On a mission to make acupuncture more accessible, Michelle Larivee is the founder of WTHN, an acupuncture studio with five locations and a rapidly expanding footprint in New York City. WTHN, which also offers a host of holistic wellness products, is fueling a radical shift in health and wellness, promising a future of preventative care, a more seamless integration of Eastern and Western medicine, and affordable, holistic options. Offering personalized treatment plans that treat concerns such as stress and anxiety, pain, digestion, and fertility, WTHN provides an array of offerings, including acupuncture, cupping, herbal medicine, and acupressure.
Prior to launching WTHN, Larivee spent 12 years in the healthcare and emerging markets space as an investment professional and management consultant. She was inspired to start WTHN following her own health transformation through acupuncture and Chinese medicine after a ski accident left her with chronic pain and a dislocated vertebrae in her neck. It wasn’t until she tried acupuncture that she found relief. Her journey also led her to try other acupressure, cupping, herbal medicine, and more. As a result, she came to the realization that she was sleeping better, feeling less stressed, and not getting sick as often. Struggling with fertility issues, she again turned to acupuncture and herbal medicine. However, when she sought out these services, she discovered how inaccessible they could be—prohibitively expensive, difficult to book, and often offered in places that felt more like a back room than a sanctuary. Reimagining the acupuncture experience, she opened WTHN. Here, she shares the role acupuncture plays in her own life.
What does wellness mean to you?
Wellness, to me, is simple and fluid. It’s not about metrics or how much you do or don’t do, but it’s do you feel generally good most of the time. It’s being able to be happy and joyful regularly. Having meaning and purpose. It’s stress and nervous system regulation. It’s an ongoing conversation with yourself that evolves as life inevitably changes and flows.
What are your favorite things to do to maintain your personal wellbeing?
Weekly acupuncture as the original longevity and preventative healthcare tool for boosting immunity and staying healthy, releasing tight muscles, and calming the nervous system. Daily herbs – I love WTHN’s Daily Glow and Women’s MultiHerbal. I use a walking treadmill whenever I work at home, and I lift weights to invest in my future health.
Is there a specific fitness activity that you love and why?
Hiking or skiing with my family. I love grounding together all day outdoors in nature and disconnecting from devices after a busy week.
What is your favorite healthy food, and do you have a favorite way of preparing it?
I love eggs, and I love to make egg muffins or a frittata with a lot of veggies on Sunday nights that can be easily warmed up for breakfast during the week.
What is your favorite healthy beverage (alcoholic or non-alcoholic), and do you have any insider tips for preparing it?
We always have our signature tea at the WTHN studios. It’s a blend of ginger, lemon balm, and lemongrass. It tastes delicious and is great for boosting immunity and reducing inflammation, as it is full of antioxidants.
What is your greatest wellness achievement?
Shifting from an all or nothing mindset to a more realistic and balanced mindset that is about simple and consistent wellness and 80/20.
What person in wellness do you most admire and why?
Mary Claire Haver, M.D., founder of The ‘Pause Life. She is a trailblazer and raising awareness about perimenopause and menopause. These areas of women’s health that every woman will experience at some point have been under researched, underfunded, and misunderstood for far too long. I’m seeing, firsthand among my friends, the benefits of shining a light on these topics, so we can pursue real solutions.
What is the best piece of wellness advice you have ever received and from whom?
Two related things from my business coach: Our time and energy are our most precious and finite resource and that our bodies are constantly communicating with us. Each person needs something different, so the only way to truly know what you need is to listen to your body and trust your own instincts. For example, if I am feeling more tired than usual on a particular day, I will run through what I ate, what activities I did, and who I spent time with to understand what or who was draining me. Same for a day or time when I’m feeling particularly energized. We can’t always avoid activities or people, but we can bookend. I try to find balance around these, so it is a healthy mix that leaves me feeling calm and energized at the end of a day.
What do you think is the most exciting wellness innovation you have recently discovered?
It is interesting being an ancient medicine-based founder in a world that is increasingly digital and AI-enabled, and I generally think that what we need more of is going back to ancient practices like acupuncture, yoga, and meditation, using food as medicine, BlueZones living, etc. However, the innovative technologies that I’m really excited about are the ones that are preventative diagnostic tools like Prenuvo and Dexa Scans. At WTHN, we are all about empowering through education, and these can provide very powerful knowledge that can be life changing.
What is your idea of balanced healthy happiness?
Feeling energized and engaged but also calm and not overwhelmed because ambition and engagement are aligned with meaning and purpose. Working hard but taking enough time to recover and refuel.
What do you think is the most overused word or words in wellness?
Self-care
Do you have a secret health or wellness tip you would like to share?
Weekly or twice weekly Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture. It’s the original longevity tool and has been around for 3,500 years because it is so effective. Think of it as natural Botox. It lifts and tightens the skin.
What is your favorite place for a healthy vacation or escape?
Canyon Ranch (Tucson AZ) is an incredible combination of nature, cutting-edge therapies, ancient medicine, and delicious food. It’s completely restorative.
Is there a particular wellness company or brand that truly impresses you with their efforts and why?
I really admire Parsley Health because they are bringing integrative, functional health to the world at scale, in a way that consumers can understand. I personally think that until we have a world that is fully bridging Eastern and Western practices, health in the U.S. will continue to trail the rest of the world. People are not living their healthiest, most fulfilled lives. They have been able to break down barriers such as insurance coverage that are impressive to make this happen. I also think that FIGS is doing an amazing job having disrupted a massive industry—scrubs—and is now supporting all different types of healthcare professionals in many ways. Supporting practitioners is near and dear to my heart as our WTHN acupuncturists are the heart and soul of what we do. I see firsthand how hard they work and how deeply they care every day. I admire the community building and advocacy work that FIGS does. Plus, we wear their scrubs at WTHN, and they are the most fashionable and functional out there.
What is your favorite self-care routine?
Closing out the day with my red-light therapy mask, followed by face cupping and gua sha, magnesium body oil, and a good book (usually historical fiction). It’s my way of letting my body know it’s time to shut down and prepare for sleep.
What is your go-to for de-stressing?
Ear seeds and a breathing routine. I apply two to three ear seeds to each ear on stress-focused points, then spend two to three minutes in a deep-breathing routine. I breathe in deeply for four seconds, hold it for seven seconds, and exhale for eight seconds. It is an instant nervous system reset.
What aspect of your wellbeing do you struggle with the most, or would most like to improve?
I have been constantly working to improve my sleep quality for years, and it has gotten better with the many tools, but I do still wake up in the middle of the night often.
What wellness-related books or authors do you recommend, and why?
It is important to find authors who are trusted and use science to back up their claims and philosophy. One of the books I’m excited about coming out soon is Before It Begins by Kellyann Niotis, M.D., a preventative neurologist with incredible research and insights. I also think Own Your Fertility: From Egg Freezing to Surrogacy, Hot to Take Charge of Your Body and Your Future by Jaime Knopman, M.D., and Rebecca Raphael is very empowering and helpful and also a topic that can be misunderstood.
How do you celebrate small victories?
By taking time to recognize and appreciate them.
What brings you joy?
Hearing stories of clients at WTHN whose lives we have changed through the incredible power of acupuncture. Seeing the world through my kids’ eyes with curiosity and openness.
