Jessica Kerwin Jenkins is a wellness writer and wellness coach who weaves together mindset, meditation and somatic techniques in her coaching practice with creative thinkers. A former New Yorker, she lives in Portland, Maine and loves to experiment with wellness techniques, from winter ocean swimming on the snowy coast to intermittent fasting to Qi Gong and breathwork. “I’m fond of extremes—long fasts, long silent retreats, extreme revelatory experiences—but as I age I’m also learning to pace myself and to savor the subtle, too,” she says. Here, some of Jessica’s favorite wellness tips.
Favorite wellness tool: Dry brush, to keep the lymph moving, and the eliminatory pathways of the skin clean and clear.
Last wellness session I booked: With Chinese medicine expert Lorie Eve Dechar, one of my favorite mentors & teachers.
Morning cacao. Habit I want to kickstart: Charting my VO2 max.
Podcast I followed most recently: Peter Attia’s ‘The Drive’
Favorite part of the day: First light.
Favorite time of the week: Weekly sauna and cold plunge date with my husband at the Washington Baths.
What’s in my overnight bag: A handheld infrared cube by Joov.
Inspiration these days: The night sky. Every time I see the stars, I’m moved to tears.
What’s motivating me now: Dreaming of what I’d like to do at 100 years-old and building the muscle for it now.
In another life I’d be: A forest monk.
Book I’m giving away to friends: Primate Change, by Vybarr Cregan-Reid
Favorite immune booster: Ashwaghanda
The author preparing for a cold plunge.
Favorite sleep support: Magnesium
Best ROI in your routine: I get the most out of my zoom trainings with fitness expert Beth Lewis.
Weirdest part of my morning: Doing facial cupping in the infrared sauna while I practice my singing. Looks pretty odd, I’m sure!
Weirdest wellness habit: Wearing yoga toe stretchers to improve my stability.
My wellness idol: Octogenarian yoga teacher Angela Farmer.
Wellness hack I swear by: Jumping into bed at the first sign of a cold. It saves time and energy in the long run, I swear.
Favorite tip for travel: Adding trace minerals to my water bottle from a little dropper after passing through security.
Favorite tune-up for focusing creativity: Loving the grit. And discerning between grit and grind. I love using somatic tools to help my clients discern between what’s uncomfortable but generative, and what’s uncomfortable and damaging.
What’s in my morning drink: Teechino chicory root coffee substitute, Malama Mushroom powder, Cacao Laboratory cacao, Bulletproof unflavored collagen, Bulletproof MCT oil, cinnamon, Maca root, Renegade Colostrum.
Simplest wellness advice: Sleep is the alpha and the omega, the foundation of every other goal.