Blog One. The beginning.

My why.

I created this for us because we are in a moment of history where people are divided with knowledge. This infinite amount of information about our universe and beyond, is in the palm of our hands, yet we let “programmed perceptions” skew the way we think about others, and our own abilities. Limiting our ability to connect, grow and eventually, lead, we continue to discount the woman’s voice, we let people of color die in their streets, and we stay small to not disrupt the peace in situations of “power-imbalance.” Why? Fear of retribution, fear of being wrong, fear of failing, fear of hurting other’s feelings.. the list goes on. This innate fear and discomfort we let guide our actions is harming our growth as communities, dividing us away from our unique gifts and talents. Our biases prevent us from sharing resources, and connecting with each other on authentic levels that makes life meaningful.  

I believe we have the power to live extraordinary lives, each day becoming a better version of ourself to live in beautiful communities that we can trust. Within this same belief I see that we have been mis-marketed the word “stress” in order to keep us small, allowing us to give more of ourself than we have, causing us to find fast-addictive solutions to deep problems we have in our life. Because of this we get stuck in negative mind and body habits that feed on each other, while the people who sold us this fear continue to buy their way into power and control of our lives by creating “norms” and enforcing the laws that keep us into these systems and cycles.  

Within this healing space we will see multiple ways to break through these personal systems of negative thinking and self doubt. It’s a series of skills and mindsets to get deep into the roots of where our thinking patterns lead us astray, and how to bring them back, closer to our greatest Self. The new, conscious cycle of finding the light within us is through reflecting on what we notice, re-aligning ourselves with what we know to be good and true, and how to use healthful energy sources through the rest of our beautiful life to sustain this positive energy cycle. It’s about breaking bad habits we've fallen pity too, and replacing them with sustainable coping strategies and activities that give good to ourselves and others. 

We do this by opening our minds to transition what we assume stress is, and how mindsets can be practiced and applied in different parts of our life. I hope to help break away from stigmas related to mental health, and provide insight of how our minds are the most beautiful engine on this planet. These energy hubs within our skulls are a true source of power necessary in making the world we share a place for every body.

We have a better brain than we think.

I bring my insight to this space as someone who has gone on their own destructive path of substance-use disorder with concurrent mental health conditions of severe depression and generalized anxiety. I’ve felt lucky in my journey until I found myself on a path through education, thus persevering through a 10 year career as a secondary health and fitness teacher. The combination of a health teacher and someone struggling to maintain personal healthful habits was a frustrating paradox to be expected to lead my students through. It was within the diagnosis of bipolar disorder during the pandemic of 2020, (Was I manic, or was I just outraged at the state of society?) was where I found gratitude through my love and dedication to my profession. I’ve gained an educational insight for how our brains function, and a deeper felt sense of the dysfunctions I’ve moved through. Now sober, I wish to share my journey of the beauty of learning, struggling, and being humbled in hopes of inspiration for you to find the beauty in your own life, and realize how special everything in front of us can be. 

Through the thinking system of “N.R.G.”  I’ve found power in choosing my path, my perspectives, and I hope you find someone in your life that can gain encouragement from these ideas presented to you. With these changes within ourself, healing for those in need becomes less of “compassion fatigue,” and more of “with my light, I can make it safe for you to find yours.”  This is not a shout at you reader, “your life needs to be better, here’s some self care ideas,” it’s more of a “change is inevitable, here’s how you can prepare with choice, and feel good about where you fall.”

For the first 30 year of life, I have found my passions in exercise, creating something from nothing, and getting lost in the wonders of nature. I have roots from grandparents aspiring to be doctors of the brain, but caught up in the diseases of it, so I dedicate this journey to share my path of discovery to them. Because without tension, friction, and tough times, opportunities to grow would be scarce, and we would stay in our same comfort zones, learning nothing new about our inner and outer worlds. Stay curious, stay open, and your dreams can be yours. 

The truth of stress is that it is as we perceive it. I have faith in our future generations that there will be less hate, more connection, and a group of really unique and proud young adults. A barrier to our collective healing I hope to remedy with this NRG system is adults who continue through life with a closed mind to new ideas, people and opportunities. I ended my career teaching health in the classroom, but I see my realignment in extending my educational background to those in a wider, more collective setting. My personal goals are to slow down and choose my actions, instead of living unconsciously into moments. Everyday I hope to be better than the last, and so if you knew me before- no you don’t. 

If our high school experience was the last opportunity to know how to live a healthy life, it’s time for an update. As a trained CrossFit athlete turned health teacher, I’ve taken the approach of being “pretty good” at anything, as opposed to being excellent at some things. Because this space is about expanding what we know about our life, the topics are spread fairly wide with enough depth to make the connections. If something peaks intrigue and questions, let yourself get lost on ideas and questions this space brings to your focus, and be okay with a slow paced process.

Forever in gratitude,

~ Jess