We were lucky to catch up with Jessica Karpinske recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jessica, appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

At Rooted In Wellness, my mission is to guide you on your personal journey to find a nurturing lifestyle so you realize just how good you can feel in your body. Rooted In Wellness provides health coaching, personal training, buddy training, yoga and tai ji classes designed to help you build a foundation of true wellness that is sustainable for you.

I chose the name Rooted In Wellness because I want to be known for providing more than just yoga or just fitness for the sake of being fit or moving your body. Your overall health and wellness is so much more than moving your body or eating healthy foods.

I work with individuals and small groups with an overall focus on feeling good in your skin, improving health and wellness at the root level and tapping into a sense of self-love. I believe in using a person-centered approach to examine all areas of your life, including but not limited to healthy foods, physical activity, relationships, career, creativity, joy, sleep and more.

In order for true wellness to exist we must address all of our needs, wants and desires that affect the relationships we have with ourselves, others and our environment.

At Rooted In Wellness, your wellness plan is always driven by you. As your coach, I am here to provide guidance and support along the way. Private personal training, health coaching and yoga sessions are all tailored to your needs. We work together to create an individualized wellness plan designed to work specifically for your life.

Jessica, 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?

My name is Jessica Karpinske, and I am the owner of Rooted In Wellness.

I was born and raised in Aberdeen, SD. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Social Work, and a minor in Human Relations from St. Cloud State University and after college, moved to Duluth where I’ve lived since 2003.

I enjoy spending time with family and friends, being outdoors, traveling, writing and being creative in a variety of ways. I try to live a simple life and spend my time doing things that bring me joy and a sense of inner peace. My passion is creating a lifestyle that is healthy, loving and focused on listening to the true needs of my body, and I love sharing this knowledge and my experiences with friends, family and in the work I do. It’s a daily practice and always a work in progress.

I began my wellness journey years ago at a time when I needed extra help managing anxiety. I took a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course and learned how to breathe, meditate and do some simple yoga poses. I started learning more about healthy, whole foods and how the foods we eat relate to overall mental and physical wellness. The idea that our body is self-healing, and when given a chance it will heal itself is a concept that has always really resonated with me.

In 2010, I started taking cardio kickboxing classes and quickly saw a change in my mood and the way my body felt. These classes not only helped relieve stress, but also provided me a sense of community. Shortly after starting kickboxing, I also started lifting kettlebells and between the two I fell in love with being active and being in-tune with my body. It mentally and physically challenged me, and I found a new healthy outlet for managing daily stressors.

Besides starting Rooted In Wellness from the ground up, I am most proud of the book I recently published, Personal Alchemy: Love Letters to My Heart. This is a collection of my writings and art over a period of 7 years. I compiled the writings from my journals, and they reflect to my journey of finding self-love and restarting my life after a divorce. I started life over again in multiple ways during this time and made more conscious decisions about what I did and did not want in my life. I think this is a difficult journey for anyone who finds themselves on the path, but the rewards are great. I love sharing this with others who may be questioning where they are in life and want to make changes but feel alone or unsure of themselves. My goal is for others to know no matter what they’re going through or how messy life might look right now, that they are not alone.

My work and life are all interwoven in the sense that when I’m helping others on their journey, I am sharing bits of what I have learned, but am also learning from every person I encounter. I wouldn’t ask one of my clients to do something I’m not also doing or striving to do. I think we’re all on the journey together. It’s always a practice, it’s never perfect, and we’re always growing.

I’m not looking to weigh and measure people or just to help with weight loss. My goal is to help my clients create a life that they love and to feel good in their skin so they can do all the things they love the most.

My certifications include: Yoga 200-hour teacher training (Sacred Fig Yoga), Katonah Yoga® Instructor (Katonah Yoga Center – 200 hour training), Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Certified Personal Trainer (NASM), Level 2 Certification in Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance, and Thyroid Yoga Instructor. In the past I have trained with Strong First and completed my Level 1 and 2 Kettlebell Instructor Certifications.

I love working with people to develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle that provides a foundation for a long life free of dis-ease.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I started my business with no funding. At the time I started my business, I was still working at another full-time job. About 6 months later, my position was eliminated at that company, and it was the time to move forward with Rooted In Wellness. I had no physical location to start and was using a friend’s gym for personal training and teaching yoga. I would also do in-home training prior to the pandemic. I started with the workout equipment I had and little by little added more as I was able. I think there’s a misconception that you need a lot of money to start a business, but I never let this get in the way of starting my business.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Right before the pandemic hit, I was going to Mexico to lead a retreat. Before leaving, I was feeling a little unsure of my financial situation. I didn’t have money in my business or in my personal bank account. I was planning to be gone for a month and lead the retreat for a week. I was talking to my mom before I left and said, “I am so scared I will fail and have to ask you and dad for money.” I was almost 40 years old and that didn’t seem like where I should be in life. When I was 37 is when I lost my job of 14 years and started my business, so I was just starting over in life. My mom told me that they were very proud of what I was doing, and if I ever needed some money, just let them know. So, I went to Mexico and was completely out of money by the time I returned, which was also the same time as everything was being shut down due to COVID. I had to call my parents for money because I literally couldn’t work. Everything that I was scheduled to teach was canceled within 3 days of returning. I took the opportunity to offer yoga classes online, teach an online bootcamp, work on an additional yoga teacher training, start working on the book I published this year and really used the time to find alternative ways to do my business as well as learn and grow professionally.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rootedinwellnessduluth.com
• Instagram: @iamrootedinwellness
• Facebook: @iamrootedinwellness
• Youtube: @iamrootedinwellness

Image Credits
Andy Hardman Photography