Starting a Self-Care Revolution with Jenelle Woodlief
Jenelle Woodlief is an empowered bodyworker in Portland, OR specializing in Thai Massage. She is also a Mom, Entrepreneur, Bodywork Coach, and all around positive force in the world.
She is also actively starting a Self Care revolution that seeks to place a self care coach in everyone’s pocket.
I was thrilled to have her on the show to discuss a range of topics.
Topics we discuss:
Jenelle’s path to bodywork and then to founding her business
Radical Self Care
Cultivating Authenticity and Vulnerability
Loving Yourself
Thai Massage
Empowered Bodywork
Convincing clients to invest in their own healing process
Jenelle’s Bodywork/Coaching
Work/Life balance
Practice Building
Changing the world in 2020
Jenelle’s self care revolution
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Get to know Jenelle!
Jenelle’s Website | Jenelle on Instagram | Jenelle on Facebook
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Links
Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez
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Listen, read, watch! You can listen right here, or with a podcast app of your choice. You can also read the complete transcript below*, or scroll to the bottom of this post for the video.
You can browse all previous episodes on Libsyn and Youtube!
*Please note that this transcription is generated by a computer. While it has been lightly cleaned up, there are many wonky typographical and formatting issues throughout.
Nick: 00:00 Welcome to the massage hodgepodge cast. My name is Nick Peterka, a licensed massage therapist here in the Portland, Oregon area. I am joined by Jenelle Woodlief today an empowered bodyworker. I'm saying that right. Great. Say hello. So glad to have you here. Nice to be on the show. My first official guest, Oh yeah, it's so exciting, which I hope it pans out okay for you. We'll see how I am as an interviewer. You can give me the, the shakedown afterwards. I accept all levels of honesty. Okay. So I think I mean I know you kind of from social media of all things, social media, online connecting people in the real world, who would have ever thought, I know it's crazy. So and I was really inspired when I saw a lot of the things you posted in the way that you share which is leading us to some of these specific topics that we're going to talk about, which we'll get to. But through the social media, I know you as a massage therapist Thai massage, specifically an educator, a mom, a business owner, and I think a good way to start is to give a little bit of your background and how you came to be here and practicing massage this, we're in your space right now and how you came to be here.
Jenelle: 01:28 Yeah. Cool. So my, I guess my start of massage came across as kind of accidental in a way. I was getting my PhD and I was working on my dissertation and was massively unhappy and depressed and I, but I felt really stuck. Like I didn't know how to do anything different and it was kind of a tragic thing that led me to do something different. But my, the chairwoman of my dissertation committee passed away and I suddenly had the choice of either moving back to Boston and finding a new topic for my dissertation and losing a year and a half of work or accepting the fact that the universe was telling me something and to take that message and I took the message that I needed to be doing something different. And
Nick: 02:23 So it's interesting that your all that work, you did passed away with her in a way. Yeah, it did. But the universe gives you a new message.
Jenelle: 02:33 It gave me a new message. Yeah. And it, it told me that I really needed to listen to, not just by heart, but my body because my body was talking to me in some really profound ways that I wasn't listening to. What did that look like? Anxiety severe anxiety, headaches digestive issues. Trouble sleeping. I mean, pretty much the whole gamut of I guess disharmony. And it was coming across in some pretty profound ways in my body. And when I kinda got hit in the head and the universe said, okay, you're really not listening here, so I've got to do something really extreme. At the time, did you associate those, that disharmony with being no on the wrong or is that just all retrospect? It's, it's largely retrospect. I mean in the moment I, I just simply didn't want to move back to Boston and I, because I had started a relationship and I was really happy a relationship that eventually would have turned into a marriage or it definitely, it eventually did turn into a marriage.
Jenelle: 03:51 And I just knew I wasn't happy and knew I needed to do something different and I wasn't quite sure what it was, but I sat down and I did a lot of soul searching and was thinking really hard about what, what things were that were making me unhappy with what I was doing and kind of pieced together what I felt like was missing. And, and then took that whole picture and used it to explore what else I could be doing. And massage kind of popped up as as an option that I was like, Oh, I guess I could entertain that, but I don't know. Is that a real job? Like it just seems so idyllic, like it just, it didn't seem really possible to me. Yeah, I don't, I don't know. My, you know, I think being in a PhD program, I was very so focused on being analytical and it, it was a huge leap for me to step outside of that and do something that my mind actually had to quiet during.
