An Interview with Kat Mische Elle
Tayla, tell us how you discovered the value of having a supportive community
Growing up in Orange County was a real struggle for me to make real connections and friendships. The girls who surrounded my life were so mean to each other. Instead of lifting one another up, ripping each other apart and tearing each other down was so much more the norm. Being introduced into the world in this way was how I thought life and friendships were supposed to be. That you only kept friends for a certain amount of time until you have a full, toxic blowout with them. It was a terrible experience. I switched schools a couple of times, and I never really felt like I had my own support system. I lived in this reality through middle and high school. It wasn’t until college that I realized there was another way to form connections with others. I noticed for the first time that women were coming together for good. It was really inspiring! This happened when I joined a sorority at the University of San Diego. I was inspired by this unity, and I ended up holding two leadership positions in the sorority. I loved being a voice in the community and a social chairman. I was putting on the events for our chapter and I also lead the sorority recruitment at the end of my year. This was the first time I truly found my first strong female support system with women who really inspired me. Everyone was doing something different, cool, and unique. It opened my eyes to how women coming together could be for something positive instead of negative experiences. After college, I had a little identity crisis as I entered the real adult world. It was challenging making new friendships. That is when I realized that I had never really seen a community and safe space for post-college life. It motivated me to create one based on my personal needs, and I had faith that it would also appeal to many other women and they would join. many other women and they would join.
Share with us the day you decided to become your own health advocate, and what that looked like to you at the beginning of that adventure
I was working for a new company and had my hands in various aspects of the business but after a while, that career path started to get toxic. It began taking a toll on my mental and physical well-being.
The experience started out as social media marketing employment, which was my first job out of college. I absolutely loved the company and the founders. It was an incredible place. But over time, other aspects began to shine through the cracks, and it ended up being a stagnant and stressful situation that took a huge toll on my health. I was miserable. I was pushing people away, I ended up breaking out in shingles because I was so stressed out. At that point, I told myself that if my career is having a negative impact on my health, something’s wrong. I decided to dive deep, finally reflecting on when was the last time I felt my best, and what I was doing when I felt my best? I realized that it was when I was prioritizing my health and my wellness journey by supporting and balancing my mental, physical, and emotional well-being. I knew that being healthy is so much more than what you’re putting in your body and the exercises you’re doing daily.
Your environment, relationships, and your lifestyle habits have a heavy impact on a complete state of health! In 2017, I decided to take my health into my own hands, get my life back on track, and get my health coaching certification. The pursuit of the certification, at first, was mainly for my own personal growth but also in hopes of utilizing it in the future to help women everywhere too. It felt like something I should be doing.
Once you began your new path, how quickly did your previous perceptions of life change?
Pretty instantaneously! It really allowed me to reevaluate every aspect of my life. I left my job. I let go of friendships that were no longer serving me and, to be honest, were dragging me down to start!
During this time, I woke up one morning feeling this pull for the east coast. I wondered, “Why is New York calling my name?” I thought, “I’m a very introverted person, and New York is scary and loud and too busy for me.” But for some reason, I had this feeling that was guiding me there. So, I ended up leaving San Diego, and I went to New York with no plan. I had no job, no place to live, no friends, nothing. I just packed up and left and moved there and started figuring it out once I arrived. Now, looking back, I wonder why did I think that was okay? You never move somewhere and start your own business with no network! But it’s what led me to where I am now and helped me create my business. I’m so grateful for that experience.
It helped you kick into high gear and exercise your true resourceful nature.
Exactly! Getting scrappy and saying yes to every opportunity! No longer emotionally or socially hiding in the shadows. Every time I met someone; I would ask them to go to coffee. I began attending every event I was invited to no matter how tired I was. It really helped build my confidence. I met more people and networked more in that small amount of time arriving in New York than I had in my entire life. My life was network, network, network! No matter who it was, even if it didn’t seem beneficial. I would meet with people and connect with them, find some common ground to be able to help one another out. There is room for everyone! When you help others, you’re helping yourself too.
In New York, I launched my first business. It’s a part of what I’m doing now, called Camp Conscious. I was hosting retreats in the US and Mexico, bringing together influential women and founders of companies to fly out for a few days filled with inspiring discussions, wellness treatments & other activities that benefit our general well-being.
