March 2022 Newsletter
Welcome friends! Thank you for signing up for my newsletter and for being a part of my growing community. Each month I will share with you more of my personal journey and the things I am learning, teaching, reading, and loving. I hope that you will find something that speaks to your heart and leads you toward healing and happiness in your own life.
What I am learning:
Recently I began seeing a pelvic floor physical therapist to help me with some issues related to having kids, growing older, and not using proper breathing techniques for a large part of my life. It has been an incredible learning experience. I teach women to release stress from their bodies and practice the techniques I teach daily in my morning routine, however, as I worked with my physical therapist, I recognized I was ignoring this vital area in my practice. As I have continued my stress relief practices with more awareness, I have had incredible results. I also learned from her that we can work to retrain our brain with breath and movement. Our bodies are so amazing! I am working on a video sharing some of the exercises I have learned from her that have been very beneficial. If this is an area of interest to you let me know.
What I am teaching:
This month I am finishing the first round of teaching my newly-released course, “The Mindful Life Method”. It has been an amazing experience to witness the ladies’ growth and see the physical change in them as they have worked through this course. I have felt honored to accompany them on this journey to rediscover themselves. The next course will begin in April.
Every Tuesday morning, I teach yoga with one of my dear friends from high school. Each month we choose a theme to focus on and I teach the grounding, breathwork, and savasana (relaxation) portion of the class and Lori teaches the asana or posture portion of the class.
Every Wednesday evening, I have an amazing group of ladies that join me for a gentle yoga class. We have built a beautiful community of women and I look forward to teaching them each week.
Once a month I host a women’s hiking group for ladies in my local area of Southern Utah. We have had two successful hikes and are looking forward to our next outing on March 19th.
If any of these classes are of interest to you, please reach out to me for more information.
What I am reading:
I am currently reading the book “Conscious Breathing” by Gay Hendricks. I always love learning more about pranayama or breathwork. There is a wealth of information in this book and so many treasures I could share. One part that caught my attention, as I recently traveled to Hawaii, was something he shared about a couple of Hawaiian words: He says “There is a Hawaiian word, ohana, that in its contemporary usage means “family.” Its older meaning encompassed a wider community, literally “people who breathe together”. When I visited Hawaii, I had the pleasure of meeting a few “aunties” who taught me more about their culture and background. They taught me about the way that they greeted each other traditionally-by pressing foreheads and noses together as both people inhale. This beautiful gesture of love and respect signifies the sharing of sacred breath and energy. They also shared with us that those not from the islands, or those they call “haoles”, mean “people without breath”. How beautiful would it be if we viewed our breath as the sacred gift it is and instead of breathing in and out each day without awareness, we became more mindful in our breath and built a community of people who breathe together. The aunties taught me through their loving acceptance what that might look like. People sharing openly their hearts and minds, their talents and gifts, building one another up, laughing, and loving life. Who wants to begin breathing and creating this community with me?
What I am loving:
I was introduced to Sarah Blondin’s meditations by one of my students and I have loved her powerful meditations. I have read and re-read her book “Heart Minded” and can’t recommend it enough.
I would love to hear from you and learn more about each one of you. Please reply and tell me, what are you most interested in these days?
Sending you all love and light,
Jessica