Jenelle: 04:57 And anyway, so I was just curious and I went to a preview day at one of the massage schools and there was a Thai massage therapist who was doing a demo. You're in Portland? No, no, no. He's, he doesn't teach. He's just, yeah, he's just a practitioner. And so I had a few minutes of time massage and I'd never, I'd never had or even heard of a time massage before. And it was, I mean, a very profound moment in my life because it was very clear that that's what my body and my heart really wanted to be doing. So that started my massage career. And yeah. Yeah. It was just kind of, yeah, that's in the first episode of this show. I talk about my history with massage. Now I feel sort of self conscious about not having a cool story or just, it was interesting and I chose to do it. Like, I
Nick: 05:58 Mean, it's probably not even true. Like I always thought that everyone had like a really cool reason to be there and I didn't, so I never talked about it. But yeah, that's, I hadn't even had that yet.
Jenelle: 06:08 How much body work at all before entering school. Okay. Yeah.
Nick: 06:12 I certainly had never had Thai. I've had Thai since, but yeah. Yeah. It's amazing. Yeah, I know. So that's you, that's becoming a massage therapist. But then other things happened in between, between now I should say, but owning your own business.
Janelle: 06:32 I finished massage school and I studied in Thailand for a couple months. And when I came back, I started my own practice. So I've always been an independent practitioner. But I started having babies and frankly I found family life really overwhelming and daunting and really didn't have any energy to give to anyone else myself, let alone anyone else in the world. So it really wasn't until I was very much kind of forced out into the world by a pretty sudden divorce and separation. And when I was, when I first went back to work, I had a my practice was in a studio in my house and there was just something that was missing about it. And, and so I started to look around for places where I might be able to bring my kids and have it be a little bit more of a balance between just being at home and just being at work.
Jenelle: 07:40 And so I, as I was kinda thinking about this, I thought that I, I'd like, I didn't, I didn't know of anything, so I thought maybe I would create something. And then through a connection I heard about Vida and Vida for those for people who don't know, it's a coworking space that was designed and run by women and it's all around making life work for the modern person, for the modern parent. And so I found that this space, and you know, it was at that point in my life when I was open to receiving from the universe and because I was, things kind of like fell into place. And so literally within a three day span to Friday and then to a Monday, I found Vida I found my apartment, I found a new car. And every single one of those, they were the first ones that I looked at and instantly it was, Oh yeah, okay. I'm home. Wow. And so that's, yeah, that's kinda how I got here. That's a lot.
Nick: 08:48 I love that though. That's a great story. I mean, difficult. The time story has its own tragedies. I, I think a good question to ask you just because of it's how I came to sort of follow you online and what I sort of knew you for as it were, is this idea of self care and you've done, you've did this other great episode of the Abundology podcast. Am I saying that right? Yeah, yeah. Renee Spears. Yeah. And you are very forthcoming about your, some of the story you just told and even more detail and I just was blown away by the honesty and the vulnerability you're able to show on that episode and just in some of the posts that you've done. So I, I believe in that episode you refer to it as radical self care. So self care is a term everyone likes to throw around. It usually refers to like, are you going to the gym and are you eating the right things? And it's become sort of nebulous and it sort of seems to mean everything. So it means nothing. So I guess radical self care, like the idea of that, the sound of it. How do you distinguish your feelings around self care from what is becomes the cliche?
Jenelle: 10:16 Well, there's a difference between consumeristic self care, right? Like this idea that you have to spend money, that you have to do things, you know, kind of in air quotes that you need to add more to your to do list that you need an over abundance rightly. You need to add things. And really when it comes down to it, self care is simply caring for ourselves, our bodies, our hearts, our emotions, the way that we prioritize ourselves. The, I like to think about it as not just adding things to your, to do list, but completely rearranging your to do list so that you're at the top of your priority list, which is not something that comes very naturally to most of us, especially parents. We have a very big tendency to prioritize everyone else around us before ourselves. And that puts us in kind of a state of constant stress, if not crisis to the point where we're, it's almost like we're not even paying attention to ourselves until there is a crisis until we get injured or until we have an illness or until we've just really lost our mind.
