hello!

Welcome to Mele Living! I’m Melisande and Mele is one of my nicknames. In Hawaiian mele means to sing or to be merry. Good health is everyone's natural mode of being and yet sometimes we need coaching to make positive, transformational changes to stay or get back on track. My goal is to help people live every day with health freedom and a merry spirit.

My path to wellness began in my mid-30’s after my two children were born. I navigated through metabolic issues, severe adrenal exhaustion and postpartum depression. I realized that I had taken my good health for granted and needed to figure out how to get it back. Pursuing alternative medical approaches to heal myself, I took supplements and herbs to boost my mood, completed detox cleanses, and made improvements in my diet and exercise routines. I began a regular spiritual practice which included mindful meditation, yoga, and prayer. And I studied with an energy healer focusing on identifying and healing emotional wounds. Now, over 20 years later, I am more healthy than ever before and believe in the value of extraordinary self care as a path to health freedom.

Another passion of mine is sourcing nutritional food. In my 40’s, I found myself managing as a single mom, feeling disconnected from the earth and dealing with Chicagoland’s limited access to organic food. To forge a wholesome lifestyle for my family, I designed and created an organic edible garden in my back yard with fruit trees, berry bushes, and every vegetable that could grow in Chicago’s climate. I composted our food scraps and yard clippings, collected rain water in barrels, and re-used buried stepping stones to create garden paths. My children and I would pick healthy food for our meals, sometimes eating right out there in the veggie and raspberry patches. When each day was coming to a close, we would leave the hustle and bustle of the city behind, walk through our back gate, and enjoy our own tranquil, wholesome and edible environment. 

Finding beautiful and serene places for people to call home was my next endeavor, working as a realtor, designer and stager. I witnessed the joy people experienced when we found them a home they loved and the calming effect when we decluttered and staged their home for sale. This experience taught me that an important part of health and wellbeing is found in a person’s surroundings, in a home with the right layout and design, and with clean, decluttered and simplified space.

Now at 60, the mother of two amazing young adults in their 20’s, I enjoy an active lifestyle including hiking, swimming, and running. I practice breath work and yoga. And I feed my creative side by making art, taking photographs and gardening. I created Mele Living to bring together my wealth of knowledge gained from scientifically-based coursework and my own self care practices. As a health coach, I offer clients expert guidance towards achieving the positive health outcomes that they desire and living a vigorous and happy life.