We were lucky to catch up with Elsa Janney recently and have shared our conversation below.
Elsa , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
I remember being in High School sophomore year; so sixteen years old, sitting in class (the specific one I don’t remember) and the name Wolf Winds popped into my head. I immediately knew that was my business name. The name of my future business which would be full of various healing modalities, dogs, horses, helping those less fortunate, veterans, children, survivors of sexual trauma, and the greater community of wherever I found myself calling home.
The community I grew up in praised suffering. Literally one of the town slogans is “Butte Tough.” Meaning we can push, struggle, persevere and survive anything life throws at us. On the surface that seems fine enough, but just behind the façade of Butte Tough was a community in pain, hyper independent, unwilling to seek help or be vulnerable. It never resonated with me; although it did deeply impact me and I’ve spent much of my young adult life healing my lone wolf complex. Seeing the impact of self isolation, lack of emotional connection and other relationship struggles in the community I grew up in I always knew I wanted to be of service to a space that fostered community, connection, vulnerability, healing and liberation from ones limiting beliefs, self doubt, and notion of our perceived place in this world.
In between the years of sixteen to where I am now at thirty, I’ve gone on one hell of a ride. From college drop out, esthetic school, yoga teacher, Reiki training, moving to Alaska to run sled dogs and train reindeer I finally at twenty eight found myself presented with the opportunity to start Wolf Winds. It was pretty much my only option as it was in spring of 2020 when the world had shut down and I was homeless, living out of my truck with three dogs, unable to get a job which would require me to leave the dogs in the truck for hours during the day; I had the skills to start my own business, Wolf Winds.
I started with offering Akashic Record sessions which I did on my phone in my truck. I also hand crafted antler jewelry which I sold online and at the local farmers market. It was definitely a state of survival I found myself in. And a long way to go to get to where I want to be.
Two years later, I find myself still striving to get to where I want to be. With a beautiful property where dogs, horses, and people can come together and find healing, tranquility, liberation, tact and tools to support and foster confidence even when they leave. I know this is a worthwhile endeavor and pursuit of my dreams; I’ve had this dream since before I was sixteen and the name came to me. I always knew this was my grander passion in this life. I’ve observed over the course of my life the growth of nature, animal based healing practices. Veterans healing through training horses, children learning to care for an animal; mirroring their capacity to care for themselves, etc. We need this work. And I do it a bit differently.
Where my business is at now is the phase of teaching, offering observation and witness to our interconnectedness to animals and nature. Honoring our ancestors for surviving and making relationships with animals; and now taking charge of a new way of being with animals which gives them sovereign say and autonomy over their being and lived experience. My work is nervous system based. Nothing other than being in the presence of self, animal and nature decides, dictates or discerns your deservingness and worthiness to be here, incarnate on this earth, now, with opportunities for love, abundance and adventure.
Many equine therapy practices center around training a horse, or asking the horse to be available for the human. Taking away the horses unique experience and perspective, making the value of the human centered on what they’re capable of getting the horse to achieve does not create space for a healthy nervous system. They are small doses of dopamine for a job well done, then they fade and the anxiety, PTSD, depression or other returns for the human to continue to cope with.
Whereas, in Horse Medicine Leadership, Holistic Horse Human Harmony, Canine Medicine, dog sledding, shamanic practices, sound healing, yoga and other modalities I offer to clients; they are rooted in a common goal for both animal and human, fun, presence, intimacy, vulnerability, embodiment, compassion, healthy coping strategies and witnessing the individuals own capacity to embrace and accept healing within themselves.
Coming from a community of hard knocks and tough love I appreciate that I’ve found within myself the compassion and understanding that there are different ways of being and becoming who we are meant to be. Life throws us curveballs and that’s inevitable. I want Wolf Winds to be available both as an online presence, which is all we currently are, and eventually a save haven for those, both animal and human, willing and ready to accept and embrace this beautiful, unique, diverse experience of a lifetime we all have been gifted.
Elsa , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Oh boy…. sharing my story is one I’ve always found difficult. I’m a Scorpio Sun and a fairly private person. Although with a Sagittarius North Node I’m practicing my storytelling and I do have to say I’ve lived one odd, wild, adventure.
I’d have to say I’ve always been in the healing arts. From a young age I was always offering massage, when I learned to read I would flip though my mom’s old anatomy books, and people would come to me with their ailments and I just would understand and know what they may need to support them. I was an athlete and an Irish dancer growing up and it quickly became apparent I was being guided to pursue physical therapy, athletic training or another kinesiology based line of work.
Funny thing is we didn’t grow up with animals. My mom was raised on a ranch and she didn’t enjoy the life, and being as busy of a family as we were she didn’t want a dog she felt she would end up taking care of. So me asking for a dog or horse I could keep at my uncle’s ranch was a very common conversation between my mom and myself.
After high school I appeased my family by trying college and studying Kinesiology in both California and Montana. It was not for me, and I ended up dropping out after my second year. Now what led me to dropping out is a big part of what got me to the healing arts, animal therapy industry.
