[00:00:00] This is the place of community connection where we honor and celebrate each individual's unique gifts and passions, share rituals for all the seasons and cycles of life, and bring light to both ancient and modern practices that transform communities to the new earth paradigm. One that is more loving, compassionate, and life.
This is the Nourish Collective. And we're your hosts? I'm Jeanette Sealy. And I'm Kate Strakosch. And we're so grateful that you're here with us to take this journey, to grow, to explore, and to weave together magic and wisdom.
[00:00:45] Jeanette: In today's episode, Kate and I talk with Jamie Coppa. Jamie is an artist, educator and creative entrepreneur. She is certified to work with infants, newborns, and dementia [00:01:00] patients through the Association of Montessori International, and currently serves as director for the nonprofit Lily Montessori parent child Center in Belmar, New Jersey.
in addition to her work with families, she is a holographic, sound healing practitioner musician. Children's yoga teacher and recent graduate of a 200 hour yoga teacher training.
Jamie is committed to a life of turning her passion for children, music, and wellness into a variety of offerings for the collective that uplift, support, and foster community and connection.
Thank you for being with us today. Here's our talk with Jamie.
[00:01:50] Jamie: it's in the mystery that we kind of fall into that lovely dance with life and learn so much about life and [00:02:00] ourselves in having the courage to step into the. And I was, I've been reading Brit Johnson's work a lot recently, and mostly she just puts up beautiful little short clips on her Instagram, but she really spoke to magic and that there is an essence of bravery in magic.
, a lot of times it is us having the courage to be brave and maybe to make a bold choice in our life if we find ourselves on a. That may be, it may be serving us in many ways, but ultimately it's that tiny little voice deep within the seat of the soul, or the alchemist describes it as the heart whisper that we know is there and just have to heed that voice here and there.
And it's easier said than done and have all the human emotions around it. The. You know, [00:03:00] anxiousness about the future and what that holds and the, with the willingness to let go of such a beautiful, , community at this time. But I just know that yeah, there's always magic on the other side. Even if it's comes the side of, , the stress or the challenges that arise, I know that there's still gonna be some really beautiful lessons and cultivation that takes.
[00:03:26] Kate: And if not now, then when, because so many people have these desires and dreams within themselves, but they, they don't activate it. And, and life just carries by in so many ways that . Beginning of this year does not feel.
that long ago, but how quickly life moves and to create this conscious space to look at everything from a wider perspective and to celebrate all that you've created and all the life and the joy that you've brought to [00:04:00] families, and now taking this leap to spread your wings and explore more of the inner world for you.
[00:04:08] Jamie: Yeah. Thank you. and I feel very blessed to be able to work with families and with mothers, most importantly with little children because of the potency that a little child comes into this world with even in their most humble and vulnerable time. Just the essence of what that spirit brings and all of the growth that comes with that experience.
For anybody that's lucky enough to be in the presence of newborn, . But I do feel like for me, my gift is maybe the voice and working with families. And so for me to take that shift and potentially move into, you know, expression of, in terms of my songs or using the guitar again as a modality to share, um, I'm really excited to kind of get a [00:05:00] more full picture.
I, I really like to, I like to think that I'm. Learning how to embody, like we talked briefly about human design before we came on that manifesting generator. If I could have a motto or a mantra that I'm trying really hard to have the courage to live my life by, its to do the things that I'm passionate about, even if it doesn't seemingly make sense to another, you know, you always hear with a branding, it's like, pick a lane, , find a lane.
And I wanna challenge it. Yes, I wanna challenge that, you know, instead of mastery of one, just maybe exploration of so many things that really speak to my soul. And hopefully when it's all said and done, at least in this physical body, that I look back and really feel confident that I courageously made choices and was able to tap into different areas of myself and connect with different hearts and minds on a.
[00:05:59] Jeanette: That's so [00:06:00] beautiful, Jamie. Thank you. Yes. , having worked with end of life so much, you know, when we reach that stage, the people who die well are the people who have done that. And so it's so sweet to, to see you embodying that . To know. In, in your own truth, that following your heart is the most important thing you can do.
Takes a long time to learn that sometimes. So I admire that very much. Thank you.
