Five For Friday: Denise Mari

One of my favorite ways to nourish myself is with raw foods and fresh-pressed juices and from the moment I first tasted Organic Avenue’s Green Lemonade, it was love at first sip. Founder Denise Mari just makes wellness look good. She’s a fierce entrepreneur and I’m inspired by the empire she has built on her own personal values that a LOVE (Live, Organic, Vegan, Experience)-based lifestyle can benefit everyone. Now with 7 locations across Manhattan and Long Island (and two more opening soon), she has proven it true.

Q1. What is the #1 wellness practice you live by? That thing that you do every day without fail because it revs you up from the inside out.

A. There is nothing I do every day/no fail … yet a combination of the things that I do regularly that keep me on the path … hydrate-eliminate-meditate. I would say those are the three keys if you wanted to distill it down. Hydrate with fresh pressed juices, pure alkaline spring water. Eliminate – just as taking out the garbage in your house is essential for clean smells free from bugs it’s the same with the body. Regular, daily eliminations are essential and a juicy LOVE* food diet will aid with that. There are supplements and colonics to help get a jump start. Also, meditation is essential for a balanced, healthy life. Meditation aids with keeping a positive outlook and reducing stress, along with the lesser known art of (wo)manifesting which I feel the power of meditation aids greatly in calling in all you wish to be and do in life.

*LIVE.ORGANIC.VEGAN.EXPERIENCE

Q2. The premise of the blog is that wherever you are in life, is exactly where you need to be. How did you get to where you are today?

A. Faith in my purpose and the perseverance that follows a true calling.

Q3. What was your biggest transformation along the way?

A. Greater patience … you know know it’s going to happen the way you envision it ultimately yet you just don’t know exactly when it will take form.

Q4. If you could only own five items, what would they be?

A. iPhone, Airbook, my car, my apartment, a perfect dress … I would rent everything else.

Q5. What is the theme song for your life right now and why?

A. IT’S A GOOD DAY BY ICECUBE .. ’cause it is.

About Denise Mari

Founder, Chairman/Executive Director, Denise Mari holds the Vision and directs the expression of Organic Avenue’s LOVE*. She holds a Masters in Education and continues to pursue cutting edge health education (hydrotherapy, phlebotomy, live blood analysis, holistic health and living food lifestyle counseling). She is also pursuing a traditional Masters Degree in Human Nutrition at Bridgeport University. Denise founded Organic Avenue in 2000 when she combined her love for wholefoods, healing, ahimsa/ vegetarianism and entrepreneurship. Being inspired by the power of the Web and the implications that a LOVE*based lifestyle could benefit ALL by being made: convenient, accessible, affordable, delicious, nutritious and fun!  She persisted at launching a home-based business that attracted a wide variety of dedicated clients and tested her hypothesis that her vision for a *Live, Organic, Vegan, Experience would be welcome in New York City.

From classes in food preparation, to community gatherings, to cleanse programs and health-promoting retreats she continues to reinvent and refine the offerings of Organic Avenue. Denise studies Vipassana meditation and Dharma Mittra yoga. She has travels extensively in search of truth, LOVE* and well-being. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her son, Oliver.