HER STORY ⟡ Jess Noreiga
Hi! I’m Jess Noreiga, a registered yoga teacher, certified integrative health coach, and licensed speech therapist (SLP). I live in Baltimore, MD with my husband and our dog Pico, a sassy but sweet little weiner dog with a big personality. I love anything related to approachable, accessible wellness and am passionate about “self-care” that extends beyond trends and fads.
As a medical speech pathologist, I support patients in their pursuit of goals that improve their overall quality of life.
As a registered yoga teacher, I guide students towards safe, holistic, and empowering practices that benefit their overall wellbeing- primarily, their nervous systems. As an integrative nutrition coach, I help clients explore how their wellness goes way deeper than dieting. As a whole, I am committed to helping others find balance and a sense of wellbeing with a strong emphasis on stress management.
Why I started:
When I started my career as an SLP, I quickly witnessed the shortcomings of our healthcare and education systems in teaching us tools for disease prevention, stress management, and overall balance. Feeling unable to help others in the capacity that I wanted to, and weighed down by burnout as a healthcare worker, I experienced inflammation, hormonal issues, and chronic stress. Thankfully, I began learning how to use food as medicine, yoga as connection to my true self, and nervous system practices for stress relief.
After studying these modalities, I started implementing them with my patients, clients, and yoga students, and my “why” started to solidify: I do this work so that I can help others reduce the hold stress has on their bodies, loosen their grip on perfectionism, and find whole-body wellness!
Who or what inspires you?
I find my inspiration in the teachings of Yoga. As a holistic practice, Yoga has so many tools to help us unite all parts of ourselves (our bodies, our breath, our soul), and tools to make us more kind and compassionate humans. I often encourage myself and those I work with to tap into the principle of “ahimsa”, which translates to “do no harm”. It may sound simple, but we often subconsciously overlook this, even with how we treat ourselves. A quote that always brings me back on the path of loving kindness, is one from Dr. Jaiya John, and it really captures the essence of healing that I resonate with, and love to guide others toward: “Her nervous system had been through so much. She decided to spend the rest of her life calming the inflammation. Thoughts, feelings, memories, behavior, relations. She soothed it all with deep, loving breaths and gentle practices. The softer she became with herself, the softer she became with the world, which became softer with her. She birthed a new generational cycle: Peace."
What advice would you give your past self just starting your business?
I would tell myself to truly release perfectionism. I have always seeked to be anti-perfectionist, but it’s certainly easier said than done! When starting any endeavor or taking any risks, it can be easy to overthink, overanalyze, and place hefty expectations on yourself. The urge or need to be “perfect” causes harm not just to ourselves, but perpetuates unhealthy and unfair expectations in society. Younger Jess, be gentle with yourself!
For anyone starting something new or taking risks- I would lovingly remind you to be patient, be willing to make mistakes, and to always remember your “why”.
What would you like our Beauty Boost members to know?
Use the connections, friendships, and community to your full advantage! Soak up what resonates with you, but don’t let the wellness world overwhelm you! There is so much helpful and valuable information available to you, but it doesn’t *all* have to be incorporated into your lifestyle.
If you would like to begin a journey of calming your own stress and inflammation, I would love to help out! I offer individual as well as group services, using yoga and/or health coaching to help you soothe your nervous system and work towards any other health goals you have. Your body does its best healing when in a state of calm- let’s work together to give your body the tools it needs!
Where can our community can find you?
I am on social media @imperfectly_well_blog and online at www.jessnoreiga.com. I provide at least one monthly email newsletter with free resources, a new blog post, and more! Sign up, say hello, or inquire about working together either on instagram or through my website!