[00:06:26] Jamie: And I would say that I think I, it really makes, that makes me think more about how that maybe has come to be. And I think in part it's that awareness around the fragility of life, having lost a parent so young. and taken decades and the rest of my life to work through and honor and sit with the grief of an anchor.
You know, my father leaving the earth, , and him as, as well at such a young age. And then I [00:07:00] think that the heart contracts so very much that in the natural law of things is that it also will then expand an equal amount. And so maybe even at a young age, , not properly channeling that brief, you know, finding different ways to kind of suppress or work through and move around.
But I think at this stage in my life, I'm just really ready to witness it all, and I think that that's kind of what the driving force is. Betw behind living a heart-centered life is in part moving in honor for his memory, but also just knowing that nothing is guaranteed. I feel like it's almost like a superpower because I feel deeply in myself that there's almost nothing you can take from.
In life, especially of the tangible that I don't know comes back in a spirit form because of my connection with my father's spirit, or that I don't know will ultimately [00:08:00] serve some higher purpose or serve me as well, , in the growth that happens with it. So as painful as it was, I do feel like that's in essence how I've come to.
So, so open and so much in the emotional aspects of life and craving that and seeking it out in my connections and yeah. With others.
[00:08:22] Kate: Yeah. And that's a gift for all of us to be reminded of the fragility of life and to essentially lean into living every moment, but trust in the guidance around it. So thank you for, For sharing that.
And even as we said, reflecting on the year, it's like we can look back at the easeful blessings and we can also look at the moments where we were in those grief stricken dark moments, but to sit with it. And you reminded us before that we have these peaks and we have these [00:09:00] valleys and. . That's how we, we ride with the lessons of life to be with all of it.
[00:09:07] Jeanette: Mm-hmm. . And I love how you talked about the contraction and expansion and that, in the yoga tradition is called spanda, and it's that universal law of every reaction has an equal and opposite reaction. Mm-hmm. . And we will have those moments of turning inward and feeling it all. And maybe. becoming really small.
And then we will have those opposite moments of moving fully into who we are and how we're here to serve. And I think both are very necessary on the journey if we're doing the work and listening deeply to our hearts and our spirit and the guides that are all around us. Mm-hmm.
[00:09:50] Jamie: so beautiful. Yeah, I agree.
I feel like there's, there's so much wisdom in that, what you just said. Absolutely. It's imperative and knowing to people that are out there, that [00:10:00] are feeling like they're in that low space, that, you know, the quintessential thing that people say is it gets better, but it, it does, it does.
If we can just hang on to the knowing from a deeper space that there's so many ebbs and flows in life. . Ultimately, that's what the journey is all about, is riding the wave. Mm-hmm. , you know, That's where ritual is helpful. .
[00:10:28] Jeanette: That's when you get tumbled, you need it washing machines, and I was surfing.
That was like the wildest experience and the only thing you could do is surrender to it. Mm-hmm. , you couldn't fight it. It made it so much worse that you had to just let it move you and try not to resist. Once you're done with that, you'll hopefully come up .
[00:10:54] Jamie: Totally.
[00:10:55] Kate: A new perspective. Yes.
Yeah. Do you have any [00:11:00] rituals that you've been leaning into for yourself over this time, next time that you've lived through and want to share with us
[00:11:12] Jamie: Sure. I mean, I am. An advocate for baths, , I feel like even being in your presence, both you Jeanette and Kate, um, are as two women, I look up to. I think that being around you both and seeing how embodied you are is also a way that I've learned, you know, in essence to watch the wise women around me and notice that they really do take that time to reset and recenter.
So for me, it looks like. , sometimes it's attending a class like that is a good reset for me, but most of the time it's just being in my home with that cup of tea, taking baths, , really taking it down and taking away all the distractions, even if that's only four 15 minutes. , yeah, I would [00:12:00] say that's the most important one for me.
, and , I have a sauna, a blanket, so , that's one of my go-tos just to lie in bed in the. in the sauna blanket and just give myself a moment to kind of reset in essence. And quality time with friends really supports me. , I live on the beach right now in, in a beautiful space where I wake up and I see the sunrise from my bed.
