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Women In Wellness: Kim Ross of ORA On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Don’t be afraid to change things if they are not coming together how you liked. In the beginning, I had a clear vision of what I wanted the brand to be, but it was not coming to life as I had hoped. Instead of accepting the status quo, I rethought my approach to the brand and shifted to focus on the physical design — this is when I engaged Rockwell Group to lead the space design and aesthetic. From there, the digital brand came to life.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kim Ross, Founder + CEO of ORA.

After being diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes at age 11 and struggling with health-related issues throughout the years, Kim finally found great relief in acupuncture five years ago. The concept of ORA was conceived during Kim’s time at Harvard Business School, in an attempt to make acupuncture more approachable to others experiencing health issues. Through ORA, Kim continues her mission of helping others feel their best and achieve optimal well-being.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

After being diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes at age 11 and struggling with health-related issues throughout the years, I found great relief through the benefits of acupuncture over six years ago after receiving treatment from Gabriel Sher, now ORA’s Director of Acupuncture. The idea of ORA was conceptualized during my time at Harvard Business School, with the objective to make acupuncture more approachable and accessible to all, especially for those experiencing chronic or general health issues. After ideating on the business for some time, I opened the doors to my own acupuncture wellness destination in New York City, ORA, in March 2020, a sacred space that offers our guests a meditative escape and relief from everyday life.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

After two years of planning and gearing up for the grand opening of ORA’s first location in Noho on March 5, 2020 and then closing 10 days after due to the pandemic has been one of the most eye-opening and interesting experiences for me. During this time, I learned the importance of being agile, and that many things don’t necessarily go as planned. However, there were a lot of positives that came out of this time, including the launch of our e-commerce and digital service offerings, where we were able to still connect with our guests and help them during a time when it was needed the most. In the Summer of 2020 as we continued to navigate the challenges of COVID-19, we also launched at-home service offerings in the Hamptons. Through this, we found we were still able to bring the luxurious experience of ORA to the home, where these fully-customized treatments also included personalized aromatherapy, music, our signature linens, and tonics. Stemming off of the success and receptive feedback of the local community, we were then able to open a seasonal location this past summer in Bridgehampton.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Construction was easily the biggest hurdle I faced when opening my business. I completely underestimated this undertaking and was overly optimistic about how much time it was going to take to finish building out the space. We were, of course delayed, but we were already underway with training our staff and had guests already booked for treatments. A key learning lesson with this was to always ensure I left appropriate buffer time between construction turnover time and the rest. During this time, we actually pulled three all-nighters just to get the space readily prepared for our guests.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

Everyone just wants to feel good and are in constant search of how to feel their best. At the end of the day, for everyone that is something different — whether that means running to the gym, drinking a green juice or listening to a mediation app. For me I really believe that acupuncture is the missing piece to connect mind, body and spirit practices. When I see our guests leaving a treatment feeling better than when they came in, that is a big impact. We have also had success stories with people on their fertility journey, period problems, chronic back pain, anxiety / sleep issues and more! It truly means the most to me that I can see the impact acupuncture has on our customer’s lives well beyond their time in the space.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

My top lifestyle tweaks that I believe will support someone’s journey towards betterment and wellbeing include the following:

  • Obviously I believe that acupuncture is a must for everyone! It helps me with chronic digestive issues (ie. bloating and constipation), along with focus and stress relief.
  • Power walking → I believe this is truly better than any workout and so good for the mind!
  • Eating warm nourishing foods → While I love my salads, sometimes your body just needs a warm bowl of food rather than all the ruffrage of raw veggies.
  • Sleep → Something so obvious, but so necessary.
  • Making sure you’re always incorporating things that are fun for you and that you truly enjoy. I love going out to dinner with friends. It re-energizes me!

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Community style acupuncture. While at ORA we offer our acupuncture services fully private, I do believe that this style is beneficial in making acupuncture the most affordable and accessible by allowing those interested in exploring the benefits of TCM to do so in a larger group setting.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

  • Don’t be afraid to change things if they are not coming together how you liked. In the beginning, I had a clear vision of what I wanted the brand to be, but it was not coming to life as I had hoped. Instead of accepting the status quo, I rethought my approach to the brand and shifted to focus on the physical design — this is when I engaged Rockwell Group to lead the space design and aesthetic. From there, the digital brand came to life.
  • A pandemic is coming [just kidding] but seriously, even though I learned a lot during this time, I wish I could have been more prepared!
  • Interviewing and hiring is hard. However, at the end of the day, nothing is more important than building a team and working well together.
  • Everyone has opinions and it’s important to listen and always improve, but also know that at the end of the day no one truly knows what the right answer is and we’re all on this learning journey together.
  • While it is cliche, I do believe that everything happens for a reason. Starting a business is a journey and definitely has a lot of curves with a lot of ups and downs, but try to embrace the ride as much as possible!

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Definitely mental health. We see so many guests at ORA who are struggling with mental health. While mental health is often disguised, it should not be forgotten and I think providing more awareness is important so that people can get the help they need.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

Please visit our website at www.oraspace.com or follow us on Instagram @ORAspace

Thank you for these fantastic insights!


Women In Wellness: Kim Ross of ORA On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.