Hi :) I’m Mary Jelkovsky
My mission is to empower YOU to love yourself unconditionally.
I know what it’s like to look in the mirror and hate the reflection.
I’ve felt the pain of never feeling thin enough, pretty enough, successful enough...
I’ve heard that voice inside my head constantly whispering that something is missing.
And I’ve tried to fill that void with restrictive diets, endless exercise, and trying to achieve “the perfect body.”
Through my books, podcast, and self-love retreats, I have created a community of women who are ready to love themselves exactly as they are.
It wasn’t so long ago that I too felt completely lost, broken, and disconnected from my body
I started sharing my story on Instagram at @maryscupofteaa in hopes to connect and inspire others to accept themselves exactly as they are. Today, Mary’s Cup of Tea has touched millions of women around the world via the book, journal and podcast.
This chronic feeling of "i'm not enough" combined with a toxic mix of diet culture and beauty standards led me right into an 8-year battle with an eating disorder.
… and that voice you are hearing? The one whispering that something is missing - that’s your soul begging you to stop trying to be somebody else.
After a long road to recovery, I finally started listening to that voice and realized that in order to truly love yourself, you have to allow yourself to take up space in this world, unapologetically.
Join us on this self-love journey.
mary
lots of love,
my fav quotes
" One day you will believe that the love you give is also the love you deserve."
- Alexandra Elle
"How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you."
- Rupi Kaur
"You have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens."
- Louise L. Hay
"Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.”
- Brené Brown
so need this!
fuel your soul with
my self-love playlist
300+ songs to boost your mood & inspire self-love. Drop me your email and I’ll send you my self-love playlist!
here's a pick-me-up for the days you need it.
Umm … Mary, you forgot to tell us, what's in that cup of tea?!
I’ll do you one better, here are a feW
fun facts
about me!
Most of my time is spent either podcasting or connecting with people both online and in-person. Hence why I started hosting self-love retreats!
I LOOOVE PEOPLE! … AND, IF YOU CAN’T TELL - I AM A TALKER.
01.
So, when I played ‘house’ with other kids, they would only let me be the dog. Easy, right? All I had to say was “woof”, BUT in Russian, dogs say «гаф» (pronounced “gaff”). Then, kids ended up making fun of me for that! Poor, little Mary. Jokes on them though … now I talk for a living!! 🤗
My first language is Russian and in pre-school, I barely knew English.
02.
and learning more about new cultures and the places I visit. Bali has a special place in my heart because it’s where I found a lot of my healing and hosted one of my first retreats! Next on the bucket list is Japan, Peru, and Tanzania!
I love traveling
03.
She’s ten years younger than me but is the most creative, confident person I know. I even have her name tattooed on my arm!
My little sister, Ilana, is my biggest inspiration, my best friend, and the one who kept me going during my difficult times.
04.
I live in Phoenix, Arizona with my boyfriend and fur-baby, Mr. Goose (a rescue Pittie)!
05.
I like green tea too, but be warned ... the caffeine will have me bouncing off the walls after two cups!!
As for my cup of tea - I love a cup of good ol’ earl grey (the Russian in me).
06.
Here is a glimpse of
The road to healing is not always easy. It means choosing yourself over and over again .
Being a first generation American, I always felt the need to perform and achieve from a young age.
adolescent years
2013
By age 16, I was consumed by disordered eating and an obsession with exercise. Shortly after, I began competing in bikini fitness competitions.
After freaking out on my mom for buying me a “calorie-packed mocha”, she responded in a way that changed my life forever
MOVING TO CANADA
2015
I stopped competing, quit dieting and moved to Canada to start fresh. This ended up being the beginning of my healing and self-love journey.
My little sister Ilana is 10 years younger than me, but she is an incredible model of self-confidence and continues to be my biggest inspiration
love you ilana
obsessed
with exercise
MARY's CUP OF TEA IS BORN
2017
After healing my mind, body and spirit it became my mission to share my story and inspire people around the world to love themselves. Mary’s Cup of Tea was born.
TEDX TALK
2019
I began speaking publicly and quickly realized that I LOVE fostering environments for breakthroughs to happen. Watch my TEDx Talk "Our bodies are not an image".
Enter Retreats by Mary! After years of isolating myself, I realized that community is a key component in healing. Now, I host self-love retreats to bring together like-minded women who are on the same self-love journey.
community
is key
I believe that self-love should be accessible to everyone. So, I started a self-love podcast to share tools for confidence, empowerment, and body-image healing!
My experience in life coaching quickly blossomed into Beyond Body, an online self-love retreat. I was able to help so many incredible women that I decided ...
REtreats by mary
2019
… to write a book!! The Gift of Self-Love is my heart and soul. Written like a letter to a close friend, this inspiring and interactive self-love workbook is your guide towards more self-love.
published A BOOK
2021
embrace the journey
released a journal
2022
I created 100 Days of Self-Love: A Guided Journal to serve as a metaphorical multivitamin, your daily dose of self-love. The prompts in this journal will keep you going (read: growing) and help you stay connected to self-love.
A few of my favorite things
Grab a cup of tea and get ready for some self-lovin'!
Tune into hundreds of episodes filled with tools for self-love.
Short on time? Here are my top three fav episodes...
subscribe on apple
follow on spotify
002:
How to Fall in Love with Yourself
01.
the podcast
What is self-love? Most people think about self-love all wrong. Mary explains how you can truly fall in love with yourself.
030:
Tips for Bad Body-Image Days
Bad body-image days happen to all of us, so it’s important that we learn how to handle them with self-compassion. Tune in to hear practical tips for those negative body-image days.
054:
5 Questions to Ask Yourself for More Self-Love
These are questions that will help you create more peace, joy, and (self) love in your life.
You already know that I love people, traveling and collective healing.
So it won’t be a surprise that going on an adventure with you and a group of retreat sisters is the dream for me. Here are a few of my most treasured retreat moments!
02.
retreat memories
learn more about retreats by mary
core values
Our values are the driving force behind every step we take.
in everything we do
Whatever you're going through, you don't have to go through it alone. At Mary’s Cup of Tea we aim to create an inclusive community of womxn who are all on a self-love journey.
community
Brene Brown defines connection as “the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.”
Connection
Compassion is contagious. The more we are compassionate towards ourselves, the more compassion we have to give to others. We care deeply about every single person we encounter.
Compassion
Everyone belongs here, including you. We respect, appreciate, and celebrate all races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, and any other identities. So come as you are, we love you already.
Inclusivity
We do our best to be integrous to our core values at all times, whether it’s posting something on social media or putting together a transformational self-love retreat. If at any point we make a mistake, we will own up to it and fix it with integrity.
