Gigi Vogel, Founder, De La Heart
Gigi is an entrepreneur and founder of De La Heart, a Miami-based lifestyle brand with a beloved line of clean body and beauty products. Their cult favorite lymphatic body drainage tool has become the must-have wellness item on everyone’s radar. Following many years of self-experimentation and researching the best healing tools for her lifestyle, Gigi realized that it was her calling to share these best-kept secrets with her local community. De La Heart was born out of the love and personal necessity to merge Gigi's passions into one place, making it accessible for herself and other women to experience more balanced and diverse lives.
Gigi's career and education started in the rough-and-tumble realms of fashion, finance, and international business. After years of the emotional and physical toll of working in a fast-paced industry, Gigi looked for accessible and natural alternative practices to restore and find balance in her daily life. While studying to be a health coach at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition (IIN), she became fascinated by the seemingly magical benefits of a plant-based diet and discovered many different natural and holistic approaches to effectively support the body and mind.
Gigi is very much a woman that lives her life aligned to the very practices and lifestyle she promotes through her brand. Most often on social media, you’ll glimpse her in her daily gravity-defying yoga poses, blending up a delicious-looking plant-based smoothie or soup, or practicing lymphatic massage with her brand tools. With such inspiring women, you often wonder how she does it all and still looks so fabulous. With Gigi, there are no hidden secrets. You really see that it comes from true dedication and purpose making it seem possible for other women to set their hearts to living the lives they desire. After all De La Heart translates to “from the heart” and from being an entrepreneur and educator to a mother and wife Gigi does it all with a love and dedication that stems straight from her own.
To shop the products head over to the website and for daily inspiration follow @delaheart on Instagram.
What is your secret to living a high-vibrancy life?
It’s not a secret, but I believe that when you align your thoughts, feelings, words, and actions with your purpose and values the outcome is that you feel more powerful, confident, happy, and capable. Ultimately, this means you’re vibing at a high frequency.
Who is a woo-woo working woman that you admire and why?
I admire every woman out there. The everyday woman, the one that works as well as the one that does not, inspires me; her struggles, her success, her achievements, her fears, her insecurities, etc. Being a woman in today’s world is not an easy task as so much is expected of us at all times. Every single woman who’s moving through this life is worthy of my respect and total admiration.
How do you balance work, wellness, and spirituality?
In my case, all three are interconnected and dependent on each other and, therefore, one can’t survive without the other. They’re all priorities in my life because when I feel healthy and connected, my work is thriving.
Was there any one significant event that moved you onto the path of becoming the woman you are today?
Definitely! They actually were a few events:
My body was shutting down and my health was deteriorating.
I went through a beautiful yet painful romantic relationship that stripped me out of everything and my only tool was to go within. I discovered my spirituality then.
I married the love of my life and I immediately felt like everything clicked. I started living life in full alignment and I thank the Universe daily for the opportunity to move through life in this way.
You’ve built such an incredibly beautiful and holistic brand with De La Heart. You started with an online platform that quickly became a must-follow site in the wellness community. Then, you successfully transitioned to beauty and body products. How did you know what you wanted to do next and what did making that happen look like?
I didn’t! De la Heart was born out of my passion to give back and help others. I’m a giver and I wanted to share my story with the world. I also wanted to show women that, if I was able to turn my life around, so could they. I started writing about my experience, taking classes, and doing a lot of research. I’m so passionate about this work that I didn’t earn a penny for a long time. I eventually stumbled upon a skincare line and learned that beauty had been an unexplored passion of mine for a while. One thing led to the next and everything has and continues to grow organically. There is so much love in what we do that it continues to unfold in the most beautiful way and I’m incredibly grateful for it.
Speaking of all your amazing products, your lymphatic drainage tool is currently all the rage on Instagram and the wellness community. How did you discover lymphatic drainage and what propelled you to create this very specific tool?
I used to write a monthly article for my blog called “the girl of the month”, in which we interviewed and featured female leaders in our local community. One of them told me that her beauty secret was “lymphatic drainage” and, naturally, I booked a session to learn about the procedure. I was hooked and the massage reminded me of when I was growing up in Colombia, my mom used to have these types of massages done except they used a bunch of wooden tools. I called my mom and asked her if, by any chance, she still owned this tool and she actually did! I found a couple of local artisans in Colombia to help me create an updated and bettered version of my mom’s OG tool. Four or five versions later, we perfected and patented the one we currently sell. It’s been quite the journey!
De la Heart was born partly because you struggled with your own health issues and burnout. You’ve spoken about how you took healing into your own hands by becoming self-educated and finding the right practitioners. How would you encourage someone dealing with health issues to navigate and own their own journey?
I believe, when we are able to listen to our inner voice and intuition, nobody knows us better than ourselves. Once you’re able to connect and listen to your body, it will take you in the direction you need to go. The Universe will conspire to put you in front of the people that will contribute to your healing and all you have to do is be brave enough to go with the flow.
What are the skills or attributes you believe have supported you in having such success with healing yourself and building a successful brand?
I was able to accept what is and surrender to the present moment. I stopped fighting divine time. I stopped fighting myself. I stopped punishing myself. Instead, I surrendered to the "what is”. I said “show me where I need to go because I’m here for it” so I show up daily, I’m committed to my practices, and I work super hard. Everything else I let the Universe take care of.
What are the morning and evening routines or rituals that help you stay focused and grounded?
My yoga and meditation practices are the ways I connect to myself and to the divine. They keep me sane, healthy, connected, focused, and most importantly, grounded.
How does one bring an emphasis on mindfulness and wellness into their everyday lives?
In my case, I was sick and tired of feeling like something was off all the time. I carried all these negative feelings and emotions with me that were being reflected in disease, lack of abundance, and poor relationships in my life. It got to a point where I was willing to do anything to feel different. So, I stumbled upon mindfulness and wellness and started to feel better and better. I noticed the change and so did everyone around me. Since then it’s about commitment, and I’m fully committed to feeling great, so I continue to show up and do the work every day…even on days when I don’t want to.
Can you give us a brief overview of what you eat in a day?
I eat mostly plant-based with sprinkles of animal products like eggs, ghee, honey, and occasional dairy. I love to start my day with a large glass of green juice & coffee. I then proceed to eat 3 meals and dinner is always around 5:30-6pm. Unless, of course, I go out for dinner. Smoothies, salads, and soups are my go-to dishes.
What is the one health practice that you most credit with changing your life?
Yoga. When I was able to connect my soul to this physical practice, my life changed and bloomed in the most beautiful way.
What are some of your favorite practices for coming back into the feminine?
I love plant medicine ceremonies and meditation circles. I can’t wait to gather again!
What would the title of your autobiography be?
A Work in Progress.
Absolute favorite healers, practitioners, or products for beauty, health, and wellness?
I love so many! My meditation teacher and guru David Ji, my yoga fairies Deanna Di Carlo, Liz Grant, and Meghan Currie, and for beauty and wellness I love Melissa Wood, Whitney Tingle, Elizabeth Trattner, and Dr. Will Cole to name a few.
Advice to the Woo🖤Woo Working Women out there figuring out how to live their best high-vibrancy life?
The true teacher lies inside of you. All you have to do is connect and listen.
