Meet Melanie Warner Spencer

 

We were lucky to catch up with Melanie Warner Spencer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Melanie , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

Resilience is not a concept I was familiar with as a child or even as a young adult, but looking back, it was at play, most likely via a combination of genetics and circumstances. Stories of my paternal great-grandmother Lucinda, who in her girlhood made the arduous journey from Virginia to Kentucky in a covered wagon, were proudly related by my grandmother, Rebecca, and her sister, Lillian. Lucinda eventually married a man with four children and had Rebecca and Lillian with him. After he died, despite being poor by all accounts, Lucinda raised his children as her own, along with Rebecca and Liillian, by farming, taking in boarders and generally getting by however possible. My maternal great-great-grandfather Xaivier Bitter and his parents and siblings were Swiss-German immigrants and made a new life for themselves in the United States, specifically in Cincinnati, Ohio and then Covington, Kentucky in the 1800s. The farmers and tradespeople who came before me lived through migration, the Great Depression and other hardships and not only survived, but also thrived. Meanwhile, my upbringing also had its share of hardships. Like a lot of children of the 1970s, my parents married young. My mom was 18 and my dad was 21. They had been together since my mom was 14 and they experienced an unplanned pregnancy fairly quickly in their relationship. They were persuaded to give my sister up for adoption and I think they never really overcame the heartbreak. The ensuing years were tumultuous with substance use disorders and anger looming large throughout my childhood. To get through it, I immersed myself in books, which saved me in so many ways, as both a means for escape and, ultimately, a pathway to college. I’m the only person in my immediate family to graduate high school and college. Overcoming obstacles was just something I did and it wouldn’t have ever occurred to me to give up. I think I have my ancestors to thank for that!

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

For over 20 years I’ve worked as a newspaper and magazine journalist, covering everything from city and state politics to art and interior design. A few career highlights are serving as a staff reporter and columnist at the Austin American-Statesman and a senior reporter at the Houston Chronicle; being a freelance stringer for Reuters news agency, Deutsche Welle TV and ABC Australia; and a brief stint as the press secretary and speech writer for a former Texas First Lady. I’m also a fine art and editorial photographer, with my work appearing in juried art exhibitions across the South, as well as in newspapers, magazines and online. My writing, editing and photography have been recognized by the Texas Press Association, Press Club of New Orleans and International and Regional Media Association. In 2024, after nine years spent as the editor of four Louisiana-based magazines, I transitioned to full-time freelance journalism. This has enabled me to bring my “side hustle” as an Ayurvedic counselor, teaching clients and workshop participants how to lead more balanced lives via lifestyle practices like yoga, meditation, breathwork, Ayurvedic nutrition, and other tools for well-being, based on the more than 3,000-year-old life science of Ayurveda. The jump to freelance also affords me more time to devote to Drink Fit Club, an online community I founded in 2021, which is dedicated to helping people navigate booze breaks, educating people about alcohol and its effects on the body and brain and showing people what it looks like to live alcohol-free and party without the booze. Spoiler alert: Life is so much more fun! It’s so satisfying to use my skills and experience as a journalist, combined with my passion and training for yoga, meditation and Ayurveda to meet people where they are, help them feel better and find more balance. With the state of the world and so many of us feeling disconnected from ourselves, one another and nature, it’s clear that I can make the most impact by sharing the tools that have increased my wellbeing and that of so many for centuries. We have the wisdom, we just need to use it! After many years of soul-searching, I’m happy to report I’ve found my purpose.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The qualities that have been most impactful for me throughout my life and career are curiosity, compassion and persistence. Curiosity led me to the education and training I needed for career success as a journalist, and later when I pursued certification as a yoga teacher and Ayurvedic counselor. Curiosity also served me well when I started to consider going alcohol-free and wanted to learn more about how alcohol affects our brains and bodies. I personally don’t think it’s possible to be a journalist without compassion and persistence. It’s important to be able to put yourself in the shoes of the people you are interviewing and covering. Then persistence comes into play when you have to chase down those people to get them to return your calls and emails! My advice to people when it comes to cultivating curiosity is to follow your passions, desires and those little obsessions and see where those lead. Explore hobbies and interests, but let your sense of play and experimentation win out over perfectionism. My greatest tool for cultivating compassion has been meditation. So, meditate. And stay curious during your meditation. A “good” meditation is one that allows for a lot of fumbling, frustration and exploration. Persistence is one of those things that I think we all have to push ourselves on, so for that it’s really about pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones and practice, practice, practice. Aka, be persistent about persistence!

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

So many of us are overwhelmed right now, so it’s more important than ever to double-down on practices that help us navigate the emotional rollercoaster. The most essential tools in my toolbox are limiting my consumption of news and social media (and being diligent about the quality and reputability of news outlets and social accounts I follow); keeping a regular meditation practice; moving my body; nourishing my body with nutritious food; getting enough sleep; spending time in nature; spending time with loved ones (in person); creating beauty; and prioritizing joy.

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