During my time in college I developed a severe habit to orthorexia, extreme exercising and minimal calorie intake. I was incredibly unhappy and later realized was undiagnosed depression with the college experience. I had found a sense of control and worth in how many hours I spent in the gym and the weight of my body. I never sought help or really thought I was doing anything harmful to my body. In the winter of 2012 I got my first dog, Fillin. He began to heal me, unbeknownst to me, because rather than spending hours at the gym I took him for walks, runs, hikes and bike rides. He and I would spend meals together and I was eating more food than I had in years to keep up with his puppy energy. And…. I started skipping class to spend more time with him. I was bored with school and enamored with Fillin.
I dropped out and found esthetic school. I was going to go to massage school, but esthetic school was less expensive. And having grown up with severe acne I did love skincare and makeup. While in school I met a young man I began to date and we quickly fell in love. After school I started work at a luxury dude ranch here in Montana and he proceeded to travel and ski until his money ran out. Sadly, his life ran out before his money did. He was killed in a ski accident in New Zealand. I was completely shattered having lost the first love of my life. His death led me to being aware of my psychic gifts as he would frequently visit me in dreams, and I would feel his presence often. Even the day he dies, before I was told I had been hiking with Fillin and was sitting on a rock at a mountain lake and suddenly was overcome with the sense someone was watching me. I looked around and even remember saying to myself and Fillin, hey do you feel him here? I know his spirit had come to watch over me and say goodbye. I was offered my first experience with Reiki shortly after his death and it was the most painful and horrific healing experience I’ve ever had. I knew that if something felt that powerful and painful it was important.
I took my first Reiki training and began my yoga journey taking me to Bali Indonesia for my yoga teacher training and coming home to find our second dog, Tonks, had found us. These two dogs and I found ourselves on another adventure to feed my inner child passion to become a dog musher and compete in the Iditarod. We moved to Alaska because if we were gonna dog sled, we were gonna do it right. I had definitely left Montana with some acknowledgement that I was running away. That the pain I still was experiencing from my partners death and not knowing what I wanted to do with my life was too much to handle at that time. So Alaska was our reprieve. We fell in love with the state and the sled dogs. I even found myself working on a reindeer ranch training reindeer, guiding tours with them, and became the first reindeer yoga teacher in Alaska, if not the world? Who actually taught yoga with the reindeer in the space with us. This began to rekindle my love of the healing arts and animals. Sparked my creativity for combining my two passions.
I never did compete in the Iditarod, I ran a 200 mile race and that will always be one of my most treasured life experiences. I found myself torn; running sled dogs felt like a selfish endeavor. That I had too much to offer and share with the world and I was hiding away with the dogs I loved so much. When it finally came time to leave Alaska, the dogs and reindeer it was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made in my life. I grew so close to the reindeer and found they were nourishing my innate understanding of energy work, animal communication and other healing gifts. During tours I was talking more about reindeer wisdom, connection, tools they can teach us as arctic animals, and the majesty we feel just being in their presence then what I was scripted to share and “supposed” to say during the tours. The reindeer brought me home to myself.
I returned to Montana because the horses called me home. I can spout a number of other, more logical reasons for moving home, but it was the horses first and foremost. They needed me and I needed them.
As I birthed Wolf Winds and began exploring the Akashic Records, Horse Medicine and strengthening my other healing modalities I began down my own deep healing path. Letting go of my old stories of this life and past lifetimes, began finding my voice, true authenticity and essence to be more of the Elsa I desired to be, rather than the Elsa I was raised and molded to be.
Currently here at Wolf Winds the dogs, now five of them, three horses and myself are the co-creators of the business and together we offer a vast myriad of healing space for both animals and humans to observe, shed, and create their own unique healing experience, I like to say that Wolf Winds is a space of authentic connection to Animal, Land & Self. Where we heal not because we have to, but because we get to, and receive because we are.
We are Jack’s and Jane’s of all trades. From deep spiritual work understanding our soul and the journey they have been on; leading women’s retreats, animal communication, shamanic healing, ancestral healing, Akashic Records teaching and readings, Horse Medicine Leadership, we are currently working on two different oracle decks, and creating our own style of horse training which we hope to begin to beta sometime in 2023. Our belief and mission is to bring awareness to the inner and outer reflections of this world. Our relationship with Self, Land & Animal is what will bring about the greatest sustainable change we seek and need. All of our services offered are rooted in this mission.
We, as in the dogs, horses and myself, can also think of ourselves as animal human relationship coaches. Supporting people and the animals in their care to have a more open, understanding, mutually beneficial relationship which nourishes and fosters both parties unique experience in the relationship. Using animal communication and my deep connection to animal consciousness I mediate, offer support and healing as is guided for the human to better understand the animal’s needs and to create a voice for the animal to share their views, opinions and connection to the human. Animal human relationships have the capacity to be utterly magical and I absolutely love getting to be “fairy godmother” to so many animals and humans.