Jenelle: 11:33 And that's just not, it's not sustainable. And so I use the term radical self care because it just, it stuck with me. It really wasn't intentional. I, I came to a point in my life where I had not prioritized myself for a very long time. The notion of self care and which is why I'm so passionate about redefining what it is. It induced a lot of guilt in me as a young mom with two little kids and an unhealthy marriage. And a lot of demands on me. I, I was, I, I didn't even know who I was and I did not create the self care system that I needed to protect myself. And so when something unexpected and kind of tragic happened I was just, for lack of a better word, traumatized. I, so just to kind of a basic background my, my husband, we'd been married for about six years.
Jenelle: 12:42 Suddenly left me for another woman and I didn't see it coming and it just to say it devastated me was, I mean as a put to put it very lightly. I was like, I felt like I was just plunged into this deep dark hole and it wasn't, I didn't have the tools to love and care for myself. And I don't know that there's a song that I keep hearing because it just came out on the radio, but it goes something like I had to lose you to find me. I had to hate you to love me. And it feels so profound now because I hadn't developed these, these systems or this what I call radical self care. So that when something really awful happened, I felt broken because I couldn't keep myself together. And so I had to learn to find my way out of this hole, which I eventually like it wasn't like a hole that was containing me.
Janelle: 13:48 Like there was a way out, but I couldn't see it when I was stuck in it. And it was a slow process. And I felt very yeah, just very broken. I remember on the other show you mentioned how it started to feel less like a whole and more like a, like a tunnel and then, yeah, the beacons along the way. Yeah, I remember like very specifically thinking about, I had several people in my life who were kind of, you know, at times like kind of pulling me along like, okay, you got to keep moving. And I remember at some point someone said the antidote to fear is action and sometimes it doesn't even matter what that action is, just doing something but not for the sake of like keeping busy. Right. Cause there's definitely like an element of distraction that can happen that we have a tendency to not want to feel our feelings.
Jenelle: 14:50 And so we, and the other thing that I remember hearing was the only way past this is through it. And at some point I recognize that the pain that I was experiencing so much when this event happened, it was triggering pain that went way, way, way, way, way back, like to my early childhood. And that I, I knew at first it was just a sense, but I, I definitely became very concrete. I knew that if I didn't heal those really deep wounds, that this pain was going to keep coming back to me and keep coming back to me and I was done. I didn't want to have to go through that again. And so choosing to love myself was the way that I got myself out of it. Yeah.
Nick: 15:39 Sounds so simple
Jenelle: 15:43 It sure didn't feel simple at the time, that's for sure. But it is, yeah, it's the distinction between simple and easy.
Nick: 15:52 I should say that for my part, I, my self care has been poor lately. I went through I my, my own divorce and I have two small boys is recent and still
Nick: 16:09 Top of mind for me right now. Yeah. Toward the end of the year I was spinning my wheels a little bit and not taking care of myself, just not drinking water and not sleeping the right way and that getting body work, not eating well, just all the things were just, yeah. And it, it may be cliche, but I've sort of taken this new decade to,
Jenelle: 16:32 It's not cliche at all. I'm so excited about 20, 20.
Nick: 16:37 But I would say thank you to you because you've been a beacon in my own tunnel so far. Which
Jenelle: 16:43 I love that. Thank you. It's true.
Nick: 16:47 I was like, what did you Janelle post? I need a boost.
Jenelle: 16:51 Well, I took, I actually took time off, which was huge from, from, from work. Oh, from like Christmas to just yesterday. Oh wow. Yeah. I mean I was still kind of engaging, but I didn't, I didn't
Nick: 17:05 And that, but that's part of taking care of yourself. Yup. Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing. So one of the other elements of why I think your presence in the community in line is remarkable is this level of authenticity and vulnerability and where does it, like my question is, where does that come from? How did you cultivate that? I mean, I know firsthand how hard it is to stand in front of a camera or a microphone. It's, and speak to your truth. All the thoughts that start spinning, speaking for myself. Like how do I look? What are people gonna say? Well, who am I to put this out there? I'll, you know, just all the things. So how do you do It? Where's the magic?
