Returning to Our Roots
I hope your summer was filled with fun, adventure, and plenty of time to enjoy the season.
A couple of weeks ago, we spent the night moored off Misery Island. I love watching the colors change during sunset and waking early to see the sunrise.
After my morning meditation and journaling, I spotted a deer on the point, quietly eating his breakfast. It was beautiful to watch him against the glowing sunrise. He is one lucky deer—on an island with no cars to dodge and only the occasional off-leash dog to worry about!
After watching him for a while, I opened my email and, by coincidence, found a newsletter from a fellow holistic practitioner featuring the deer as the power animal of the week. Her message was about gentle strength, grace, sensitivity, and awareness.
The part that stayed with me most was this:
"Deer often appear during times of transition, reminding us that we can evolve without rushing or forcing change."
That idea feels especially meaningful to me right now.
So much of life is about changing, growing, and finding our way into what comes next. But perhaps we don't always need to push our way there.
Sometimes we can simply listen, soften, and allow ourselves to evolve.
Returning to Movement
Although our boat is still in the water, we're using it less and less as the weather cools and the daylight shrinks. I'm naturally returning to some of the things I love doing indoors, including yoga.
Recently, I attended a yoga class where I was one of the younger participants.
One of my sailing friends was there, too. After getting new knees earlier this year, he was working on getting his flexibility back. As he rolled out his mat and made his way to the ground, I heard him groan. And then again—and again—with each pose!
After class, he told me he was considering selling his boat and stepping away from sailing. Although he'd recently retired, I had assumed he'd be looking for his “forever boat.” Instead, he was focused on caring for his knees and getting fit enough for a sailing trip to the Caribbean this winter.
I always joke that sailing weeds people out as they age if they don't maintain a certain level of fitness. Hoisting the sails, grinding the winches, balancing as the boat heels—it’s a lot!
Our conversation reminded me how important it is to keep moving and to pay attention to what our bodies need.
That has inspired me to create a series of short yoga stretch videos for the Resource Hub to help you improve your mobility. Myofascial Release and yoga complement each other beautifully. Myofascial Release helps ease tension and restriction, while yoga supports greater mobility through mindful movement, stretching, and breath.
Together, they can help us move with more freedom, awareness, and ease.
I'm still figuring out the technical side of filming, so you may occasionally see a camera angle that cuts off my head—but I'm learning! Stay tuned...the videos are coming soon!
Returning to My Roots
I'm also returning to another part of my foundation: Polarity Therapy.
Polarity Therapy is a gentle, hands-on energetic approach that works with the body's natural patterns and flow. For me, it complements Myofascial Release beautifully.
MFR works directly with the fascia and physical restrictions, while Polarity offers another way of supporting relaxation, awareness, and balance within the whole person.
This weekend, I will be returning to that training, and it feels like I'm coming full circle.
Twenty years ago, my heart and body had a great deal of healing to do, and Polarity Therapy helped soothe and support me through that time. Back then, I was eager to clear old patterns, thoughts, and beliefs.
Now, twenty years later, I will be approaching that work from a very different place—with everything I've learned through yoga, energetic work, and Myofascial Release since then.
It feels less like starting something new and more like reuniting with something that has quietly been part of me all along.
I'm looking forward to experiencing the training again through everything I've learned since then—and exploring how this deeper understanding can complement the Myofascial Release work I offer today.
Maybe that's the lesson the deer was reminding me of:
We can evolve without rushing or forcing change.
Sometimes growth happens simply by paying attention, staying present, and allowing the next chapter to unfold.
And as we move into autumn, there is something comforting about returning to our roots—to the things that truly sustain us, restore us, and bring us back into balance.
As always, take good care,
Jessica