BELONG WELLNESS

Jessica is the owner of Belong Wellness, a platform where she offers an on-demand fitness library. Classes include mat-based sculpt and cardio classes, with a touch of dance vibes, as well as virtual holistic health wellness programs. She loves sharing her knowledge about how the body aligns and moves, and seeing that knowledge translate into strength and confidence in her clients.

For Jessica, holistic living is made up of multiple key areas. Physical fitness is an important component of our health, but it is just one piece of the puzzle. Other key areas like career, home environment, relationships, and nutrition need to feel in balance in order for us to feel happy.

I love how Jessica begins some of her classes with an intention. When I asked her about this, her answer was completely in sync with what I told her I was going to write about this month.

“To be honest, I am not a big fan of resolutions. Resolutions often come from a negative place. For example, a resolution to “lose weight” implies that you are overweight, and a resolution to “meditate every day” implies that you are not currently meditating enough. I prefer intentions, which are more about a feeling. So, instead of resolving to lose weight, you could set an intention to feel comfortable in your body. That may involve losing weight, but it could mean so many other things like going swimming because you love the feeling of the water, buying some new clothes that feel great, or eating foods that make your body feel good.”

One of Jessica’s intentions for 2022 is to feel balanced in parenting, work and play. She started working on this at the end of 2021 with some schedule shifts and loves the progress she is making. Through problem-solving and testing and learning she is discovering how important one-on-one time is with each of her kids so she now has worked that important element into her weekly schedule.

She reflected, “I already knew that work is important to me and a huge place from which I derive purpose, so I will continue problem-solving to determine the right work schedule and projects for this year.”

With this deep level of self-reflection in her personal life, it was obvious to me that Jessica brings the same deep level of care to her studio and her classes.

When Jessica realized that many of the classes she was taking were lacking a free-flowing element, she began to weave bigger, fluid, and more graceful movements into her teachings. She wanted people to come out of her classes feeling strong and graceful. She wanted them to feel like they moved their bodies in the way that they were designed to move. Sometimes in order to remind our bodies of the way in which they love to move, we need an instructor to guide us. In Jessica’s signature classes this is what you will find.

You will also experience an incredible selection of music to accompany that beautiful movement. Jessica considers music to be critical to her classes. She prides herself on choosing songs that make sense from a timing and emotional perspective. Whenever possible, she marries crescendos in the music with crescendos or variation changes in the movement so that the class flows seamlessly.

And it’s no surprise that this type of teaching comes so naturally to Jessica. She grew up dancing and has always loved moving her body. Over the years, she tried and loved many different types of fitness. In 2008, she became a barre teacher as a side hustle and loved it so much she left her corporate career to open her own studio. During the six years that she owned her own studio, she became a master instructor for the franchise, took hundreds of hours of training, trained dozens of teachers, and evolved to teach HIIT classes as well. In 2017, eager to expand her knowledge, she completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training while pregnant with her first child. In 2020, while pregnant with her second child, she became a holistic health coach.

As if this wasn’t enough to make you seek out Jessica’s classes, you will also be assured that Jessica creates a safe environment for your physical body. Creating classes that are intelligent, balanced, and safe is one of Jessica’s passions. Before teaching, she choreographs every second of a class so that you can move seamlessly and efficiently - often getting full-body workouts complete in about 35 minutes. She curates unique playlists for each class and weaves in the music so the class flows beautifully and you are more easily able to stay mentally engaged.

Jessica enjoys educating her clients about their bodies by sharing her knowledge of anatomy and alignment to help them understand their body better and feel inspired to work hard. The results she asks clients to pay attention to are all about how they feel after class. Are you smiling? Did you surprise yourself? Do you feel good in your body? The answers to these questions can help you as a client design your own fitness program.

Jessica is offering 15% off one month of unlimited classes. The promo code is TALISMAN15. This offer is valid through January 31st, 2022. For more information on her classes, you can reach Jessica at www.belongwellness.com