Yoga has been around for thousands of years—but according to Gwyneth Paltrow, it wasn't until she began touting its mental and physical benefits that Western culture adopted the practice. "I remember when I started doing yoga and people were like, 'What is yoga? She's a witch. She's a freak,''" the actress recalls in WSJ. Magazine's December/January issue. "Forgive me if this comes out wrong," Paltrow continues, "but I went to do a yoga class in L.A. recently and the 22-year-old girl behind the counter was like, 'Have you ever done yoga before?' And literally I turned to my friend, and I was like, 'You have this job because I've done yoga before.'"

Paltrow may be giving herself too much credit, but there's no denying her influence in the wellness world. Long before she turned Goop from a newsletter into "contextual commerce," the 46-year-old businesswoman regularly advised friends on what to buy and experience. As it grew in popularity, she turned it into a full-fledged operation. "It's really about finding things that we love, whether it's a restaurant down the street here or a face product or whatever, and we write about why we love it, and then it converts really well," Paltrow says. Going forward, she wants the brand can "stand on its own two feet" without her name association. "Part of me thinks it's good for Goop that I also am still Gwyneth Paltrow," she adds. "Over time, it would be great if somebody else could do that, especially since, you know, I'm not like a 20-year-old."