We recently connected with Jaclyn Roberts and have shared our conversation below.

Jaclyn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

The Risk of Beginning Again—Twice

I took a huge risk when I left Durango.

During my years there, I lost my mother, went through a heartbreaking divorce, and watched the wellness studio I built—Habit—close during the COVID shutdown. It felt like everything I’d worked for, everything I loved, was slipping through my fingers all at once.

But even in the midst of all that loss, a quiet voice inside kept whispering: There’s more for you. So I listened. I left. I followed that whisper across the country to Asheville, North Carolina—ready to start a new chapter, both in my life and in my work.

I was building SoulFit Academy from scratch—a coaching practice rooted in softness, soul, and the deep belief that women can come home to themselves after deep grief. I was healing. I was hopeful.

And then, Hurricane Helene hit.

Not physically where I was—but emotionally, it was like a storm cracked through my newly laid foundation. The stress, the trauma, the grief I thought I had left behind came rushing back in a tidal wave. Just when I thought I was rebuilding, life asked me to surrender again.

It was devastating. But it also clarified everything.

The real risk wasn’t the move. It wasn’t the career shift. It was choosing, again and again, to trust my soul over my fear. To follow the voice within when nothing outside made sense. And to let my healing—not my hustle—lead the way.

SoulFit Academy wasn’t built in a straight line. It rose from the ashes twice. And that’s what makes it sacred. It holds space for the women who’ve been through the fire—and are still choosing to rise.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Hi, I’m Jaclyn Rebekah Roberts—board-certified health & wellness coach, trauma-informed yoga teacher, and founder of SoulFit Academy and Natural Rhythm Yoga. My work is rooted in helping women reclaim their energy, balance their hormones, and come back home to themselves—especially after life has cracked them wide open.

I got into this work the way many healers do—through my own unraveling.

For years, I was building a life that looked “successful” on the outside. I opened a wellness studio in Durango, Colorado, called Habit. I was teaching, coaching, giving my all. But behind the scenes, I was quietly carrying immense pain. Within a short span of time, I lost my mother, went through a painful divorce, and ultimately had to close my business during the COVID shutdown. It felt like my world collapsed—personally, professionally, spiritually.

That grief became a catalyst. I moved to Asheville, North Carolina, and began the slow, sacred process of starting over. I was in the early stages of launching SoulFit Academy when Hurricane Helene hit—not literally in my home, but emotionally, it felt like the final straw. The emotional floodgates opened, and I realized: I can’t build a life by pushing through pain. I had to create something softer. Something sustainable. Something true.

That’s how SoulFit Academy was born—out of lived experience, not strategy.

Now, I offer 1:1 coaching, online courses, yoga & meditation programs, and group workshops that blend science-backed health strategies with soul-centered healing. I help women regulate their nervous systems, reconnect to their bodies, support their hormone health, and rebuild trust in themselves—without the shame, the burnout, or the endless pressure to be perfect.

What makes my work different?
I don’t teach from a pedestal. I hold space as someone who’s been there. I’ve walked through grief, betrayal, burnout, and starting over—more than once. My approach is holistic and integrative: we work with your biology and your beliefs, your hormones and your heartbreak.

I believe healing is cyclical. That we aren’t broken—we’re just out of rhythm. And when women reclaim their natural rhythm, everything shifts.

What I’m most proud of:
Honestly? That I kept going. That I kept choosing softness when life pushed me to harden. I’m proud that SoulFit Academy is a space where women can take off their masks, drop the “shoulds,” and finally feel safe in their bodies again.

What I want people to know:
You don’t have to hustle your way to healing. You can heal gently, in rhythm with your body and your truth. You can rebuild a life that feels like you. And you don’t have to do it alone.

This is more than coaching or yoga—it’s soul reclamation. And if you feel like something inside you is waking up, even after everything you’ve been through… you’re in the right place.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

A Story of Resilience: Rising When Everything Falls

If I had to name one thread that’s woven through my entire journey, it would be resilience. Not the flashy kind that’s easy to celebrate, but the quiet, gritty, sometimes painful kind that keeps you going when you feel like giving up.

There was a season in Durango when my world felt like it was crumbling. I lost my mother—a loss so profound it broke my heart open in ways I never expected. Shortly after, my marriage ended, and then COVID came, forcing the closure of my beloved wellness studio, Habit. Those months were some of the darkest I’ve ever faced. I was navigating grief, heartbreak, and the loss of my livelihood all at once.

Most people would say, “How did you keep going?” Honestly, some days I didn’t think I could. I remember waking up, sometimes feeling like the weight of the world was pressing down on me. But underneath the overwhelm, there was a small voice—a deep knowing—that said, “This is not the end.”

I didn’t have a roadmap. I didn’t have a quick fix. What I did have was a commitment to show up for myself, even when it felt impossible. I leaned into healing practices—yoga, meditation, coaching myself with compassion—and slowly began to rebuild.

Then, after moving to Asheville and starting SoulFit Academy, Hurricane Helene struck—an emotional storm that could have easily knocked me off course again. But instead, it reminded me that resilience isn’t about never falling. It’s about rising, again and again.

Resilience means surrendering to the process, trusting your inner wisdom, and choosing softness over shame, healing over hustle.

That’s the journey I walk alongside the women I serve—and it’s the story I carry with me every day.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The Lesson I Had to Unlearn: Hustle Isn’t Healing

For a long time, I believed that if I just worked harder, pushed through the exhaustion, and “did all the things,” I could fix everything—my grief, my burnout, my business, and my life. Hustle was a badge of honor. It felt like the only way to prove I was strong, capable, and worthy.

But life had other plans.

When I lost my mother, went through divorce, and then had to close my business during COVID, the relentless push didn’t bring me peace. Instead, it deepened my burnout and kept me disconnected from my own body and soul. I thought healing meant more doing—more appointments, more protocols, more productivity.

What I had to unlearn was radical: that healing comes from slowing down, not speeding up. That sometimes, the most courageous thing you can do is rest, surrender, and listen deeply to what your body and spirit need.

The emotional storm of Hurricane Helene—coming just as I was rebuilding in Asheville—was a wake-up call. It taught me that forcing progress only creates resistance. True healing comes from rhythm, softness, and presence.

Since then, my work has been about helping women unlearn hustle culture, embrace their natural rhythms, and find strength in stillness.

Unlearning hustle wasn’t easy—it felt like losing my identity at first—but it was the key to reclaiming my health, my energy, and my soul.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.soulfitacademy.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soul_fitacademy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoulFitAcademy1111
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaclynhowell/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SoulFitAcademy-h4g