Jenelle: 17:50 I love myself so fiercely that I celebrate being seen
Jenelle: 18:05 And, and it, you know, it's not a I'm a very humble and in many ways, very modest person. So it's really not like a look at me, look at me. It's it accepting that my journey has been really powerful. And the more that I have begun to share it, the more I see the, how much it resonates with people, whether it's specifics, you know, someone who's gone through divorce or some other kind of grief or whatever it is, but the universe set out the universality of pain and the struggle of taking care of yourself. These very basic things resonate with almost everyone, especially with parents. And I'm with a lot of moms that I talk to, whether you go through something big and tragic or not, the messages of putting yourself first is, is huge. And, but I will say that it didn't, it didn't come totally naturally.
Jenelle: 19:15 I had a lot of work along the way. I've had coaches, I've had close friends. I've had just the general process of having to go really deep. But I had one of my coaches to had a really profound effect on me and she kind of just got me on stuck. And I, she, she said some really profound things to me the first time I spoke to her. And it was it really made me realize how afraid I was and we had this really intense conversation and, you know, she said, you know, if you were brave, you wouldn't have done X, Y, or Z. So what are you so afraid of? And I realized that I had been making all these decisions, even though really empowering decisions there were still rooted in fear and this fear was controlling me. And so it was a combination of that conversation.
Jenelle: 20:16 And then I had, I went to a a, an event that night. So after this conversation with my coach and I randomly pulled a card from a deck of quotes that the speaker was passing out and having us having a select one and it said, be brave. And it's insane. It was so insane. And, you know, it just, it was like, it just unstuck me. And I just started to celebrate myself. Like once I started to realize that I didn't have to hold onto that fear anymore. I started to see the ease in what happens when you show up authentically in the world. Like it just things flow. And when you put yourself out there in an authentic way, what you need and what you crave attracts to you. And it's, there's magic in that, but it doesn't happen if you, if you hide, does it get easier to share? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Cause there's definitely an element of like positive feedback, right? Like if you are, you know, sharing and sharing, but no one's like interacting with you or,
Nick: 21:43 Yeah. I feel like with my but I always just remind myself that I'm just starting this journey and it might try to create a community and build something and it takes, yeah.
Jenelle: 21:57 Yeah, it takes time. But I also you know, I am, a lot of people are surprised by this, but I'm actually incredibly introverted.
Nick: 22:12 In the, in the, in the true way in that you get energy from having time alone kind of way. Yeah.
Jenelle: 22:19 And so it has been a real process to learn how to do things like walk into a networking event where I know nobody you know, in my past life, I guess you could, you could say that would've been kind of unheard of. It would have taken so much energy that I just wouldn't have felt comfortable at all. And, but once I started showing up authentically and just celebrating like the fact that I'm here and the fact that I'm doing these things, I, I can walk into a room and not know anybody and be perfectly comfortable and, but it took like lots of getting out and meeting people and introducing myself as this new me and having it be received with such positive light makes a huge difference. Amazing.
Nick: 23:22 Self care, authenticity, Thai massage. I know you touched on this a little bit. So my, my question when I was making notes for this episode was why Thai massage? Were you ever drawn to any other styles or, Nope. It's always been Thai. Yep. Yeah.
Jenelle: 23:39 Yeah. So well, so I'm a, I'm a small person and the working a massage table feels really uncomfortable to my body. I really liked to be able to move and I have a a long background in yoga in dance and I just like to move. And so when I, when I discovered Thai massage in that, in that demo I saw how the therapist was able to move his body and, and then receiving it the way that my body felt to be moved like that. It, it works really well for my body. I like to see that it activates like every part of my brain as well as my body. Everything's like working together. It's intuitive. It's intellectual, it's meditative. It's, there's the, the movement aspect. Like I'm like in touch with my body. I am in touch with my client's body. There's just so much that is very holistic about it in the truest sense, like holistic approach to being as well as moving and thinking about the world.
Nick: 24:54 Cool. I got to get more Thai massage. Everybody does. It's amazing. And we introduced you early on as empowered. Yes. How do you define that? What does that mean to you to call yourself an empowered bodyworker?
