both as an industry and as something to incorporate into your own lifestyle?
Alice Hu:Like for many, it started with a regular yoga practice. When I began to move beyond the physical exercise and into the mind body connection. It cleared my mind and gave me more clarity in my life. When I did yoga teacher training, I learned more about the yogic teachings and also some more esoteric subjects like energy healing. My teacher was someone so practical that I had no idea energy healing was. I believed there was something more to be explored and understood because he was a trusted person to me.
Wellness has become highly commoditized. For someone seeking to be mentally, spiritually, emotionally connected to themselves and the world around them, it’s very confusing. (I’ll focus more on wellness aside from the physical aspect for our conversation.) It’s a vulnerable time for them. People are prompted to self-care and to look inward when something jarring happens in their lives – loss of a loved one, a job, change in cities, stress, etc. I want people to know that they don’t need to always buy something to be well. As I explore the wellness space, I always look inward to understand if it’s right for me and I tell this to the Woo Woo Company community as well. Look inward for the answers. Don’t rely 100% on a specific modality or a specific product to provide the answers or a feeling. Use them as tools to help you along your wellness journey.
I’m lucky that wellness is my job now. I get to learn so many new things and think of the best ways to share them with the community. I try to listen to my body as much as possible. Rest when I need it. (I love naps!) Eat nourishing foods. And remember to have fun even in those tough moments.
Sijo:What prompted you to create Woo Woo Co.?
Alice: I went through my own awakening last year and wanted to share my experience with others to help people find their truth. I realized I needed to let go of expectations I had put on myself. I realized I was always looking to others to tell me my value through needing to constantly prove my self-worth. I was in an endless loop of feeling not enough. When in fact we are always enough. We are perfectly imperfect. I stopped looking for external validation and promised myself to tune into my intuition to help guide my decisions. It’s been the best decision I’ve made. When I got quiet, I realized what I’m meant to do, my own truth. To be an entrepreneur, not to follow the path I think I’m supposed to be on but to forge my own. To create a life worth living.
Sijo:Could you briefly share the mission of Woo Woo Co.?
Alice: Woo Woo Company is a community for skeptical hippies, bringing new, unique health and wellness concepts to Washington, D.C. We bring the topics. You decide what works for you.
Everything we share with you is to help you develop your own intuition. As you explore the world of woo, discover the tools and concepts that resonate most with you and leave the ones that don't work behind. If we do our job right, you'll only need to look inward for the answers. But until then, we'll help you on your spiritual journey in discovering who you are and what you want in this life.
Sijo:Is there a mantra or quote that you start every day with?
Alice: A few months ago, I wrote a few ways I wanted to feel on a sticky note. I put it on my bathroom mirror so these intentions are top of mind each day. It’s made such a difference in directing my attention and focus. Example: one of the words is to feel abundant.
Everything starts in the mind. Our external world reflects our internal world. We will continually experience the same problems unless we shift our mindset. Example: shifting from scarcity to abundance mindset. One can always think they don’t have enough money, but once you reach your financial goal of making X amount a year, you’ll just want more. Your needs and wants will have expanded. It’s not to say you shouldn’t have these goals but it’s a subtle shift of thinking of what you have as enough instead of always needing more. It’s becoming more present and practicing gratitude.
Image Courtesy of Alice Hu
Sijo:Is there a piece or two of advice that you'd give people looking to incorporate more mindfulness or elements of self-care into their lives?
Alice: Yes! Rituals. Rituals. Rituals. I have morning and night rituals to help me start and end the day. Spending time away from your phone is one of the most important ways to center yourself. It is really wonderful to start the day by drinking some tea, journaling, writing a list of to-dos, reading something (I like Meditations from the Mat. Short snippets of yogic teachings you can read each day.) At the end of the day, I try to read and journal a bit.
I’ve been quite mindful with the music I listen to lately. Sometimes the typical music I listen too makes my mind buzzier and more frenetic. I’ve been listening to 528 Hz, a Solfeggio Frequency – you can find a playlist on any music streaming service. It’s the frequency for DNA repair and deep healing. Really great calming, background music.
Also, taking a walk outside even just for 5 minutes makes a big difference in your mood. Try it! Preferably in an area with lots of trees ☺
Sijo:What is one wellness myth you'd like to dispel?
Alice: Nothing comes to mind at this moment. But if something works for you and doesn’t harm you or others, great! The placebo effect is proven. Even if something doesn’t actually work, just your mind believing it will is enough. Again, the mind is powerful.
Sijo:What's one wellness trend that you believe is worth the hype?
Alice: Decluttering the home to help clear the mind. It’s also important to make your home a sanctuary and your bedroom a place of rest. I love companies (like Sijo!) that have made it a priority to help people create wonderful spaces within their homes for rest and relaxation.
Sijo:Where do you see wellness going as an industry?
Alice: Woo woo topics are going to be more commonplace. What are woo woo topics? Energy healing, astrology, numerology, intuition, chakras, etc. Energetics is something I’ve been exploring and it’s incredible when you start to understand and play around with it. Example: each person has their own energy and when you come together with someone else, the two of you interact/react and you either have “chemistry” or not. You either feel at ease or not. This is a perfect example of energetics. Also, what you focus your energy/attention on is what grows. We already have technology that shows us how energy shifts in our bodies and our environments with certain activities. This data will begin to make its way mainstream.
Image Courtesy of Alice Hu/Woo Woo Company
Sijo:Are there any events you're hosting with Woo Woo Co. that you'd like to share with the readers?
Alice: We’re currently hosting most of our events in Washington, D.C. We have many signaturemonthly events like Chakra Healing Yoga + Sound Bath, Sound Baths, andWork Wellness (professionally minded workshop on organizing for the month ahead). And we collaborate with experts for sessions on astrology, numerology, Akashic Records, and more.
We’ll start hosting online workshops soon so our friends in other cities can join in! If you’re interested in a long-distance healing session, you can learn more about ithere.
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We're so happy to have had the chance to learn more about Alice and to discover more about the mission of Woo Woo company!
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