WTF is Wellness with Brigette Muller
WTF is Wellness is a series that takes us alongside our Founder, Beryl Solomon, as she talks all things modern wellness with some of the most exciting and influential minds in the space. From CBD and cannabis to mind, body, and lifestyle - let’s navigate this crazy world we live in one conversation at a time.
Now, we’re chatting with Brigette Muller – a world traveler who fell into wellness and CBD as a way to feel good again. We talk following intuition, maintaining serenity, and a love for bedroom couches as Muller sets the groundwork for what ‘feeling good’ and ‘living well’ means at 31.
Beryl: So what does wellness mean to you? Do you ever even think about it?
Brigette: No, I feel like at this point wellness is just so ingrained in who I am and everything I do, that it’s hard for me to even define. I feel like wellness used to be the idea of doing specific things to make me heal or make me feel better. And now wellness is just how I live my life. Everything I do, I try to consult myself, my intuition and ask for example, “does this feel right, do I want to eat this?”
Beryl: Ok! Tell us more! What do you do as part of your wellness routine?
Brigette: I think number one, for me, is having a space that makes me feel comfortable and safe; a space that have created myself. So primarily, I care about my bedroom but I try to think about my whole apartment. I have my plants and I care about light and windows.... it all needs to feel serene.
Beryl: Ah - I totally get that. Tell me more about your thought process about designing your apartment - what goes into it?
Brigette: I think there might be a method to it that I don’t really think about – it’s more just what feels good and what feels right. I like for every piece…I guess it’s kind of like Marie Kondo. I don’t really follow her, but have a similar mindset that it’s important to love everything you have – even your storage bins, you shouldn’t have anything that you don't like to look at. Also, my whole life it’s been a dream to have a couch in my bedroom, and now that I’m 31 I have a couch in my bedroom! It doesn’t totally fit - but it's so worth it!
Beryl: Isn’t that what it is though? It makes you happy and you wanted it. Is it the same with your plants?
Brigette: My mom was a really amazing gardener. She passed away when I was in college, but it’s interesting because I feel like the longer I’ve been without her, the more I’ve found myself becoming really similar to her. She gave me my first houseplant and since then, it’s just grown. The next place I live in, I image having plants hanging everywhere. I love nature so much and that’s what really grounds me too. But being in New York, there’s not really a lot of nature!
Beryl: So when did wellness really become a priority in your life? Has it always been?
Brigette: It’s like a chicken or egg situation. My whole wellness journey started in 2011, when I just returned from this trip around the world for a summer. I had graduated from college, didn’t know what I was doing and I applied for this trip and I won – I had never left the country in my life and all of a sudden I went to 17 countries in 3 ½ months, I was eating food I’d never seen…. it was like one food tour after another.
After being back home, for about a month - I started to feel really sick - I felt so bloated. Before that, I didn’t know what the word “bloated” even really meant. I would hear the word on period commercials and be like, ‘what’s that?’ Now – I haven’t not been bloated since then. My trip really altered my digestive system. And from there, I started feeling all sorts of other symptoms. Hormones, acne, weight gain, and anxiety came next.
Beryl: Oh my god. So you got back and thought, ‘I have to figure this out?’
Brigette: I got back and was like, ‘what the hell is wrong with me?’ At this point, I wasn’t doing anything Eastern (medicine), it was all Western (medicine) – I saw gastroenterologist upon gastroenterologist and they kept repeating, ‘there’s nothing wrong with you.’ So, I tried to forget about it... I moved to Philly, for Free People and kept trudging forward. But a few years later I got into a car accident, moved back to Long Island, and had an epiphany that I better focus and figure out what was wrong. I did a ton of research, put myself on a Candida diet, started working out more, and started seeing doctors who do Applied Kinesiology – I changed my whole way of life. And haven't really looked back.
It took time, like 3-4 years, before I really got into wellness. But now, I feel like I’m finally at a point where I understand what my body wants and what it doesn’t. I don’t freak out about things anymore, I’m more confident that I can handle however I’m feeling.
Beryl: Not awesome that all that happened, but the end result is great!
Brigette: No, I’m grateful for it! It’s made me who I am. I love the way I live my life now, and I don’t think I would have been like this if I hadn’t gone through everything.
Beryl: So tell me more about the practices you do.
Brigette: One of the main things that has been really helpful is seeing a doctor who uses Applied Kinesiology – aka, muscle testing. Different parts of your body represent different organs, so they put one hand on your body and one hand on your hand, where they can feel what is going on in your body by channeling that energy. They hold up supplements and see what your body needs. You’re literally talking to your body… it’s the coolest thing.
Brigette: Things I had never heard of changed my life – like Thorne Formula SF722– this is the Candida killer. I’m feeling better; my skin has cleared up amazingly. It’s my Holy Grail.
Beryl: It’s what you put in your body too – a 360 degree approach.
Brigette: Right, I’ve struggled with acne and I hate it. But the reason I’m trying to cure my acne is not 100% because I’m want my face to look "prettier", it’s because I know that the acne means there’s something unbalanced inside my body.
Beryl: I just read an article that said most things and emotions live in your gut.
Brigette: I believe that!
Beryl: So tell me about routines and products. Are you a creature of habit or do you change it up all the time?
Brigette: Both. I love to change it up, I love to try new things. I’m also such a glutton in everything I do. I’ve been into beauty products since I was really, really young, so I just want to collect them and have so many. But more recently, I’ve been learning what works for me and trying to stick to that, because I realize that for my skin, my face, it looks better when I’m using the same things and not always introducing something new.
Beryl: What are your favorites?
Brigette: There are so many - from random things I get on Amazon to small boutique businesses where I know the owners! Like Apoterra. They make amazing skincare products that are separated out by skin type. I use their Rose Serum religiously. I’ve been using it for 5 years and it’s really amazing. I mix it in with my concealer.
Beryl: So is CBD or Cannabis a part of that practice?
Brigette: It is now – I tried CBD a few months ago. I’d heard great things about this CBD oil and I got some that was supposedly really good – but I didn't love it... I didn't know what it was supposed to do and I didn't really feel anything.
Beryl: That’s one of the things we’re trying to talk about at Poplar – expectations around CBD... It is not a panacea - you have to figure out what you like - it takes time.
Brigette: Totally! I actually love the CBD Pen. I was trying to go to sleep recently, my mind was racing, my heart was racing, and I took a couple hits – and I immediately felt myself calm down and fell asleep. I used it last night too. It’s my new sleep helper.
Beryl: Yay! Is there anything else you love?
Brigette: I love the Herb Essntls lotion. I don’t know exactly what I’m feeling or CBD effects, but I love it. I love the branding, I put it on right after the shower and it makes my skin so soft.
Beryl: From our Poplar perspective – not everything is supposed to be this crazy feeling. A lot of that is a misnomer - CBD is just another ingredient that should be a tool in your tool belt. It’s a moisturizer that you like to use – period.
Find Brigette @hummusbirrd