Jenelle: 25:10 Yeah, so I, you know, the way that I practice is really centered around empowering people to take care of their bodies through the body work that I do, but also through teaching self care. So I do a lot about sharing with my own journey of developing really radical self care. But I also just give my clients really simple tools to care for their bodies at home. I don't believe that we should rely on anyone else to fix our bodies. And the, the idea that you go to a massage therapist or any other kind of body worker or practitioner to get fixed one, it's just not sustainable. And two, it's disempowering especially cause there are going to be times when you can't get to a professional massage. Whether there are financial or time or resources or whatever kind of constraints that you have going on in your life, your self care shouldn't fall apart simply because you can't go get a professional massage. And not only that, but the benefits of professional massage only goes so far. If you're not doing things at home for yourself,
Nick: 26:24 How do you communicate to your clients about the ways that they can take care of themselves in a way that convinces them to take action? Let me explain. I haven't been out of regular practice for a number of years while the boys were little and now I'm getting back into it. My practice here, I would give people, when I first got out of school I was like, Oh, you got to do this, stretch, this exercise and this, and then it'd be like they'd come back and they would do nothing and be like, okay, if you could do just these three things, this is really going to help you. They'd come back and they would do nothing. And I'd be like, finally, I got to the point, got so jaded so quickly, I was like, all right, I know you're not going to do this any way, but if you could do this one thing, it would help you. Yeah. Yeah. So there's a, what are your thoughts on that? I start to get clients in the door. I want to convince them to take, take that action, take that recommendation and bill and believe me, maybe I communicated poorly at the time as well. That's entirely possible.
Jenelle: 27:25 Well, I mean, I can relate because when I had my practice before, I was doing the same thing and was getting really dis and heart disheartened because if people weren't ready, you know? Right. It's a, it's a readiness thing. They're not ready to prioritize themselves. They're not ready to integrate those things that, I mean, we both know that, that they work, you know but they're just not quite, at that point, there's not going to be any convincing that will be really possible. And so when I went back to having my practice this time around it was really, it has to be a central component of how I present myself in the world so people know what they're getting when they come to me. And so I attract two different types of clients and you know, one of them ideally will lead to the other, but I have a coaching program.
Jenelle: 28:18 And so I work with people for a set amount of time, either five or 10 weeks. And it's an investment that people make in changing their bodies. This is body work plus conversation. So it's bodywork coaching. Oh, okay. Yep. And so it includes body work and then includes all of those self care pieces. And so it's a matter of who am I attracting and whether or not they're ready. And so the clients who are in that program they've invested in themselves. They have, you know, set the time of side. They have set the finances aside, they're ready to do all of those things. And I have a very like, specific program that I work them through with a workbook. And they get things to work on every week. And we work on integrating them into their lives. Like it's very set. The rest of my clients who just come in, like for individual sessions, it's less structured.
Jenelle: 29:22 I'll say, Oh yeah, like this is a great thing cause I can't not do that.
Nick: 29:34 And yeah, give them ideas. But you don't try to add extra weight to it or no, not they do it
Jenelle: 29:34 or, you know I know that they, that they work and when they're ready they will, they will do them. But most likely people are just, who are just kinda coming in for a massage, you know, once a month or like, you know, maybe they only see me once or twice, or it's like I'm planting seeds. Like even if they're not going to grow right away they, they, at least they, they're getting those, those messages and they know what I can do. And so when they're ready, they may or may not come back to me to actually get that guidance and to fully integrate that stuff. Yeah. But you know, it's, it's, I'm going to, I would say that it's a struggle that any health and wellness practitioner or physician really encounters like that people have to be ready for change because making new habits, making new routines for self care, that all takes a lot of effort. It's simple but it's not always easy. Right.
Nick: 30:41 That's why my own recent journey has been sort of extra frustrating cause I know all too well. Like how much better I feel just in every way and when I do the right things and I know what all the right things are. Yeah. And still, I mean you can chalk it up to this stress and anxiety and the divorce and whatever you want, but it's still like, Oh, just do the right thing. Yeah. I had another question. Sorry. I'm hopping around a lot. Parenting and work life balance. It seems like this space Vida if the listeners never been here and you're in the Portland area, it's remarkable. I got to hang out in the front for a little while. I think it seems like the space lends it self well to figuring that out for you.
