February 2024 Newsletter

Hello friends! January seemed to fly by this year! My month was brightened as I spent time with old and new friends on our monthly women’s hike. It was our biggest turnout yet and we had a wonderful time together enjoying the beauty of Southern Utah. I was honored to host a retreat for an amazing group of women and found myself excitedly looking forward to hosting more retreats this summer. 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. I also hope that these newsletters will encourage deeper connection with yourself, as you contemplate the thoughts and questions. Please know I always love reading your responses and insights if you are willing to share. In the spirit of sharing, 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:

I am learning how important it is to be intentional in all that we do. I often find myself moving through life routinely or habitually. I have learned that I really like structure and order and am very efficient at getting things done. I can easily set a goal or habit and be diligent about checking it off my to-do list every day, however, I have been learning over and over the past few years that operating from this space in my head, instead of from my heart causes me to miss out on some of the deeper treasures of life.

I am retaking the “Fundamentals of Intuitive Leadership and Mentoring Course” from one of my beloved mentors, Christy, and in our opening class this month, we talked a lot about intention and why it is so important. As we contemplated our intentions for that day, this idea of slowing down and finding stillness, of not just getting things done but being more mindful and intentional about how I do things, surfaced for me.

I have been contemplating this since, and noticing how differently it feels when I choose to live out of intention. Something as simple as my daily yoga practice can become a habit or a routine practice that I move through and maybe get a good stretch from or on those days when I really move intentionally and create a space for my mind and body to connect, I leave my mat feeling more peace, more grounding, and an ability to stay more present and aware throughout the rest of my day.

I am recognizing as well that when I am intentional, I am more open to being flexible and allow whatever comes up, rather than being so rigid in my schedule and idea of how I want things to happen. What does living intentionally look or feel like for you?

What I am offering:

This month my offerings are more limited as I will be traveling out of the country for a training.  No classes will be offered throughout February -March 5th. Our weekly online yoga will resume Tuesday March 12th at 8pm MST. If you have been interested in joining our weekly yoga, please join our Facebook group here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1997436973946383/?ref=share_group_link  for updates and login information. First class is always free and $10 per class after.

Once a month I host a free women’s hiking group for ladies in my local area of Southern Utah. I was hoping for a snowshoeing hike this month but the weather does not look like it is going to cooperate so I am switching next month’s hike to this month in hopes that we can snowshoe next month. Our next outing will be on February 3rd (this Saturday) at 9 am. We are planning to hike the Yant Flats Trail.  It is rated moderate and is approx. 3.4 miles. Stay tuned for updates or other changes due to weather. I look forward to seeing you all on the trail! If you are interested in joining us for a hike, please join our Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/384391280768422/?ref=share_group_link

If any of these offerings are of interest to you, please reach out to me for more information or email me at joyfulbalancedhealth@gmail.com.

What I am reading:

I am reading “Wintering” by Katherine May and finding my heart resonating with her words and experiences. I love these words in the opening of the book “Once we stop wishing it were summer, winter can be a glorious season in which the world takes on a sparse beauty and even the pavements sparkle. It’s a time for reflection and recuperation, for slow replenishment, for putting your house in order. Doing those deeply unfashionable things-slowing down, letting your spare time expand, getting enough sleep, resting-is a radical act now, but it is essential. This is a crossroads we all know, a moment when you need to shed a skin. If you do, you’ll expose all those painful nerve endings and feel so raw that you’ll need to take care of yourself for a while. If you don’t, then that skin will harden around you. It’s one of the most important choices you’ll ever make.”

I am feeling the call to winter in my life right now. To slow down and relax and unwind. To welcome and allow it in, instead of resisting and white knuckling as I normally do. I love summer and warmth and light and being on the go and the thought of welcoming in the cold and dark and slowing down honestly frightens me, and also, I am looking forward to seeing the sparkle of the pavement and searching for the beauty to be found in this season.

What season are you experiencing in your life? Are you feeling the call to winter? Are you finding the beauty in the season you are in?

What I am loving:

I am loving a meditation that was offered to me by another one of my amazing mentors, Bonnie Wallace. The Feeding Your Demon meditation has been so impactful and insightful for me. This meditation guides you through an observation of a feeling or belief you are holding on to, for example, grief, fear, anger, low self-worth, self-abandonment, or procrastination. You practice observing where you feel this in your body and describe the characteristics of the demon. Then, asking the demon some questions and receiving a response allows you to really examine what need it is filling or how it is protecting you. The meditation then asks for an ally to come forward and after observing its characteristics, once again there are questions asked and answers given. These answers from the ally have been a source of comfort and strength and have given me insight into some of my soul truths. I have found as I have been practicing this meditation this month that I am more able to sit with discomfort and with some of my stronger emotions. I am learning deeply the value of emotions and how they offer valuable information and insights to us. Have you ever explored this meditation? What meditation(s) do you love?

Sending you all love and light,

♥️Jessica