Serena Poon CN, CHC, CHN
Founder of Culinary Alchemy®
Serena Poon, CN, CHC, CHN is a leading chef, nutritionist and reiki master to the Hollywood elite. Serena’s passion and career for curating healing and wellness programs using integrative health, holistic nutrition and Culinary Alchemy® began long before she started creating contemporary meals, menus and nutritional goodness for the likes of Jerry Bruckheimer, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, and Kerry Washington.
Serena’s Culinary Alchemy is the practice of combining intuitive energetic techniques with guidance and education on functional & spiritual nutrition, integrating how food affects our bodies on a physiological level, as well as how it affects the energetic body. Serena’s goal is to optimize and heal the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of her clients. She is also the founder of Just Add Water®, a wellness line of super nutrient foods and supplements, and Serena Loves, a lifestyle brand and blog, as well as the host for Serena Loves TV.
connect with Serena Poon CN, CHC, CHN
Q&A
What is your wellness philosophy?
I believe that wellness is about the balance of energy between our physical and emotional bodies and Universal life force energy. I believe that our bodies are incredible and powerful healing systems, and we can create peace within ourselves and with our environment when we empower and nourish our mind, body and soul with high-vibrational food, mindful practices, and intentional, authentic connections.
What brought you into wellness?
I have always had such a love and appreciation for food in that it serves as a universal language of love that transcends all cultures, differences and environments. When my parents both had cancer within a year of each other, I became passionate about learning and understanding as much as possible about nutrition and food. I went on to study the culinary arts at Le Cordon Bleu and continued to dive into different philosophies of nutrition and healing modalities and curated a system of Culinary Alchemy®, which integrates functional nutrition together with Reiki and intuitive energy work.
What does You. We. All. mean to you?
It simply means connection. We are all interconnected, part of a conscious collective, not only with each other, but with all other living things, as well as the Earth. “You. We. All” is a powerful but profound reminder that we are One, connected by the energetic frequency of love and that compassion and kindness for one another, as well as everything else on our planet, will keep us strong and thriving.
What gets you up in the morning?
The honor and opportunity to educate, inspire and serve others with my highest good. Bringing knowledge, wisdom, and awareness to as many people as possible so that they can heal themselves, empower themselves and pass on their experiences to others. I’m driven by service to better those around me, so that they can better those around them. It’s all about creating and sharing an environment of consciousness, thoughtfulness and kindness, and, of course, spreading the light!
What's your favorite ritual?
A 20-minute warm bath with tons of salt and a few drops of lavender. I turn on a guided meditation and just allow myself to listen, relax, center, and flow. Sometimes I will do affirmations and prayers instead of the guided meditation. After I get out of the bath, I rinse off under a cold shower and am completely invigorated after.
What’s your best piece of wellness advice?
Keep it simple and don’t overcomplicate your goals. All our outcomes are attainable and sustainable as long as we just take one step at a time and we are fully present and intentional in our actions. Start by connecting with your inner voice and hearing what your body, your mind and your heart really needs. Start with one adjustment at a time.
What is your mantra?
“Honor your authentic voice and embrace your intuitive truth.” We always know what we truly need in any given situation…what we need for our health, our body, our minds, our hearts, our souls, our happiness. We too often juggle the needs of others, the imposed urgency of time, the expectations of outcomes against what we intuitively know is the right and best thing to do for ourselves. There should be no juggle. Honor your truth. You are incredibly powerful because no one else is you.
