“Soulful Sundays” captures KORA Organics holistic wellness ethos with weekly offerings such as meditation, journal prompts, and book suggestions. It encourages readers to pause, reflect and refresh, equipping them with mindfulness tools to start their week centered and empowered.

Vienna Pharaon is an acclaimed therapist and author whose work resonates deeply with our ethos of holistic wellness and self-love. She is a beacon for those seeking to navigate life’s complexities through reflection and healing, aligning perfectly with KORA Organics’ commitment to nurturing the mind, body, and spirit. Vienna’s approach combines over 25,000 hours of therapeutic expertise with a personal journey into mindfulness. As we explore her insights and practical strategies for addressing things like worthiness, trust, and safety, Vienna’s emphasis on gentle, compassionate self-discovery complements our philosophy of empowering individuals toward a balanced and harmonious life. Join us in embracing Vienna Pharaon’s wisdom, a true embodiment of our approach to holistic well-being. 

On her book, The Origins of you

I wrote The Origins of You because I wanted people to have access to the work that I was doing with all of my clients. So many people will never go to therapy. They might not have the opportunity to, the resources, or even the desire to go work with someone, so I wanted to create a resource where someone could dive into this work from the comfort of their own home and work through it at a pace that works for them. 

I’ve worked with individuals, couples, and families for over 25,000 hours of direct face-to-face therapeutic work, and what I’ve found is that what keeps us from living the lives and having the relationships we so desperately want and crave is an irresolution around things that happened in our past, often in childhoods, that we’ve never properly healed.

The Origins of You walks you through the five main origin wounds (worthiness, belonging, prioritization, trust, and safety) and how those wounds are still showing up and dictating your life and relationships today. This work changed my life personally, but I’ve also had a front-row seat and the deep honor of watching origin healing work change the lives of so many of my clients too. 

Here, we speak to Vienna more in-depth about her book and her approach. 

On her daily wellness routine.

I value and honor my senses when it comes to wellness. That means scent, sound, and touch are important to me. In the mornings, I light Palo Santo, turn meditation music on, and make sure the fabric on my body is what I want it to be that day. I do this after work too. In the evenings, I call it “de-rolling”. I’m shifting from the role of working to the role of not working. That’s definitely evolved over time because I’m in the role of “mama” now too, which makes this practice even more important. I’m met with a little munchkin at the end of my day, which doesn’t give me much time to transition, but scent, sound, and touch help me reconnect. 

I take baths as much as possible. After my kiddo goes to sleep, it’s important that my husband and I get a chance to connect, but I also need my alone time. I reflect in the bath, I slow down there, and I have a beautiful opportunity to connect with myself in a different way. 

TRY OUT: Renewing Hand & Body Wash 

Wellness is also movement and nature for me. We live in upstate New York now, and I’m lucky to have serenity around me. Getting out into nature regulates and restores. Moving my body is beautiful medicine. Meditations happen in motion. 

On how mindfulness practices influence personal and professional relationships.

In absolutely every possible way! Relationships require it. There is no way around this. You must be willing to zoom out of the moment and see yourself and the other person through a new lens. To become self and relationally aware is an incredible gift. One where we can see that our current behavior makes sense in context. Their current behavior makes sense when we can access the context, story, and history. Context is not an excuse, but when we care deeply about people (and honestly, even when we don’t), it helps us humanize them and see them differently. This is so important when moving through hard moments in relationships. I cover this in-depth in the book and explore how to move through conflict, communication breakdowns, and boundary ruptures when we’re activated and upset. 

Your Sunday journal prompt:

I’ll offer two:

What I needed most as a child but didn’t get was…

Don’t rush past this one. I know it can be uncomfortable and confronting, but let yourself answer it. And to answer it without explaining why they couldn’t give it to you. Just name what it was and put a period at the end of the sentence. Sit with it, notice what gets activated, and notice where you feel that in your body.

I’m most reactive when… with whom….

We want to pay close attention to our reactivity. I always say it’s a neon sign pointing us toward what’s unresolved in our lives. Reactivity is big information for us. And when you start to be in a relationship with it, you’ll likely find it pointing you to one of the origin wounds. Might you be reactive in this moment because you’re not feeling worthy/valued/important, you don’t feel a part of something, you’re not being prioritized, trust is in question, or you’re not feeling safe or secure? See what you might be able to identify. 

As we engage with Vienna’s insights and integrate the practices of mindfulness and reflection into our routines, we are reminded of the transformative power of self-awareness and healing. This synergy between KORA Organics’ ethos and Vienna’s therapeutic wisdom offers a comprehensive approach to wellness, inviting us to explore the depths of our being and embrace the journey towards a more balanced, enlightened, and harmonious existence. Together, they guide us in crafting a life filled with purpose, peace, and genuine self-love, underscoring the belief that true beauty and well-being start from within.