So , that is a ritual now and this moment, and in other times I've brought myself to the sea, but I can't say with as much consistency as waking up and seeing it out my window. But just getting that sunlight and the little things. Yeah, little sunlight in the during the day in my face.
[00:12:44] Kate: Simple sacred moments.
Mm-hmm. , the sunlight, the bath. Mm-hmm. , working with the elements. Yeah. Friendship.
[00:12:54] Jeanette: You know, I think one of the things we're moving into as just [00:13:00] collectively, , the deeper understanding of our interconnectedness. You know, COVID really woke us up to how much we need each other and how isolating life can be.
And we learned to ask for what we need to ask for support and then to receive. And I think that's a journey that we each take individually at certain times in our life when we. In struggle or in transition or in moments of hardship where it's like, yes, that is when we need to reach out and ask for support.
[00:13:35] Jamie: Yeah, and I'm noticing too, for me, I feel. Covid, I mean, changed everything in terms of the way I was able to show up in my friendships and find those kindred spirits who were just ready to remain open and missed so much sorrow, really sorrow and grief and loss and change, and I'm noticing the ways that I.
And feeling most supported [00:14:00] and, and finding that support is in, not even in the moments where we get to that lowest space where we need to find the courage to ask for help, but maybe in the day-to-day where it's, we're learning that by practicing it when we're not in that space. So knowing that a friend is unloading at an event, you know, this busy holiday season and just popping over around the time that they're packing up and bringing a couple carts to the.
Or being available to shoot a text message and say, Hey, is this working for you? Because it's not feeling good in my body. I know we both were trying this thing out. Just having that community connection. And girlfriend really for me girls and the power of female friendship has been so potent and such a driver in my stability.
I would say over the past couple of years or a few years, it's almost, you know, been a few years, um, that I could say that that's been the driving force for my yeah. Stability and. Heart's content. Mm-hmm. , thank God for good girlfriends . [00:15:00]
[00:15:01] Kate: When you said that word stability, I literally just felt chills through my body and that just reinforces the importance of why we do need connection.
We need it to to ground, to thrive, to feel seen. And we are so blessed in this realm of technology that we can do so much, but to actually be. In the flesh with other people. It is it's heart bomb. It's that soul bomb. Even if we are living very different experiences and. Sometimes it's not even gathering to talk and to process things out, but just to be together is such a gift and so special and so needed.
Yeah,
[00:15:44] Jamie: I couldn't agree more. Just the other night, a friend of all of ours, I'm in the tub and they're in the sauna of blanket and we're in silence in my apartment. You know, just like having that physical presence of another heart, mind, soul on the journey. , sometimes it's better [00:16:00] left unsaid cuz we do so much of that lamenting and connecting and celebrating one another.
But just to be present and do nothing has been. Yeah. Also very nutritive. Hmm. And
[00:16:14] Jeanette: the power of presence and the co-regulation. We, we, we really do help each other find stability. Was one of the powerful reminders, like as a mother and as a body worker, my nervous system and the state of it is so important for showing up and being available to others.
And so the nourishment then that we're able to receive takes place in the friendships and in the sisterhood, and yeah,
[00:16:45] Jamie: it's really important and beautiful. Hmm.[00:17:00]
[00:17:10] Kate: There are so many different sides of you that we are blessed to witness in the world. And I say that watching you as a businesswoman create this beautiful experience for families and then your gift of singing and sound, bath medicine, sound goal medicine,
one of the practices. That we, our ritual that we have within this podcast is to invite all of our guests to share one of their practices with our listeners, with our audience. So you have so many different . And to put this into just a simple question, is [00:18:00] there anything that you can share with our community practice that you would like to, to share out based on all these different aspects of you?
Hmm.
[00:18:13] Jamie: Let's see.
I guess since I've been so actively working with the families, what comes up for me is just, you know, less is, maybe less is more . That's, I'm thinking more along the lines of my mother's and, um, the community there and just, The world that we live in, I guess in New Jersey and the challenges that arise with like the busyness and all the things around us.
