Blog Posts
The tip of the the iceberg,
Sometimes we think we know what rest and relaxation is but actually there are deeper layers of peace to discover.
Just as there's a tip of the iceberg to our traumas/challenges (so much lives beneath the surface stored in the tissues and the subconscious) there's also a tip of the iceberg to our peace, joy, and contentment.
There comes a point when we recognize there's more to be lived, felt, and experienced than pain and struggle, or just getting by. There are greater levels of love, abundance, vitality and they're not outside of us, but actually accessed from within.
Surfacing more of the iceberg takes a slowing down, patience, trust, commitment, and often moving through new or challenging spaces.
It's sometimes a little easier with someone who knows the path, has been there, won't judge you, and a willingness to receive their support.
Here a few reflection questions to embrace your "iceberg:"
What has surfaced this year because of my healing?
What more would I like to feel, experience, live?
What part of surfacing do I struggle with? Slowing down, trust, patience, commitment?
What's wanting to surface from within you in 2025?
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January weekend immersion- Journey to Optimal
If this concept of you've only experienced the tip of the iceberg intrigues you - you may wish to join our half day experience with an intimate group of four wonderful folks where we will dive more into nervous system integration, and rewiring our response for optimal. In this nourishing, slow, spacious workshop we combine body work (integration sessions, yes a series of them in the same day, to deepen the unwiring of the familiar and rewiring of optimal) and space to explore the deep layers of wisdom and insight your body holds, combining the two to rejuvenate your senses, activate deep healing, and open your perception system to truly live from your new reality.
Date: Saturday, 1/11 from 1-4pm
Location: Heart of Life
*Because there will be a very limited availability of space for this opportunity, please save your spot here.
Current clients, send me a reply to this email for a 15% off code, while spots are available.
______________________
With love & gratitude,
Dr. Jessica
Obstacles lead the way 💜
The obstacle as the way,
Most of us have experienced heartbreak of some form, but can you recall a few fleeting moments after heartbreak where your heart felt more open to love? Moments where time was non-linear and you had more capacity, noticing and richness of sensation after feeling the pain of loss or change?
A concept that dates back to the stoic, Marcus Aurelius, said “the impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” Or more simply put, within the moments of intensity or in the face of an obstacle we find what we are seeking.
It's really common for our human nature, when unchecked, to try to avoid pain at all costs. It takes a certain amount of integrity to face challenge and see the way through. If you are reading this, I know you are someone who has moved through challenge and tasted the sweet fruit of that labor.
Nervous system integration is the process of making meaning of those experiences. Through integration we become more whole with our life’s experiences. We open our capacity to all shades of life. We experience more sunshine & rainbows AND we have the depth to handle the storms & dark days.
Feelings of gratitude, neutrality, or peace are signs that our system has deeply integrated an experience. Whereas charged emotions such as feelings of bitterness, anger, sadness, are signs that deeper integration is necessary for it to not have an impact on our daily choices, habits, and life.
Here a few reflection questions to embrace the obstacle as the way in your life today:
💜 What challenges have I moved through in the past that deepened my capacity on the other side?
💜 What obstacles are coming up for me now?
💜 Notice with compassion: do I ignore them or stuff them down?
💜 How can I build my resources so I can move through them instead?
_________________________________
January weekend immersion- Journey to Optimal
If this concept of the obstacle is the way intrigues you - you may wish to join our half day experience with an intimate group of four wonderful folks where we will dive more into nervous system integration, and rewiring our response for optimal. In this nourishing, slow, spacious workshop we combine body work (integration sessions, yes a series of them in the same day, to deepen the unwiring of the familiar and rewiring of optimal) and space to explore the deep layers of wisdom and insight your body holds, combining the two to rejuvenate your senses, activate deep healing, and open your perception system to truly live from your new reality.
Date: Saturday, 1/11 from 1-4pm
Location: Heart of Life
*Because there will be a very limited availability of space for this opportunity, please save your spot here.
______________________
In gratitude & good health,
Dr. Jessica
Rewire Your Response
"Tension is who you think you should be, relaxation is who you are."
The quote above is one of my favorite Chinese proverbs. The first time I heard this I stopped in my tracks. It resonated so deeply, as I could feel the areas in my life that contributed to my tension and the areas of life where I was feeling free and relaxed to be me.
As we enter our last month of this year, one that can be packed full of to do's, stretchy obligations, an abundance of marketing emails, I am returning to it.
