why do I feel so "lazy?"

If you’ve been feeling tired, lazy, crazy, unfocused, or unmotivated in the last week or so, you are not alone.

Between the supermoon eclipse on Sunday, the weather changes (if you’re in a weather-changing climate), and the changes happening within you and your life, it’s not surprising that life could feel a bit overwhelming.

Here’s the lesson I keep learning:

Trust your tired. Trust your desire to stay in bed longer, or cancel some plans, or do things differently.

Your mind might judge you for being “lazy” or “selfish” because your mind wants you to constantly be doing things.

But your body. Your body is connected to your subconscious self, the part of you that knows what you truly need to do or not do. It even knows what’s coming in the future - at least that’s my theory.

Years ago I was taking a course called Creating The Work You Love by Rick Jarow and there was a part that kept coming back to me this week, that I think pretty much sums up the point I’m getting at:

He said - and I’m paraphrasing here - “People ask me all the time how it is that I have the energy to teach, write, travel, and speak as much as I do at my age. And I tell them, I spent 6 years meditating in a cave with monks. That’s how I can do what I do now.”

At the time he felt the desire to meditate in a cave, he had no idea he would be writing books and teaching all over the world. He just followed his intuition and did what felt was right.

In retrospect, it was all that time connecting inwards that allowed him to do all the work in the outer world later on.

Get my gist?

I had a similar experience in the past couple of weeks. Working from bed on some days, pushing my to-do list farther and farther into the future, and giving in to my body’s need to sleep more and do less. (Ok, it wasn’t quite meditating in a cave, but it was my version of it.)

And then seemingly out of the blue I got invited to co-lead the dance floor at this fashion and art event called MOVE! in addition to prepping for the Dance YOUR Dance show next week. I’ll also be teaching at Soul Camp West at the end of the month and doing some things in LA before that time.

So I’m trusting my body’s guidance and resting more when I need to, knowing that there might even be more amazing things on the horizon that I’m prepping for without knowing it.

And I recommend the same for you.

Which brings me to my theme for October:

“and then she opened up to receive magic and let it dance through her.”

Are you ready to receive some magic?

Are you ready to stop pushing yourself so much and just allow things in?

Please share in the comments below and let’s dance into this new month together!

loving your lazy,

Jess

p.s. Soul Camp, the adult sleepaway for the soul, is heading to California October 28-31 and I am teaching! This mind/body/spirit BURST of joy is an immersive experience unlike anything you’ve experienced before.

If you have ever wondered what it would be like to live in a village of conscious people digging deep and having meaningful conversations… spending your days bouncing from restorative yoga to energy work to chakra clearing to angel breath healing to intenSati and ending the night in a kayak on the lake under the stars… then this is the experience for you. And if this entire concept scares you, perhaps it’s exactly what you need.

Visit www.soul.camp/west to learn more and use code JESSICASOUL for a 20% discount off tickets!

2 words that will boost your creative power

I was in a session with one of my amazing dancer clients earlier this week. She was struggling a bit with solidifying the solo dance piece she is in the process of choreographing.

To paraphrase her dilemma:

“I don’t know what moves should go where. I don’t know if I should wear shoes or go barefoot. I’m playing around with different song ideas….”

Whether or not you’re a choreographer, maybe you can relate in some area of your life?

Is there a place where you’re just not sure what should go where and so you hang out in wishy-washy land?

It’s easy to stay wishy-washy.

It’s easy to avoid making a decision in hopes that it will just be made for you.

It’s easy to defer your power to something outside of you: an authority figure, your astrological forecast, your partner, etc.

Believe me - this is one of my biggest downfalls and easiest trap to fall into.

But I learned something extremely powerful in the last week -

It’s actually MUCH easier to simply decide.

Repeat after me - these are the 2 simple words that will boost your creative power big-time:

I decide.

When you make a decision and commit to it - whether it’s with a piece of art you’re creating or within a relationship or career decision - you free yourself.

You also free the people in your life.

Contrary to the typical fear that you’ll be cutting off so many other amazing potential choices, by zeroing in one thing, you actually expand your potential.

Suddenly the world opens up.

In the example of my client session, I coached her into the remembrance that this is HER piece and HER choice -  no one else’s. There’s no wrong decision. She let herself dance into exactly what she wanted and afterwards felt more powerful and free than she had in awhile.

And isn’t that a mirror for life?

Boldly choose your path and stick to it. Things might change down the road, but if you don’t commit to SOMETHING, you’re stifling a whole lotta energy and creating confusion in the world.

Let’s say the words one more time:

I DECIDE.