Just for me, I think in, in order to do those different modalities, and to divide my time, I've had to really scale back. And maybe that looks like not doing, um, certain things that I may have committed [00:19:00] myself to in the past, and just less is more sometimes with our families. Definitely in terms of rearing up the little kids and all of the craziness that comes with being a new mom and all of the emotions, I, I always tell them I could never truly understand or know.
What that experience is like, but it's the beauty of looking in at little child and seeing that potential. That kind of drives probably most of what I do. I would say, you know, working with families and the art definitely came from my own inner child meeting that space to express. Um, and then the sound just being a beautiful modality for me to really have connected with my father in a deeper way.
And so after many, many years of attending Donna's baths in the Como, I was able to, um, be opened up to the possibility of a going in training under Paul Humbert with [00:20:00] holographic sound. So, yeah, I guess I started with less is more , but ultimately, . Don't forget what your deepest knowing self really wants in your life.
I guess that would be the wisdom that I ultimately have come to, you know, no matter what the circumstances are around, to really take the time to figure out what it is that you want in life and be courageous enough to. , take the steps, do that. And sometimes less smart. is what gets you there.
Thank
[00:20:38] Kate: you. Thank you so much. I have a guitar and a sound ball if you like to share song .
[00:20:47] Jamie: Sure. Um, I'll do guitar I think. Okay. Yeah.
All right, let's see.[00:21:00]
[00:22:00] [00:23:00]
[00:23:37] Kate: Oh my God. Thank you
[00:23:40] Jamie: so much. Oh, my pleasure. Your
[00:23:42] Kate: voice always brings tears to my . So beautiful. Thank you.
[00:23:48] Jamie: Thank you guys. Thank you very much for having me.
[00:23:54] Kate: That's a gift. You are a gift. Yes.
[00:23:56] Jamie: Thanks. Yeah. [00:24:00] More music in 2023. That's a huge part of the release releasing. No matter what it looks like,
[00:24:14] Kate: it's so moving. I absolutely am here for it.
[00:24:19] Jamie: more music. Yes.
[00:24:24] Kate: That moves into every level and layer in the
[00:24:27] Jamie: field. Yeah. It's, it was, it is my gift in in life that. . I wouldn't say born with a singing voice, but man, that was a massive gift and, and it was a learn learned, but through the loss of my dad, I just remember the way that music absolutely hit me in my core.
If I remember being in my mall, I always say 97 Windstar minivan because I don't know what exact year, but I know what that [00:25:00] damn thing looked like, and I'd be in the third row. Kind of trying to tap out, you know, you're in a state of a very numb state of shock for a long time after losing a parent as a child.
And I'll never forget, like hearing Anthony, he's voice and under the bridge. Like, I don't ever wanna feel, you know, little songs that I remember, or Leanne Rhymes says, how do I Live Without You? They all came out around the time of my dad's passing and it every cell in my body would vibrate to the songs that really resonated.
And so they, they really supported me. And so then through that I really started to look to music as a source of comfort and. I wanted to emulate some of the bigger singers that I was hearing, and so I would sing all the time, all the time. And yeah, I didn't actually start to sing openly or do, um, any like performing until college or later.
So [00:26:00] yeah, it took a little bit of time to foster that. , but I really, I don't, I don't think I feel ever feel any better than when. , I'm able to connect with an audience, whether it's five people or or 50 people, and just sing a song or two that I was able to create. Right? Yeah.
[00:26:18] Kate: Did you write that? Yeah. Oh, cool.
That's even
[00:26:20] Jamie: better. I would not have played someone else's song. Would you to sing something?
Yeah.
[00:26:31] Kate: Thanks. Thank you Jamie. Thank you for you being you and sharing so much love and so much light into
[00:26:38] Jamie: the world. Thank you both. Yeah, and thanks for having me on and for your friendship and yeah, I'm just really looking forward to continuing on the journey and having you both nearby ,
[00:26:53] Kate: hopefully. Mm-hmm.
God willing
[00:26:55] Jamie: you stay in the area. ,
[00:26:57] Jeanette: we'll be here. I'll be here. Yeah, [00:27:00] it wasn't the plan, but you know, we make plans and God laughs.
[00:27:03] Jamie: Exactly. .
Exactly. For sure. Yeah. Jersey girls
