We had the pleasure of sitting down last week with Jessalynn Hudgins – yoga instructor, holistic wellness consultant and the studio manager at Bryony Body, our yoga studio in Exeter, NH. She taught us all about her journey with wellness, yoga and everything in between. Keep reading to learn more about how she’s actively changing the stigma around mental health in the workplace all while helping people find their zen.

Jessalynn sees yoga as her lifeline.

Credit: Kate Donovan Photography

Her peaceful escape from her high-functioning lifestyle. Fifteen years ago, she was in the heart of her career working in finance. She had a self-described “work hard, play hard” mindset and pushed herself to extremes mentally and physically. Yoga was a way for her to counteract any unhealthy choices she was making at the time.

After leveraging a few different roles in the business world, she found herself at the peak of her finance career working in operations for a distinguished private equity firm. This was high-producing, yet quickly became toxic and shut their doors, leaving her jobless. Jessalynn decided this was the perfect opportunity to chase one of her longtime dreams: visiting Bali and receiving her yoga certifications.

She headed straight to Bali in 2019 and began an intensive month-long yoga certification process. Six days a week beginning at 6am each day, Jessalynn learned the power and challenge of stillness in addition to understanding where anatomy and philosophy meet.

A fresh perspective on wellness

Credit: Kate Donovan Photography

Fast forward to the Spring of 2020, just as the pandemic began, she moved to Newburyport with a fresh perspective on wellness. Soon after she met Katie and was introduced to the Bryony and Birch family in, what felt like, divine timing. She began teaching through the Bryony Body studio while simultaneously creating her own wellness consulting business, Whole Health Wellness.

Jessalynn’s consulting business merges her business expertise with her passion for health. It’s been a labor of love, but extremely rewarding to work with local businesses. Her biggest challenge is getting the decision maker of each company to understand the power of providing health and wellness services for their employees. From there she works with her clients to supply services ranging from physical and emotional counseling to nutritional guides from registered dietitians, to financial security coaching. All her services are assisted by providers certified in their fields.

Jessalynn’s lifestyle has changed quite a lot since moving out of the finance realm. She finds that her yoga practice keeps her zen and centered and she keeps her hands (and heart) full by managing the Bryony Body studio.

When asked what the #1 misconception about yoga is, she tells us it’s the idea that you need to be flexible. She finds that being flexible in the mind actually trains your body to follow and you come to realize it isn’t just about the body, but the 8 limbs that yoga is built on, which becomes very spiritual.

Finding her support system

When she isn’t teaching yoga or consulting, Jessalynn enjoys having strong self-care practices. She has a green thumb with a house full of plants. She also has a white fluff-ball cat named Elle that she adores. When asked what it means to be an empowered woman, she says it all starts with having an awesome support system, which Bryony and Birch is for her. Not only as business partners but also as friends. Her favorite quote and mantra is “A rising tide lifts all boats.” To her this means staying positive and uplifting all those around her.

You can stay in touch with Jessalynn by following @wholehealthwellnessusa and learn more about Bryony Body here.