It’s your life, it’s your art. Take the reigns and dance with them.

to the power in you,

Jess

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Are YOU ready to take your power back and initiate creative change in your life?

Let me lovingly kick your butt into action this fall.

5 spots are open in my calendar next week for a 30-minute Creative Guidance Session. I’ll help you identify exactly what’s blocking you, what your bigger creative vision is (it might not be what you think!), and how I can guide you step by step through the process of making lasting change.

Click here to claim your spot.

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how one woman quit her job & made dance her career

There comes a point when you have to stop blaming your job, your relationship, your health, your family, your crap-that-only-happens-to-me, and you start taking charge of your own life.

You dance because you want to. You create the life you desire.

I’m not saying the outer circumstances or roadblocks aren’t real - oh boy, are they real!

And I’m not saying that the change will happen overnight - very often transitions are convoluted, challenging, and not black-and-white.

But I am saying that it starts with a moment:

a commitment to oneself to gather all the power you can muster, to bring in support where needed, to take responsibility, and to make the first tiny step.

One of my joys in life is to be the midwife for this kind of creative emergence - helping people take back creative license on their LIVES. It’s not just about making art, it’s about making your life what you want it to be.

The story I’m going to share with you today is of one of my clients Aimee who successfully quit her 9-5 job and made dance her career.

It involved letting go of the fears around disappointing her family (it was a family business) as well as her fear that her new path would be a failure (it’s not).

In Aimee’s words:

“I have accomplished A LOT with Jess.

“I have quit my job (!!!), I have my own dance company that performs, I teach dance workout, I have my own class where I teach my own choreography each week, I am dancing in multiple companies, and have noticed a new respect from peers within the dance community.

“A lot has shifted for me. I feel like I am on my life path and it feels so good and I am not only one who gets to enjoy this shift, everyone around me gets to enjoy being around a happier, more loving, more creative and thoughtful me. It’s awesome!”

Want to know more about how it happened?

Watch her Showcase video below where we talk candidly about:

• Aimee’s transition out of her job

• what it’s like to make dance your career

• AND get a peek at Aimee’s debut dance video that she created as her final project in the Thriving Artist’s Program.

Please comment below with your questions or takeaways that you want to apply to your own life!

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Are YOU ready to take your power back and initiate creative change in your life?

Let me lovingly kick your butt into action this fall.

5 spots are open in my calendar next week for a 30-minute Creative Guidance Session. I’ll help you identify exactly what’s blocking you, what your bigger creative vision is (it might not be what you think!), and how I can guide you step by step through the process of making lasting change.

Click here to claim your spot.

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There’s a creative world in you waiting to dance it’s way through you.

Don’t stop the flow.

Let it go.

It’s time to grow.

I told you so.

;)

supporting the most expressed, fulfilled version of you,

Jess

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Here's Aimee's awesome dance video that she choreographed and produced:

"The project I am presenting for the showcase is called Vampire Teeth and is an original choreography created by me and filmed by my good friend Mallika Prakash.

"Vampire Teeth, by the reggae/dancehall artist Busy Signal, was a song created for revenge against another dancehall artist Movado (I think) who was talking shit. The song it’s self is all over the place lyrically but the beat is strong, dark, and menacing so I tried to create a work that had those qualities plus more literally gangster and warrior like. This piece incorporates movements from dancehall, Afro-Haitian, and Afro-Cuban dance to tell a story of anger, death, and remorse. This is not a happy dance but more darkly expressive. For me it was a healthy way to express my anger for whatever reason."

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What will YOU create?

Let's talk and find out.

5 spots are open in my calendar next week for a 30-minute Creative Guidance Session. I’ll help you identify exactly what’s blocking you, what your bigger creative vision is (it might not be what you think!), and how I can guide you step by step through the process of making lasting change.

Click here to claim your spot.

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guidance for moving through transition

As the seasons around us begin to transition out of summer and into fall, many of us are also going through various kinds of life transitions. Maybe you, too?

In our You Can Dance Again class last Wednesday, I guided everyone to explore transitions with their dancing -- what does it feel like move quickly or slowly from one movement to the next? what happens when you physically resist transitioning your body? what happens when you joyfully leap into the next part?

Based on the collective feedback of the group and my own insights here’s what we gathered:

1. It feels more easeful, free, and fun when you stop thinking so much about transitioning and just let yourself dance. Because after awhile everything starts to feel like a transition and it can get exhausting to examine each and every movement, versus just letting it all flow naturally.

2. The more resistance you put into it, the more tension is created, and therefore you’ll experience a more powerful of an opening when you finally let yourself break through.