In order to preserve this precious season's opportunities to slow down and appreciate the magic and beauty around us, I am not just pulling out Christmas decor, but also feel as if I am pulling this old quote out of a storage box to place in my eyesight and as a guide within my body as I navigate this season.
If this resonates with you, I invite you to explore:
💜 What this quote means to you
💜 What tension & relaxation feel like in your body
💜 How you might use this to return to your relaxed and powerful center
With love & gratitude,
Dr. Jessica
The Root of It All
You know that tension you carry—the kind that settles at the top of your shoulders, month after month? Maybe for you, it’s in your neck, your jaw, or your low back.
Wherever it shows up, it’s more than just tight muscles. That tension holds layers of stories, patterns, and energy. The good news? Those layers can be explored, softened, and healed—right down to the root.
The roots of your current reality exist in:
Your physical body,
Your nervous system’s response to life,
And your energetic patterns.
It’s natural to notice the tension first—the sore muscles asking for release. But if that tightness keeps returning, it’s a sign there’s more to discover.
Peeling Back the Layers
The Physical Root: These tension patterns can arise as a response to stress. They change the way you breathe, move, and even how your blood flows—keeping your body in a loop of “fight or flight.”
The Nervous System Root: Stress, whether it’s small and persistent or large and unresolved, activates your sympathetic nervous system. This creates cycles that keep tension alive.
The Energetic Root: Beyond the body and nervous system lie the energetic imprints—belief systems, childhood conditioning, cultural norms, and even ancestral patterns.
Maybe you feel the weight of others’ burdens on your shoulders.
Perhaps you guard yourself from hurt by holding tension in your upper back.
Or maybe control and safety challenges manifest in your neck or lower back.
Healing the Roots
True transformation happens when we address all three layers:
Connecting with your physical tension to release what’s stuck.
Easing your nervous system to interrupt the stress loop.
Shifting the energetic roots to align with harmony, safety, and growth.
Take a deep breath with me. Place your hand on the area where tension calls your attention.
What patterns are no longer serving me?
How might my body, my nervous system, and my energy all play a part?
The answers you seek aren’t far away—they’re within you, waiting to be explored, acknowledged, and transformed.
Come home to yourself,
One of our participants in Journey to Optimal shared that she had been trying to release a knot of tension between her shoulders for weeks, and that after one touch on the table it melted away.
Now, this wasn't because I found some magic button... this is what's possible when you are in a safe space, you have enough spaciousness to slow down, you are willing and open to connect with the deeper messages of your body, and we match the tone of what's stored there.
The combination is powerful and it's a chance to peel back the layers and come home to yourself.
Closing your eyes, & placing your attention on your heart, ask yourself: how can I come home to myself this week?
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Journey to Optimal is coming around again in January!
So, if you're ready to shed doubt, anxiety, and to really address the missing piece in your healing journey - this space is for you. This last round went deep into their nervous system re-patterning and had fun doing it! They walked away feeling lighter, a knowing that they can continue to create this new slow space for themselves, and a coming home to optimal (a true version of optimal for them, not anyone else). Even current clients shared they're getting next level integration from their sessions with this new awareness.
If you know you want to be a part of the next transformation, save your spot by registering below.
Date:
Saturday, 1/11, 1-4:30pm
Save your spot here.
There will be just 4 spots available to keep this event intimate.
_________________________________
With love & gratitude,
Dr. Jessica
From habit to healing ritual - creating rituals of relaxation
The definition of ritual is a ceremonial act or action or an act or series of acts regularly repeated in a set precise manner.
I like to think of rituals as intentional habits. Certain habits can be rather unintentional, like hitting snooze instead of getting up for your meditation. Whereas rituals are a choice to nurture an aspect of yourself, support, or a need.
If you were to look at your life... what rituals do you have?
What simple acts or actions do you return to regularly?
If you don't have many rituals, or feel you could be more intentional, start with this question:
What are one or more needs that I have, that I feel are not being met?
Some common ones that I hear from folks:
Connection/friendship
Support
Touch
Purpose
Relaxation
Now, to get curious and creative!
What's the most simple thing I can think of to get this need met?
Here are a few examples:
Book an appt with my therapist
Schedule a massage
Read a book about purpose
Take a walk in nature
Now, comb through and refine any answers towards something that feels nurturing for yourself.