Jenelle: 31:31 Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. You know, we have a drop in child care here and so if there are my, my son's off of school for winter break and I'm able to work because he can be here. So it's, yeah. Phenomenal in that, in that aspect.
Nick: 31:54 Yeah. The work life balance as a concept. It's like people like to talk about it a lot. I don't think. I think a lot, there's a lot of spinning wheels going on around that topic. And just how do you think of that in general? Is there, is that even a thing anymore or it's just our lives are so integrated with our work that,
Jenelle: 32:14 You know, to be honest, Nick, I feel like that's not even really a question I can like fairly answer. I am an entrepreneur, you know, I get to set my life around my priorities. Yeah. Because I own my own business and because I have set my life up this way I have more freedom to do that. Yeah. Our society not set up for a work life balance, you know, family work. It's just, it's just not, and so most people do not have that luxury.
Nick: 32:51 I mean that's a very honest way to talk about that. I feel like no one approaches it and say the system is broken. They just say like, Oh no, you got to do this and this and this, and then everything will be okay.
Jenelle: 33:01 Yeah, yeah. It doesn't, no, it doesn't work that way. I mean, we don't have family leave let alone, you know, maternity leave. We don't have there's not the, the, we don't prioritize children. We don't prioritize parenting. And so in the workplace, it's almost like most people don't get supportive bosses, you know, they don't get supportive employers who are understanding when there's a sick kid, you're just expected to show up, you know, no excuses. And that's, it's almost like it's acceptable in our culture to have that. And you know, most families rely on two incomes and it's not optional. You know, there's lots of things that aren't optional. And I guess I would say that I had the luxury of completely having to reinvent my whole life at a time when I was also creating my business. And so I, you know, was able to do set things up in a way that allowed me to live my priorities in a way that other families just don't easily have access to.
Nick: 34:13 Interesting. Interesting. I'm going to keep thinking about that topic. How do you think about practice building? Come back to this is top of mind for me right now as I'm starting, I've, I've done a lot of work around the brand as it were of massage hodgepodge and creating that and setting up the systems and all the things. It's not really let any clients in the door as such. So that's something I'm really working on right now, getting out in the community more. But I would love to hear how you think about practice building and client outreach and that kind of thing.
Jenelle: 34:48 So I have been building my brand for about a year and it has been a slow journey.
Jenelle: 35:01 It's slow. Yeah, it takes a long time. I, things didn't like fully start taking off for me. I don't know. I wouldn't even say fully taking off. When I moved in here in July, then it was like, okay, now all of a sudden had this, this more room to fill with, with my business. Just not being in a space, you know, attached to my house made a huge difference. But in the beginning, and still now to some extent, but it definitely in the beginning I didn't feel like I knew what I was doing. And so it's not just me. No, no. It's hard. Yeah. And so I kind of developed this practice of
Jenelle: 35:52 Following what felt aligned. And so when I felt really lost around like marketing, like all of the marketing decisions and all of this and all of the that I had a coach say to me like, well, if you didn't have any of those things, what would you be doing? And I said, well, I would just be going out talking to people. And she was like, okay, that's what you need to do. And so I just, I pretty much got involved in every single women's marketing group that I possibly could and I just started just getting out there like meaning anyone I could, talking about myself, talking about my business, talking about my practice, talking about my branding and being open to those conversations and also being open to investing in myself. I was fortunate to have a little bit of savings and so I was able to like pull in the help that I needed when I couldn't see through the muck myself.
Jenelle: 36:56 Yeah. And those things made a huge difference. And, but then it was also just really authentically showing up and, and being clear on who the kinds of clients that I want to attract because that is really, once you know who you want to attract, then you can start speaking to them,
Nick: 37:16 speaking to them and struggling with this. This is really like current for me right now. Yeah. Been doing a lot of work the past few days. Like trying to define that and write about it and speak to it more. Yeah, it's been helpful. Cause when you start, you're just like, I can help everybody. They don't have to help a specific few. It's just like if you're helping everybody, you're helping nobody, nobody understands what you do. And yeah.