I lived in New York up until COVID, and that’s when the crash of Camp Conscious happened. It was a company that was going full force and growing in a big way, and then, overnight, it completely crashed. It was one of those moments where the blessing was in disguise. I suddenly had zero income, and it allowed me to really redirect and pivot into what we now call My Girl Wellness. And Camp Conscious is now back in action under the My Girl umbrella. I probably would have never been able to get there without the obstacle of COVID coming in and putting the first business on pause.
Explain the importance of following your IGS, the Internal Guidance System.
Whenever I’m feeling lost or hitting a major roadblock in my life, I always lean into my Internal Guidance System. If I find myself in a moment asking myself, “Why is this happening to me?” I reframe that thought into, “What am I learning from this situation?” Or “Where is this taking me?” I know the evidence will be revealed soon for the reason why my plans stopped moving in one direction and into another. Over the years, I’ve really learned that even when I’m not sure where a road is going to take me, following that deep knowing and feeling within me has always benefited me. It may not be how I always planned it out, but it always leads me to something even greater than I imagined. When I’ve tried to fight it, I’m always presented with a very humbling lesson. It’s essential for me to follow my IGS!
With your passion, self-reliance, and your self-care, what have you created from strengthening those aspects in your life?
With My Girl Wellness, my mission is to encourage and inspire other women to do the same. My role is to create a safe space for any woman to come and immediately feel welcomed no matter who they are or what situation they are in. It’s a place of community, education, non-judgment, and just free rein to discuss all things that we go through on a daily basis as women. We open up about everything from periods to pooping, hormones to gut problems, relationships, and career goals. There is no rock that goes unturned! We are that voice of support, understanding, and reason. I have created a community that shuts down the taboo for women to give voice to things that we experience! Because, when more of us are talking about it as women in a collective, the loneliness disappears.
What are the ages of women you support in My Girl Wellness?
Women of any age who find themselves asking, “Who am I?” And wishing they had a place to connect. The general age demographic is late 20s, 30s. But to me, age is insignificant when it comes to our community because we all have something in common. We’re all women, and we all go through these experiences together.
Is My Girl Wellness an online community?
Yes, we’re all online so anyone has access to us. We also offer in-person experiences through Camp Conscious where we have these similar discussions in a retreat setting with summits and seminars. We bring together guest speakers to host discussions on relevant and exciting topics.
With both My Girl Wellness and Camp Conscious, we also highlight various brands that we personally support and want other women to learn about and get to know because we feel they are a benefit for everyone.
Tell me about the products you have created from My Girl Wellness
I wanted to be able to offer women natural solutions to everything that we talk about in our discussions. My company began with the support of gut health. With the help of an award-winning formulation team of experts. MGW created a 3-step system of supplements to support your gut and overall well-being. It’s called the Better Belly System. We have a daily probiotic that helps support immunity and just overall digestion, and for women who suffer from IBS, Crohn’s, colitis, etc. It’s great for travel bugs, and for people who are on antibiotics. Then we have Eat Your Heart Out. This is a digestive enzyme that helps speed up your digestion and rid you of bloating and gas. As we get older, the digestive enzymes in our stomachs start to decrease, which is why our bodies slow down. Adding in digestive enzymes will help support and absorb all the nutrients from the food that we’re consuming. And then, last but not least, we came out with a product called, You Go Girl. For a lack of a better term, we call it a woman’s poop pill. It’s a natural herbal blend that helps support daily movements and heal your system from constipation because, the secret’s out! Girls poop! I know we’ve tried to hide it for so long, but a lot of us struggle.
I developed this product to really help support the issue and create a comfortable space to talk about it. I mean, why not? It’s something that we go through, and it’s natural.
And for anyone who is reading this article, I’m happy to offer a 15% discount with the code INSPIRED15 to anyone who is interested.
What other exciting things can we expect from you this year?
So many things! The first thing you can expect is a baby girl that I am about to bring into the world this month! She will be the guiding force of everything we do at My Girl. She will amplify my continued inspiration of everything that I do! She is the reason I want to pave the way for the future of women.
As far as our product line, MGW will be launching into new categories of women’s daily wellness, starting this summer. There will be new products coming out that we’re in the thick of developing right now. We are very excited about it.
Who would you thank for being a major inspirational influence in your life?
Every single woman who is a part of my community! Each message and story that is shared of someone’s driving force and their ‘why’ as a woman is really what lights me up inside and keeps me going.
What is the best way for people to find and follow you?
My IG handle is @mygirlwellness, and our website is www.mygirlwellness.com. My personal Instagram is @taylaburke. Feel free to message us, ask us questions, and reach out. We are super interactive with our followers and community! We would love to hear your story and find a way to help!
