Meet Jess, Our Yoga Family co-founder.
Hi! I’m Jess! I’ve been a long time yoga teacher in Bozeman (since 2010). After graduating from Georgia Tech and living in France, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina, I moved back to Bozeman and apprenticed with an herbalist and a yoga mentor while earning my teacher training certification. During that time I worked milking goats on a farm and guiding women on horse + yoga retreats with my mama!
In 2015 I got pregnant with my now daughter Bella. The beginning of my pregnancy was rough. I felt a bit lost, like I was going to lose a sense of identity, even though I had known for years I wanted kids and that I would have a baby girl one day. A friend suggested I start teaching prenatal yoga, and honestly it became the best part of my week and pregnancy. The community showing up and supporting each other blew me away. It encouraged me to keep going.
At that time, I was also working for a physical therapy firm in Bozeman. I was seeing Women’s Health PT’s regularly, and bringing all that I learned into my teachings.
After my daughter, Bella, was born, I continued teaching prenatal yoga as well as baby yoga and eventually added in postpartum yoga. Bella actually came to class with me for the first 15 months of her life! Shortly after I also became a birth doula and brought so much of what prenatal yoga offered into the birthing environment and vice versa. Hence the creation of our Partner Prenatal Yoga Workshops (ie Dads as Doulas!).
It didn’t take long to start dreaming of a space where moms and families could thrive, a space dedicated to families + birth stories + babies. A place a mom could walk in and take a deep exhale breath in relief.
I shared my vision with Crystal, a dear friend + owner of Your Yoga, where I had been teaching prenatal at the time. I told her how I really wanted to focus on moms. Divine intervention – she introduced me to Becca!
Becca had a dream of starting a family yoga studio, was a yoga teacher, and was working as a preschool teacher with extensive knowledge in early childhood development. We both have business degrees and wanted to use them to create a heartfelt, community driven business.
Sidenote: I actually hadn’t even taken one of Becca’s yoga classes until the day before Our Yoga Family opened, in September of 2019. But the moment I saw her with my daughter, I knew she had something special when it came to kiddos. I’m still in awe of that!
Our Yoga Family has now been open for a couple of years. We’ve grown so much! We made it through 2020 (bye, Felicia!).
Becca + I also now carry certifications as Ayurvedic Women’s Health specialists, and offered our first Ayurveda and Yoga women’s retreat in 2021. I also have the privilege of venturing to Guatemala in winter of 2022 to participate in a Mystical Mama Prenatal Yoga teacher training. I wanted to meet with the abuela midwives of Latin America, and bring their wisdom back to Bozeman, and I am! I’m excited to learn that as well as holding space for blessingways,, infant loss, the Peruvian Shamanic medicine wheel, and more.
We’ve listened to our community and their needs and honor everyone’s unique healing journey. We aim to be a space for education, resources, and a chance to listen to your intuition and trust you are your own best healer. You are the perfect parent for your child, exactly as you are today.
In 2022, we will offer our first Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training (can’t wait!).
Day by day we aim to give families – moms in particular – a space to let go of the burnout, the guilt, the overwhelm, the loneliness, and step into a place where they can take care of their needs + thrive.
Whatever your family looks like, is going through, or needs – we are here for it! One yoga class and community vibe at a time.
Thank you so much for being here. It means the world to us.
Jess
Ps – hit reply + let us know a little bit about yourself! You can also give us a follow @ouryogafamily or give me (Jess) a follow on my personal journey! @jessica.energy
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