We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jennifer Axcell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jennifer below.
Hi Jennifer, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
Being an artist requires bravery. It can be terrifying to bare our souls through our work and launch those creative expressions into the world, opening us up to critique and financial failure (the term “starving artist” exists for a reason). Will it be “good enough?” What if nobody buys it? Will I ever be able to support myself through my art? These questions plague most aspiring artists, which is why so many creatives never pursue their talents beyond hobbies; it’s risky.
But I’m a risk-taker by nature. My friends and clients have often heard me say that bravery isn’t the absence of fear; it’s the choices we make in the face of our fears. Being brave (which is not the same as being fearless) enables me to take risks both personally and professionally. It’s why I skydive, scuba dive, and race cars. My ability to take risks in my career makes me a great entrepreneur (for nearly 20 years now). As an artist, I’ve risked being “not very good” at many new things: launching a digital magazine, designing websites, exploring painting and photography, and drafting a manuscript for a book.
And yet, the riskiest thing I have ever undertaken is to leave the “comfort of the familiar” of my home in downtown Denver (I’m a Colorado native) to travel the world for 2+ years as a global digital nomad. I am taking the risk of trying to become a published author and using my time abroad to research the cultural practices of rest and self-care across the globe.
Living out of a suitcase and going to places where I don’t know anyone or speak the native language is scary. Uprooting my life to start over in my 40s as a digital nomad is risky. But the payoff? I get to experience the world from new cultural and geographical perspectives, doing something most people will only ever dream about. That definitely makes the risk worthwhile.
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.
I am an enneagram 8w7 (strong-willed and adventurous) ENTJ who’s been an entrepreneur for nearly 20 years. I’m an intellectual and an artist, curious about myself and the world around me. I am driven, confident, self-motivated, and passionate, all of which are my superpowers and the same characteristics that can lead me to burnout if left unchecked. I enjoy working to become more self-aware and growing as an individual.
I am passionate about living out of my God-given talents and purpose. I dream big dreams and enjoy collaborating with others to create beauty. I was made to shine brightly in this world, to stand out, and not to blend in. And I express this through my artistic and professional pursuits.
I began my college career in Denver studying business and ended up at The Academy of Art University in San Francisco with a BFA in Fashion Design and Merchandising. It took me years of building companies to appreciate how much creativity was required to be a successful innovator and visionary in the business world. After selling my image consulting and fashion styling company in San Francisco, I returned to Denver. I began building non-profit businesses that provided programming to support cannabis patients and trauma survivors. I loved what I was doing but got burned out after five years as a full-time philanthropist.
The process of recovering from entrepreneurial burnout led me to my current passion project and professional endeavor, Loto Wellness Collective. Creating a community-based company in the health and wellness industry builds upon my previous experiences in the nonprofit world.
As a yoga teacher, sound healer, and somatic coach, I create thoughtfully designed immersive experiences that explore nervous system self-regulation techniques at the intersection of somatic healing and soul care. I have created a ministry of rest.
I want readers to know that they are not alone in their exhaustion. On top of the busyness of everyday life, lockdown was traumatic, and most of us have been ill-equipped to know how to heal from the compounding stresses of lockdown. The WHO cites (1) that the pandemic triggered a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide. In 2024, anxiety disorders are still the most common form of mental illness (2). Amongst adults older than 18, 13.5% report (3) feeling tired or exhausted most days. While cancer and heart disease get the most attention, chronic stress (4) is the leading cause of disease. Chronic stress is not just a consistent sense of feeling pressured and overwhelmed; it’s also a state of dis-ease in the body. We badly need rest.
Especially in the American hustle culture, we don’t know how to rest. In the post-industrial age, we glorify busyness and consumption and have lost sight of the wisdom of nature and the pace of the seasons around us. In addition, chronic stress, systemic oppression, and trauma have become the norm, and most of us are functioning from dis-regulated nervous systems that keep us in a constant state of fight/flight/freeze/fawn and addiction to dopamine hits (the attention economy). Rest is more than laying on the couch watching Netflix. Through my work, I help people rediscover the sacredness of rest and use somatic healing techniques backed by neuroscience to train people how to reconnect with the sensations of their bodies, slowing down their minds and self-regulating their nervous systems back into a place of safety so they can rest— mind, body, and spirit.
My goal for Loto Wellness Collective has always been to host international wellness retreats. As a newly launched global digital nomad, I am currently scouting locations to host immersive experiences in exotic places worldwide. In collaboration with local nonprofits, my next retreats are in Germany and South Africa in 2025.
As an artist and designer, I used my passion for writing to launch a digital magazine, Loto Living, with thoughtfully curated content beautifully designed. I’m writing editorials, taking photos, and designing each issue. I’ve even started accepting written submissions from guest contributors. In addition to writing regular blog content and recording audio-guided meditations, I am working on launch plans for two podcasts.
While my philanthropic work led me to burnout (and eventually onto my current path), building nonprofits is what I am most proud of in my career. During my tenure as Board Member and Program Director at This is Jane Project, the organization, which started as a photo activism campaign, grew at a rate of 80% by hosting regular online and in-person programming for women and non-binary trauma survivors across the US. The programming included art therapies, affordable access to plant medicines, and monthly community groups that received free access to trauma healing modalities such as meditation and EFT. My passion for advocacy and creating affordable access to healing continues through my work with Loto Wellness Collective—collaborating with, volunteering for, donating to, and highlighting non-profit organizations doing excellent work across the globe.
(1) https://www.who.int/news/item/02-03-2022-covid-19-pandemic-triggers-25-increase-in-prevalence-of-anxiety-and-depression-worldwide
(2) https://www.usa.edu/blog/mental-health-statistics/
(3) https://www.ncoa.org/adviser/sleep/sleep-statistics/#:~:text=Among%20adults%20older%20than%2018,that%20impacts%20their%20daily%20activities.
(4) https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/stress-disorder
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Art feeds the soul. In addition to food, shelter, and water, we need beauty in our lives. Beauty through art, in its various expressions and interpretations, is at the heart of human culture. If we want to have a positive impact on it, we have to support the creative catalysts caring for the culture.
As painter and author Makoto Fujimura states in his book Culture Care, “Artists have a deep capacity to develop and share generosity and empathy, to point toward abundance and connections… An encounter with the arts can lead to generative thinking as generosity supplants our quid pro quo expectations.”
Generously supporting the arts, especially local independent artists, begins with buying art and services as an expression of your appreciation for the beauty created. But, as Fujimura stated, generosity supplants our quid pro quo expectations and begins to break down the requirement that our art be “purchasable” to be deemed “good.” In other words, being generous towards artists doesn’t have to mean money. Be generous with your other resources as well.
Engage on a local artist’s social media platforms (like, follow, save, and share). Show up to a gallery opening. Email an artist and tell them how much their work means to you. All of these acts of generosity (of your time, money, and energy) can go a long way to motivate creative people to continue caring for our culture through their creations.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Made in God’s image (Imago Dei), human beings were created to create. And translating an idea into a reality is living out of our God-given gifts. I am so grateful for my imaginative brain and curious mind that drives me to create something from nothing, whether that’s a painting, a book, or a business. I enjoy exploring the edges of my talent and pushing myself into new expressions and mediums. As a creative, everything I touch has to have an element of my personality and style in it. To find joy in expressing myself to the world through my art is in itself the greatest reward.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lotowellness.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lotowellness.co/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lotowellness.co
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferaxcell
- Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/R58EMY7ann4Qubdn9
Image Credits
All taken or created by me