Hi! I'm Jess and I am so grateful you are here.
I eat, sleep and breathe Yoga - but my life wasn't always this way: I used to boast about my
12-year career in the Environmental industry and how busy I was. I was running
sales meetings, pursuing high-level government proposals and designing internal
marketing tools... all while I had two little kiddos at home.
Exhausted ALL THE TIME, I kept putting aside the subtle cues my body
was giving me - until I got very sick. What started out as strep throat turned
into a terrible blood infection and an iron level of 3 (30 is low for women).
My doctor was amazed I was even standing, let alone managing a busy career and
two babies at home.
Yoga was the only place where I felt like ME again. When I first started yoga I would come
to my practice to try and remove racing thoughts from my head, almost like I
could beat them away with a stick. Now, after two kids, marriage, and a total
burnout from a busy career, I know that's not really how it works.
I didn’t want another productivity hack — I wanted my nervous system to stop screaming.
I loved yoga, but I didn’t know how to make it mean something in my reallife.
Then I took my Yoga Teacher Training. We meditated every morning for 2 weeks
straight and it was really, really hard!! But what happened is that I
actually started to listen to the thoughts in my head and realized that I
wanted something deeper. I wanted to not only find balance in my own life, but
to create a space where busy, working people could come together and learn the tools that can help them re-connect with their inner self again. That's when Grace & Flow was born.
Over the last 9 years, I have learned, with great difficulty.... to slow down.
To watch those racing thoughts come and go. And instead of trying to force them
away, just to get curious.
🌙
Self-care gets a bad rap but really what it comes down to is ~ "taking an active
role in protecting one’s own well-being and happiness, in particular during
periods of stress.”
We are exposed to SO much stimulation. With our smart phones and notifications and
emails...there is a need that we are constantly available. Sometimes
having to put my phone down for an hour and just focus on the actual world in
front of me, can be SO HARD! But then all of a sudden, I can breathe again, and
be less reactionary in my day to day.
Yoga is like this. It is a practice of coming back to your breath, of being aware of the
warm air on your skin, the sun on your face, and the sounds you can hear. It is
self care in it's purest form, so you can just.... be. This has created
a life-long love affair, with Yoga and ultimately, with myself.
If you don’t want another productivity hack, and you want your nervous system to stop
screaming - you are in the right place. Time is our greatest resource, and your
time is precious. Whether you join us for one evening of outdoor yoga or a four
month-long Yoga training, I know you will find peace in this community.
xx Love Jess