With health top of mind during lockdown, the gym-deprived were happy to discover Melissa Wood-Tepperberg—the New York-based founder of the MWH Method—online. Well before the pandemic, Wood-Tepperberg, who is a certified yoga and Pilates instructor as well as a health coach, was already entrenched in the digital wellness space, offering access to her low-impact workouts, first via snippets on Instagram and later through a dedicated website and app for members. Her gentle, manageable approach requiring no fancy equipment piqued quarantine interest, but so did Wood-Tepperberg’s positive, open, and honest personality. In fact, more than 650,000 followers on social media follow her for so much more than just a workout—for a look into her meditation-led life, from fashion picks to her plant-focused diet and natural skincare regimen, to how she navigates running a business and raising two small children. Here, the former model opens up about her challenging fitness-fueled journey to self-acceptance. Because in the end, she wants her community to look beyond body image and develop a strong, true inner core.
You’re candid about your past and acknowledge how a dark period ultimately forced you to make changes. What empowered you to press on?
Acknowledging for the first time in my life that I wanted to change and that I needed help in doing so. I want to make the important note that while this particular moment was a huge shift for me, I am forever a student and always working on myself. That is how my practice was born and what I come back to each day.
What first drew you to meditation?
I was not in a good mental state—suffering from an eating disorder and terrible cystic acne among other things—and not being kind to myself. I was looking for all of the answers everywhere but within me. I tried meditating for the first time and had a total awakening moment; I knew that meditation was something that had the power to shift my perspective on everything in my life. I love to meditate for 20 minutes a day, but some days it’s 10 minutes or less.
When did you know it was the right time to launch your business?
When I started in this space I never thought about it in the sense of creating a business. Doing what I love and getting to call that work still gives me chills. I think staying true to my authentic self—what you see can be raw, but it’s real—has allowed me to connect to people in a deep way. Even though my workouts are shared virtually, I imagine it’s like I am right there with you.
How did you dream up your low-impact sequences?
High intensity workouts never served me. The second I started combining yoga and Pilates elements I realized I had finally found what works for me. More important than the transformation I saw in my body, the shift in my mental state was the most noticeable and what I am most proud of.
What changes have you seen in your business during the pandemic?
During such an unfortunate time for the world, the silver lining for my business was that I was set up in the digital space already. The combination of people staying home, prioritizing their health, not needing anything but their own body weight to get a highly effective workout, and the meditation and calming aspect during this anxiety-inducing time was huge for the MWH Method.
You met your husband, TAO Group cofounder Noah Tepperberg, while working at Marquee nightclub. Is there a connection between finding love and your own self-love journey?
Absolutely. When I realized that the only person who was going to save me was me is when I got to work. In doing this work, it not only shifted my perspective in myself and seeing myself through loving eyes, but also allowed me to see other people that I had known for years (aka my now-husband) in such a different light.
What’s next?
While there are so many exciting things in store for everything MWH, the most important thing is to stay true to this work and the mission that jumpstarted it—to guide people to a place of loving themselves exactly as they are.
This article originally appeared in HD’s November 2020 issue.
