My Journey. An Introduction.

Taking a beat. Waterford, Ireland.

…tap, tap, tap … is this thing on?!

Wow. My FIRST blog post. If you’d ask me a year ago if I’d want to take on something like writing a blog, I’d have said, Hells no! Ain’t nobody got time for that! But as time progressed and the further along this very windy road I found myself, I felt it was important to have a place where I can talk to people about what’s in my heart — the importance of the body and how embracing our body’s inherent intelligence is absolutely key to having a successful professional career (and life!), whether you’re a 9-5 ‘er, an entrepreneur, or a stay-at-home mama with three little ones.

But first, how I got here …

I grew up dancing + modelling. My parents had enrolled my sister and me in all sorts of classes growing up at the local academy. We did everything from tap, to jazz, to ballet. We did it all. Little did I know, that this background would help me excel at sports. Throughout elementary school + high school, I ran track, I rowed, played volleyball + flag football. In university, I participated in the university’s intramural sports program, and once I got involved they had me locked in until I graduated! Suffice it to say, movement, activity, the body has always been a big part of my life in some form or another. Helping to balance out the sometimes stressful periods of just plain ol’ growing up.

Cut to years later and I land my first corporate gig. Gone was that outlet that I’d unknowingly come to rely on my entire life. Sure I dabbled, here and there in organized sports, but it was nothing like the every day sometimes hours of exercise + movement that I got in university. Instead it was replaced with hours of sitting at a computer, pouring over scopes of work and project schedules. Then I discovered acting.

Enter … The Breath.

Acting you say?! Yes, I dabbled in the acting world for about a second. All the classes I took I loved, but the one that I still use and reference to this day is my voice class. I’ve always had a healthy respect + fascination for the body and what it can do. But taking voice classes every week for 2.5 years was a special experience for me. It taught me about the importance + beauty of the breath. How none of us truly breathes! How working with the breath and the imagination, can create deep connection + awareness to the body, unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before in your life. How something as gentle as the breath can help one transform deeply ingrained patterns of holding over time. How the breath when fully released and free in the body not only has the power to affect the individual experiencing that flow + integration profoundly, but to move an audience of people as well. That it can create worlds of discovery. Working with the breath alone can absolutely transform the body. Gosh, I could talk about it for hours! Much respect to the breath! And so much love to the teacher who brought that love, knowledge + awareness into my life. Thank you, sir. Truly.

It might sound funny to say, but I’m a better person and project manager because of those classes. Because when you operate from a space where you’re not just listening with your head, you’re listening from your heart and your body, you’re better able to truly hear, see + work with people where they’re at in the moment. I’m not perfect, and it’s not always easy, especially when the sh*t is hitting the fan on your projects, but I’d like to think of it as a superpower that has helped to diffuse some pretty tough situations.

Throughout my twenty-some years as a working professional, I’ve seen the effects of individuals first hand who are disconnected from their body’s. Individuals who suddenly begin to experience mystery pains that they can’t seem to shake. Unexplained weight gain. Feeling constant anxiousness + overwhelm, or feeling disengaged + fighting an exhaustion fog day in and day out. Disheartened + disappointed that they’re not as present as they’d like to be in their relationships with their friends + family. Quick-tempered + snapping at work colleagues. Feeling at a loss as to how to shift and/or break out of the inertia that their careers or lives have fallen into … I myself have experienced these chronic mystery illnesses when I’ve been disconnected from my body ... It wasn't fun + at the time, it was very scary because you're so 'out of it' that it's hard to connect the dots — but that’s a story for another day…!

But it doesn’t have to be that way. I know that now. Whether you work in an office or work for yourself, you can begin to start today to create an awareness within yourself + to your body that will shift the trajectory of your path. The body is the key. And once you tap into that latent body intelligence you’ll begin empower yourself + others in unimaginable ways.

Much Love, Always

-j.