Jenelle: 37:44 In the thing is people want someone who specializes in them. Yeah. Right. And you know, I have my niche but it's not like, like I don't turn people away. But it's a matter of how we talk about ourselves in a way that attracts the
Jenelle: 38:08 So the people who are ready to do those self care things, right? Like that's who, that's who I resonate the most with the people who are wanting to do them or at least open to hearing them. And or like ready to actually integrate them. Cause I felt like before when I had my practice, I was doing a lot of like, Oh, you should do this, you should do that. And then no one was really doing them and it felt, and so it, it really, it makes a huge difference when you're crystal clear on who you are and how you want to practice. And those people come to you as long as you're getting out there in like the right ways. And, and that takes a lot of work. Yeah. And it takes time.
Nick: 38:52 Yeah. No doubt. You had been kind of in this weird spot where I'm like, maybe I should go get a job somewhere, but then how am I going to have time to get out there? And like, I'm trying to balance all those ideas right now. Yeah. Not sure where I'm going to land on that, but yeah, it's hard. Yeah. Meanwhile, I decided to simultaneously produce all these videos in this podcast and make it an extra,
Jenelle: 39:14 But you're following what feels aligned or not really sure what you're doing. You're not really sure like where exactly it's going, but it feels good and feels like part of your journey and that is showing up authentically and you may not know what it's gonna look like eventually, like where exactly it's going, but you are, you're in the process of doing it.
Nick: 39:38 Oh, thank you for saying that. And thank you so much for being on the show today. You're welcome. Before I let you go, I have an important question to ask you. Okay. Well I can answer it first though. It only seems fair since it's actually your question. Oh, how are you going to change the world in 2020? Should I answer first? Sure. so my answer to this is a post you put on Instagram. Okay. I don't, I didn't, I didn't look to see if many people answered. I forgot to look. I was just like, I'm going to ask her that question. I am going to continue to build massage hodgepodge and bring conversations like this to the community and build a community and produce long form video that shows off massage therapy of all different styles. I'm hoping that you'll do a session with somebody so people can see exactly what you do from start to end and what that looks and feels and sounds like. And I think that that, that creating that content as it were, can inspire people who don't regularly get body work and get more body work. It can elevate the profession of bodyworkers in general. I think people can just watch something like that and benefit therapeutically. So I'm hoping the more I work on massage hodgepodge, it can make a little the world a little bit better. I think 2020, how are you going to change the world? .
Jenelle: 41:11 I have no idea. So I am starting a self care revolution.
Nick: 41:15 That's no small thing.
Jenelle: 41:16 No. Yeah. I am in the process of creating a brand and a movement to put a self care coach in everyone's pocket. Nice. I could use that. Yeah, so I have a project underway to create a self care app. Cool. I'm also developing my own training program for massage therapists and so.
Nick: 41:47 around empowered body or specific to Thai.
Jenelle: 41:51 Well it is, it is, it is all a package. So the way that I practice, I will be teaching other massage therapists to practice. So I have a couple of starting this this winter and that will eventually get put together in a more formalized training program where people get certified. And that should roll out towards the, the end of the third quarter. That's my goal. Okay. Business talk through quarter.
Jenelle: 42:20 Yeah. That sounds like it's going to change the world a lot. Absolutely. I can't wait to see that third quarter. Okay. So where can people find you? How should they connect with you as well? I have to say my favorite platform is Instagram. I am on tick-tock now too. If you haven't tried it, I have not. Pretty ridiculous. Okay. Check it out. But yeah, I'm on Instagram. It's my first name period. Last name. So it's JENELLEWOODLIEF F as in freedom. And my, I have a website, jenellewoodlief.com. Okay. UI'm on Facebook. My handle there is WoodliefPower. Okay. And yeah, and then I've got all sorts of contact info. Facebook, Instagram, are the easiest ways.
Nick: Awesome. I would encourage anyone to come seek out Thai empowered body work here with you to check out the Vida space.
Jenelle: Awesome. I'm here most days of the week, so.
Nick: Cool. All right, well thank you everyone for listening and we'll see you next time.