Isn’t dance a metaphor for life?

As you enter into the weekend, think about the following:

• Are you over-thinking anything? Where can you surrender to the flow of life?

• Are you resisting anything? What would happen if you finally just let go?

Feel free to do the dance shuffle solution after asking those questions.

Then share more in the comments below if you want a sounding-board or just want to bring things to the surface.

I’ll leave you with a short poem I wrote the other day:

Somewhere between gung-ho and hold-up,

Somewhere between dancing forward and wiggling fitfully through the kinks and cobwebs,

Somewhere between what is to come and what has been lost,

Somewhere in there, she lands.

I’m sending so much love to you, no matter what kind of transitions or in-between moments you might be navigating. Remember to keep dancing through it all. You're not alone.

dancing with you,

Jess

behind the scenes of the posts you see

In the past week, there were multiple social media posts in which I shared previously hidden parts of myself - including words and skin:

I was feeling compelled to share more of my dance story in hopes that it would help and inspire others out there who were holding themselves back from dancing - whether it was because of body image or other reasons.

I poured days of time and energy into preparing and sharing my “dance-inar” that went live Wednesday night.

And after all of that…. the curtains closed (meaning, the video session ended) and there I was - alone at my desk.

[crickets]

I didn’t hear from many people during or after the class. I didn’t get any immediate sign ups for the dance program I shared at the end of it.

I felt exposed and even embarrassed and worried that I didn’t really make a difference at all. Maybe I offended someone or just bored them.

After processing some of these feelings, I picked up one of my latest favorite books - What We Ache For by Oriah Mountain Dreamer - and read this excerpt from the chapter on “Being Received.”

“When we put our creative work into the world we sometimes feel as if a piece of ourselves is exposed to potential rejection or acceptance, praise or ridicule. But we are wrong. As important as our work is, we are not the work we create. If we can keep and cultivate this perspective, we will be less likely to become attached to achieving material success, to having our work acknowledged or received in a particular way.

“I take it as a necessary part of the process that I feel a deep sense of attachment to the work I am currently doing. [...] The work I have created often feels like a beloved child. But when the time comes to let the work be received, I need to let it go and let it make its own way in the world.”

I’m learning this lesson with every dance video, dance-inar, or blog post I put out in the world.

And it’s a good reminder before starting a new creative process next week in the You Can Dance Again program. (And by the way, there now are people signing up for it - and today is the last day for registration if you’ve been thinking about it!)

And that’s the message I wanted to pass onto you this week:

Love your work deeply, put your heart and soul into it, and then release it.

Allow it to be received.

You can’t control how it’s received, and you might not immediately - or ever - know how it’s landing for people, but that’s ok.

Don’t let it stop you from creating again.

Your job is to follow that creative impulse inside of you and trust that if something is wanting to be expressed, there’s a reason for it.

Tell me -

Have you ever put something out into the world and felt like hiding afterwards?

Share in the comments below so that we can all help each other feel a little less alone in the vulnerability of it.

And then, keep creating.

with you on the front line and behind the scenes,

Jess

p.s. If you missed the whole “dance-inar” experience on Wednesday, I encourage you to watch it here, and pass it on to another dancer in your life who might be letting her negative body image interfere with her true passion for dancing.

a letter to the part of you that doubts yourself

Just write (dance/sing/paint/create/insert-your-passion-here)!

Stop getting distracted. You’re thinking way too much and you need to come back down to Earth. You need to.

One thing at a time.

Start by celebrating what you’ve already created, accomplished, overcame.

Celebrate it. Take it in. It’s great. Stop thinking.

Stop thinking.

Breathe.

Dance.

The world needs you to dance. Ok?

Spread the love and joy. It’s time.

It’s time.

You hold the key to unlocking dreams. Yours and others. You are ready.

You are so ready.

For abundance and love and wholeness and fulfillment.

Fulfillment with just enough yearning.

You can learn from your mistakes. You grow. You thrive.

This will all come together.

You are grand.

Take your space.

It’s time to make space.

Go ahead.

Put yourself out there.

It’s time.

Don’t hold back. The world truly needs you.

Shine your light. Be you.

Trust your own power.

It is there and waiting to be accessed if you let it.

Create something, already.

We’re waiting.

p.s. need a nudge in the direction of your creativity? click here to send me a note and set up a time to talk. I'm known for seeing things in you that you didn't even know you were possible. plus, I have a few openings in my upcoming programs waiting to be filled by passionate creatures who are so ready to stop settling for an unfulfilled existence.