What would be possible if I chose just one of these needs to be met consistently, by setting up a ritual?
What would be different in me, if instead of meeting this need once it feels urgent, making it a ritual and a steady anchor to return to?
______________________________________________________________
With love & gratitude,
Dr. Jessica
7 years of connection - a heartfelt thank you!
I am writing to you this morning in appreciation for a crisp and bright fall day, a season that invites me to slow down and to reflect. The heart of my reflection is that this week marks year 7 of serving our Central Oregon community through Heart of Life.
It has been a beautiful journey, with peaks and valleys, and worth every bit because of those of you that I get the chance to connect with and to see your lives enhance over time.
This process of nurturing community through business has been reflective of our cells journey, the expansion and contraction, the liminal space, the upgrades, and the regeneration that happens over time, the entirety of that process completing roughly every 7 years.
Heart of Life, myself, you, are all examples of what's possible when you commit to yourself, to discovering what's beneath the surface, to tending to your parts, to feeling, healing, and making it a part of your life to care for your nervous system.
With this level of devotion to your well being, you're an entirely different person in 7 years time, a little closer to your heart, a little more authentic, whole, happy.
If anything, I hope to continue to inspire you to journey onwards, to get back up even after a hard day, or week, or year. To be curious, and open, and to always welcome you into our healing sanctuary for grounding, presence, love, and care.
I am excited to walk Heart of Life into it's next 7 year cycle, steady, grounded, and ripe with possibility.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, for your support, commitment to self, and trust in your process.
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One spot remains for Journey to Optimal - is it yours?
This intimate, small-group experience, A Journey to Optimal, will take you from frustrated, & spiraling, to centered, aware, and cup full <3
This is unlike any workshop you've done before, time will be carved out to be slow and experience a new landscape within your mind, body and spirit. We’ll deep dive into moving beyond familiar, reactive patterns into optimal states where you truly thrive. Over the course of a half-day together, you’ll gain tools and insights to create deeper alignment in your life and foster a profound sense of safety within.
Details:
Date: Saturday, 10/26
Time: 2-5pm
Format: In-person at Heart of Life
What: Transformative bodywork to connect more deeply with your nervous system will be combined with insightful teachings. Be prepared for a full immersive experience of body, mind, and community connection.
Important – Limited Spots:
To ensure a deeply personalized experience, this group is limited to just 4 participants.
How to Enroll:
Click HERE to claim your spot (1 remaining)
*registration closes Friday*
(If you are a current client, please reply here and I'll send you a code for a 15% discount!)
I can't wait to guide you through this transformational journey. Let's break free from the familiar and step into a more aligned, thriving state!
See you there
___________________________________
With love & gratitude,
Dr. Jessica
Ready for a change? This is the key!
The first step to change,
Awareness. The key element in transformation is bringing awareness towards the moving parts in your life. The way you talk to yourself, how you move your body, the parent you are, etc.
The longer you've lived the more likely that much of your life is run on autopilot, but the moment you bring your awareness, your conscious attention, and intention to the different aspects of your life you have choice.
Awareness opens the door, making new choices, consistently over time is what re-patterns your nervous system.
This week, I invite you to bring awareness to the following areas in your life: physical health & fitness, mental & emotional wellbeing, relationships & love, vocation, spiritual, intellectual, contribution to society & planet, financial, fun & social.
Bring awareness by asking yourself: what feels good, and what's working well? Also, bring awareness to what challenges am I facing here, what could use improvement?
Begin making new choices by identifying: what's one thing I could do differently that would make a positive difference in this aspect of my life?
Start re-patterning your system by making one new choice each day!
______________________________________________________________
Ready to deep dive into rewiring your nervous system for optimal?
Please join us for this intimate, small-group experience, A Journey to Optimal
This is the last week for early bird pricing (you have through 10/6 to receive early bird pricing above!)
We’ll explore how to move beyond familiar, reactive patterns into optimal states where you can truly thrive. Over the course of a half-day together, you’ll gain tools and insights to create deeper alignment in your life and foster a profound sense of safety within.
Details:
Date: Saturday, 10/26
Time: 2-5pm
Format: In-person at Heart of Life
What: Transformative bodywork to connect more deeply with your nervous system will be combined with insightful teachings. Be prepared for a full immersive experience of body, mind, and community connection.
Important – Limited Spots:
To ensure a deeply personalized experience, this group is limited to just 4 participants.
