Meet Jessica

Hey! I’m Jessica Ruth Shepard.

Helping others be their healthiest version of themselves is what I’ve done as a holistic health coach and bodyworker for over 23 years. That doesn’t mean I haven’t had to learn my own lessons about what it means to transform your health—on all levels—and continue to do so.

A little while back things got very dark when a virus ran through my kidney, causing complications, and even a heart embolism scare. And on top of that, the severe back and leg pain I had been managing already for many years, got much worse. I was so sick that every doctor I met said they couldn’t believe I didn’t die.

Some people  who knew me said, “How could this happen to a health practitioner? You’re so healthy!” Well, it happens, and for all sorts of reasons.

Coming home from the hospital and letting people help me was really challenging for me. I was ashamed, embarrassed, and beyond lost. Part of me thought I had somehow failed.

I knew I couldn’t spend much time stuck in self-blame or my sickness would drag on. And I knew that I couldn’t just go back to my previous state—I had to use this experience to learn a whole other realm of “self-care”. Because I didn't just need the immediate medical care; I had to seek out a full-on recovery path! And I couldn’t do a big thing like that alone. We never can do these things alone.

I realized that even though I put (what I thought was) healthy food in my body, looked fit, and exercised, there was an underlying issue... I had a habit for choosing unhealthy relationships with people who didn’t treat me well, and downplaying my own worth and value along with self-destructive thought patterns.

I decided that I couldn’t settle for anything less than self-love and care (just like I wouldn’t want my friends or clients to settle for either!). I was waking up to a whole other level of awareness about myself, the messages of my body, mind and spirit.

To get the health of our dreams—the kind that lets us be our biggest, boldest self—we must address the whole, not just one part.

Now, I can understand that all these challenges actually had been a CALLING to truly level everything. I have always learned about myself and how to help others through my own experiences.  It wasn't just those particular relationships, it was also downplaying my worth and value in everything.

Getting emergency medical help for my kidney was necessary, but above all else, my most profound healing came from learning more about creating healthy boundaries, cutting out excessive people-pleasing, quitting over-committing, and deepening my spiritual practice.

Over the years, I’ve been through many crazy, chronic things,  learning how to manage migraines, heal my thyroid condition, many years of debilitating back pain...and major digestive issues, especially after my kidney infection (to name a few!). I healed them all and continue to learn and teach from that place and beyond.

WHAT I LEARNED TRANSFORMED MY LIFE.

In my bones I believe that we learn from all relationships. Even difficult ones are there to show us parts of ourselves, if we listen and allow them to be. First and foremost, that includes our relationship to our own health.

To have sustainable change, you have to be empowered with information and I am here to help you do that. Real, lasting change is a process. It won’t happen overnight. But together we can hit fast forward on your transformation so you can be who you’re really meant to be sooner!

I'm a scout for the hidden gem that is your best health. I'm a miner for your soul digging up the buried treasures....helping the brave to revitalize their health while also finding the spark to speak their truths.

I bring to each session over 20+ years in Holistic Health training, including a wide variety of expertise in Polarity Therapy, The Rosen Method, Certifications from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Living Foods Lifestyle from the Ann Wigmore Institute, Nutrition Advisor from Sanoviv Medical Institute along with receiving years of professional coaching training, teaching classes and workshops on food and mood, mind-body therapy, digestive health, facilitating retreats, and teaching community health in places all over the world, working with a touring educational theater company with Kaiser Permanente in schools teaching about health, Flo Living Women’s Hormonal Health training, collaborating with other thought leaders and wellness workers of the world, classes with Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Deepak Chopra, and Dr. Andrew Weil, and many others while at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, mentoring students, partnering with a top-of-the-line wellness company with my mentor Dr. Christiane Northrup. My extensive trainings with highly respected coaches, mentors and various practitioners over many years have brought me even deeper, embodied ways of helping my clients truly thrive and THAT is the ultimate gift and goal, always.

In my spare time, I perform with improv groups and other creative arts because at the core, so much of what life and our health is about is that: improvisation. Creativity and artistic expression are essential life forces.

Any day of the week I’m willing to go deep. Find solutions. Commit random acts of connection. With my clients I always honor the darkness, but we don’t stop there. We give it some perspective, shed light on it, flip it on its side, and crack a smart joke that opens you up.

I wouldn’t be where I am today without getting real support and care from wonderful people. I had to battle that old belief that getting help means you’re weak. Really it means that you’re brave -- ready to jump off, even if you don’t know what’s on the other side.

If you’re ready for lasting transformation, let’s talk!