December 2023 Newsletter
Welcome friends!
I am so grateful for each one of you and the connections with you through my hikes, classes, and retreats throughout this year. I am so grateful for your continued support and involvement and look forward to seeing you at new offerings this next year. I have attached a short survey to help me as I begin planning events for 2024. I would appreciate it if you would take a few min to fill it out so I can plan activities and events that will best meet the needs of this amazing group of women. Thank you! Thank you for reading my newsletter where each month I will continue to share with you more of my personal journey and things I have been learning, teaching, reading, and loving. My hope is that you will find something that speaks to your heart and leads you toward healing and happiness in your own life. Please feel free to share this email with any friends or family who you feel may benefit from it as well.
What I am learning:
In November, I had two amazing opportunities to further my knowledge and connect with other incredible women. I learned so much from both the facilitators and the other attendees at both events. The first opportunity was a training with Melody Ross to become a Soul Road Master Teacher, where I was certified to guide others through art healing and soul work. One of my biggest takeaways from this transformative week was the reminder that each of our stories are so important. The way we tell our story and what we believe about our story can either guide us to be our very best or can hold us back from fully living in our life and also that we are each the authors of our story and we can begin to write a new chapter in our story anytime. I loved spending time being creative and having fun, while at the same time diving deep into healing.
I transitioned from this beautiful experience to a women’s retreat on the beautiful island of Kauai. The theme of the retreat was Kaheawi, to flow like water. I knew this retreat was something my soul needed and as soon as I arrived on the island I felt grounded and peaceful. Throughout the week I was reminded how important it is to connect with others and also how important it is for us as women to take time for self-care. I was reminded how amazing we as women are, especially when we use our words and actions to lift and build and strengthen one another. We truly are better when each of us shows up using our intuition, gifts, and our own unique voice.
What I am offering:
Every Tuesday evening at 8:00 pm MST, I have an amazing group of ladies that join me for a yoga class with breathwork and guided meditation. We have built a beautiful community of women and I look forward to teaching them each week. This is an online class and we always love when new friends join. First class is free and cost is $5 each class after.
Once a month I host a free women’s hiking group for ladies in my local area of Southern Utah. Our next outing will be on December 9th at 9 am. We are planning to hike the Elephant Arch Trail in St George. It is rated moderate on All Trails and is approx. 4 miles. Stay tuned for updates or changes due to weather. I look forward to seeing you all on the trail!
I am offering private, in-home (or online) yoga lessons for those looking for more personalized attention. This offering is not on my website currently so please reach out via email if a personalized yoga session is of interest to you.
I am also selling homemade herbal salves on my website. Choose from Calendula, Pine, Rosemary, or Calendula mixed with Rosemary. The calendula and rosemary salves are made from homegrown organic herbs and the pine salve is carefully harvested from Pinion pines in the Southern Utah area. These salves have many beneficial properties and are a great addition to your home first aid kit and make a wonderful Christmas gift or stocking stuffer.
If any of these offerings are of interest to you, please reach out to me at joyfulbalancedhealth@gmail.com
What I am reading:
I have been listening to a series of classes by Carole Friesen from the Lightworkers Institute, in preparation for a live training with her in February. The classes focus on how our bodies are a reflection of our life experiences and thoughts. Through my yoga teacher training, I learned several somatic practices and began to see the impact of involving not just the mind, but the body, in healing. I have loved learning and reading more about somatic practices and feel so much excitement about diving deeper into this area of learning.
One takeaway from my listening so far has been about the importance of our foundation, our feet. Learning to stand and walk in alignment builds the foundation for all the rest of the work with our body. Another insight I loved in the training was about gratitude and with our recent Thanksgiving celebration here in the US, I felt this was a timely message to share. Carol says “Spend a moment in gratitude of your beautiful body and all it does for you.
Two psychologists, Michael McCollough of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas and Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis, conducted an experiment on gratitude and its impact on well-being. They found that those in the gratitude group experienced less depression and stress, were more likely to help others, exercised more regularly, and made greater progress toward achieving personal goals. Gratitude means thankfulness, counting your blessings, noticing simple pleasures, and acknowledging everything that you receive.”
What I am loving:
As we come to the final month of 2023, I want to express my love and gratitude for each one of YOU! Thank you for your support, your encouragement, and your confidence. I absolutely loved spending time with each of you this year at my monthly womens hikes, at my weekly yoga classes, and at my retreats. The opportunity to offer what I have learned through life experiences, trainings, reading and studying, with each of you has brought me so much joy and happiness. Thank you and I LOVE YOU!
Sending you all love and light,
♥️Jessica