Wolf Winds is a holistic and quantum approach to animal human relationships. We witness both parties as mind, body and soul. Allowing space for the soul history, soul expression, soul connection and more of both animal and human healing and acceptance. From behavior issues, traumatized and rescued animals, injured and ill animals, animals ready to transition, and more. We work with animals and humans of all kinds. Our only prerequisite is they must be willing and ready for a transformation and new way of being.
From my past to where I am now I am most proud of fighting for myself. I haven’t settled or taken no for an answer. No matter how many eye rolls, words of doubt from people, or complete dismissal of my dreams, work and passions I keep going. And I bring this into my work. I fight for my clients, both animal and human. To support them in realizing and pursuing their dreams and desires and doing my damnedest to help and witness them make it a reality. I honor the hardships we all have faced in our life, and I don’t bond with my clients through our similar or shared trauma. I bond with them through our desire and fire to have a life which brings us joy, connection and liberation. Supporting animal, human and nature in all we do is the epitome of my work. All is connected. All is important and reverent.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I’m currently having to pivot the hell out of my business. This past October I became ill and have been unable to work. This was horrifying to say the least, I didn’t know how I was going to pay my bills or pay for the treatment I needed to recover and get back to work. It’s been quite the internal dialogue of why did this happen? What am I meant to learn from this experience? How can I be better supported by my business? And more questions keeping me up at night.
I’m still ill and my income streams are dwindling due to my lack of being available to work and support clients at this time. So the pivot I’ve had to take so far is to get vulnerable. To ask for help and support from the community I’ve built. This has been so difficult as my ego self has not wanted to come across as week or inept at keeping my business alive. But, those are just fears I’ve had to overcome to and get creative with fundraisers, giveaways, creating some digital courses to still be of service to my community without having to be physically available.
The other space of pivot I’m allowing myself to explore is “is this how my work wants to be expressed and shared with the world?” I’m getting curios and vulnerable with myself and kindly exploring the space of “things aren’t working” and allow me to be shown a different, more authentic way of being available for my community that nourishes myself and allows me to heal. This is a really hard question I’m asking myself because it is bringing up all sorts of failure fears, but again, fears provide for us a mirror to our capacity to love. So I am pivoting from a fear based panic of this isn’t working; to a space of love and allowing a more authentic way for my work to show up and support both my community and myself.
As I’m still in the thick of this I’ve yet to see if this pivot is the breakthrough I need to be supported, but I am also anchoring into my trust and creativity to guide me. I adore my business and community and I won’t stand for a health crisis to be what takes me away from my passions and purpose.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Just because I am a single, self employed business owner does not meant I am doing it alone. I can ask for help. I can be supported.
This is a daily story for myself I have to tune into and bring about compassion and grace to all parts of me who still question if I have to do it alone. When we first started Wolf Winds we prided ourselves on being a one woman show. Scoffing at men at the farmers market who would ask if my boyfriend did all the “hard work” on my antler jewelry? To which I would reply my capability to maneuver power tools on my own and my single self doesn’t need a man to help me. Which I still do all my antler jewelry on my own and I am proud of that. Yet, if help was offered now, I wouldn’t turn it down.
Running a business is something I’ve learned as I gone and it has not been without its hiccups here and there. I’ve never taken a business class or really learnt what I was doing outside of Pinterest articles and YouTube. Over the years though, I have sought support through business coaches and mentors. I’ve learned to be highly discerning on who I seek support from and to not just accept support because it is offered. I see the world, think of business, and connect to people differently and have had to find people who understand me and my esoteric ways. I’ve learned to say “no” through this journey and that is always highly empowering.
My inner athlete and competitive self resisted collaboration initially when I first started Wolf Winds. But my desire to connect with more powerful, like minded people brought me to loving collaboration. Again, I always have to be discerning when reaching out about a collaboration, or when someone seeks me out for one. The collaborations I’ve experienced have been so profound and uplifting. Getting to observe and learn other women’s points of view and understanding of the world as they see it lights me up and strengthens my sense of hope and love for our present world and our future.
This has always been a hard lesson for me to observe within myself because I was bullied growing up. The quiet type of bullying that many didn’t notice because I was an athlete, had good grades therefore I should be happy right? Well most of the other athletes I had to spend time with were not nice or including of me all throughout high school. I hung out with a group of people at school, but didn’t spend time with them outside of school. Not for lack of trying, but I eventually gave up and enjoyed my solitude at home on the weekends spending time with my parents and reading herbalism books, studying hair growth techniques and other holistic fun stuff I enjoyed.
I’m grateful I’ve overcome my assumption that no one will want to spend time with me because I’m weird, like to talk to animals and spend all my time in nature. I have strong, loving female friendships in my life and in my business I am deeply humbled by. As an introvert by nature I’ve learned to come out and seek connection, collaboration and support when I need it, or when I feel someone else may need it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wolfwinds.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wolf_winds
Image Credits
Issac Janney Leslee Uribe Nica Ware