How to Enroll:
Spaces are expected to fill, so if you're ready to dive deep into your nervous system and break repeating patterns, click the link below to reserve your spot.
Click HERE to claim your spot (1 remaining)
This is for both folks brand new to this work, refreshing, and for deepening with current clients. (If you are a current client, please reply here and I'll send you a code for a 15% discount!) I can't wait to guide you through this transformational journey. Let's break free from the familiar and step into a more aligned, thriving state!
See you there
——————————————-
Free October Community Walk:
Friday, October 18th, 4-5pm
Theme: supporting and soothing our nervous systems through seasonal change :)
Come to receive some supportive tips and to share your own, while filling your cup in community!
Meet at Heart of Life and walk downtown to the river and back with us.
All welcome.
___________________________________
With love & gratitude,
Dr. Jessica
The first step to change,
Awareness. The key element in transformation is bringing awareness towards the moving parts in your life. The way you talk to yourself, how you move your body, the parent you are, etc.
The longer you've lived the more likely that much of your life is run on autopilot, but the moment you bring your awareness, your conscious attention, and intention to the different aspects of your life you have choice.
Awareness opens the door, making new choices, consistently over time is what re-patterns your nervous system.
This week, I invite you to bring awareness to the following areas in your life: physical health & fitness, mental & emotional wellbeing, relationships & love, vocation, spiritual, intellectual, contribution to society & planet, financial, fun & social.
Bring awareness by asking yourself: what feels good, and what's working well? Also, bring awareness to what challenges am I facing here, what could use improvement?
Begin making new choices by identifying: what's one thing I could do differently that would make a positive difference in this aspect of my life?
Start re-patterning your system by making one new choice each day!
______________________________________________________________
Ready to deep dive into rewiring your nervous system for optimal?
Please join us for this intimate, small-group experience, A Journey to Optimal
This is the last week for early bird pricing (you have through 10/6 to receive early bird pricing above!)
We’ll explore how to move beyond familiar, reactive patterns into optimal states where you can truly thrive. Over the course of a half-day together, you’ll gain tools and insights to create deeper alignment in your life and foster a profound sense of safety within.
Details:
Date: Saturday, 10/26
Time: 2-5pm
Format: In-person at Heart of Life
What: Transformative bodywork to connect more deeply with your nervous system will be combined with insightful teachings. Be prepared for a full immersive experience of body, mind, and community connection.
Important – Limited Spots:
To ensure a deeply personalized experience, this group is limited to just 4 participants.
How to Enroll:
Spaces are expected to fill, so if you're ready to dive deep into your nervous system and break repeating patterns, click the link below to reserve your spot.
Click HERE to claim your spot (2 remaining)
This is for both folks brand new to this work, refreshing, and for deepening with current clients. (If you are a current client, please reply here and I'll send you a code for a 15% discount!) I can't wait to guide you through this transformational journey. Let's break free from the familiar and step into a more aligned, thriving state!
See you there
___________________________________
With love & gratitude,
Dr. Jessica
It’s Here: Your Journey from Familiar to Optimal Starts Now!
Ready to shift?
I've been working on something exciting for the past several weeks and it's here!
You're journey from familiar to optimal starts now!
A Journey to Optimal
In this intimate, small-group experience, we’ll explore how to move beyond familiar, reactive patterns into optimal states where you can truly thrive. Over the course of a half-day together, you’ll gain tools and insights to create deeper alignment in your life and foster a profound sense of safety within.
Details:
Date: Saturday, 10/26
Time: 2-5pm
Format: In-person at Heart of Life
What: Transformative bodywork to connect more deeply with your nervous system will be combined with insightful teachings. Be prepared for a full immersive experience of body, mind, and community connection.
Important – Limited Spots:
To ensure a deeply personalized experience, this group is limited to just 4 participants.
How to Enroll:
Spaces are expected to fill, so if you're ready to dive deep into your nervous system and break repeating patterns, click the link below to reserve your spot.
Click HERE to claim your spot (3 remaining)
(Note: Early bird pricing is available until 10/6, or until all spots are filled.)
This is for both folks brand new to this work, refreshing, and for deepening with current clients. (If you are a current client, please reply here and I'll send you a code for a 15% discount!) I can't wait to guide you through this transformational journey. Let's break free from the familiar and step into a more aligned, thriving state!
See you there
___________________________________
With love & gratitude,
Dr. Jessica