Learn to Ground Yourself with WellSoul Workshops

Rip & Tan: How did the two of you meet and come up with the concept for WellSoul?

Jakki Leonardini: We met several years ago through a mutual friend and client of mine. Kasey called me for a reading (information I would not normally share but have her permission to disclose), and about two minutes into the call I had to stop and respectfully remind her that I was the one being paid to do the reading and she could just relax! We both started laughing. Turns out she is a seer as well. We both knew instantly that we would work together, and eventually WellSoul began to take shape.

Over the years, we have referred clients to one another and find that our approaches are complementary. While there is  a bit of overlap in what we do, especially as it pertains to the importance of understanding energy and supporting people to develop their own intuitive knowingness, we each have a particular set of strengths that we bring to the table.

Kasey’s work drops into the psychology of the human experience and its impact on our neurobiological and relational health, while my work is really about bringing people into connection with the Divine to remind them of who they truly are as a Soul beyond this particular embodiment.

WellSoul workshops emerged out of our shared desire to offer a balanced approach to healing that honors both the practical and the ethereal aspects of our being. Our goal is to facilitate a process that helps raise the vibration of the individual by healing any pain that separates them from the Self, from being in harmonious relationship to others, from the natural world, or from Spirit.

Rip & Tan: Can you describe the experience of a WellSoul workshop? What are the core values and key takeaways?

Kasey Crown: Our workshops are meant to be nourishing, educational, healing, inspiring and fun! The current model (several others are in the works) takes place over the course of about two and a half days and offers respite from the distractions of everyday life. Throughout the weekend, we mix in educational presentations, guided energy healing meditations, processes for self discovery, supportive community building dialogue and creative action planning. We enjoy delicious farm-to-table meals with one another and, of course, leave a little time for other forms of self-care, including nature walks, yoga and my personal favorite—sleep!

Our hope is that WellSoulers walk away having awakened a deep understanding of the Self as a relational being connected to everything and everyone around them through a constant flow of energy and information. As people integrate this knowledge, they get inspired to commit to a path of growth not just for their own well-being, but to enhance the well-being of all.

At the core of our approach is the idea of presence. It is from the present moment that we are most clear, connected, creative and capable. The many distractions we face—from old wounds to future worries to our daily intake of fragmenting information—means that we need support to call ourselves into the here and now.

Presence is at the root of wise action and optimizes both our biological and relational health. Although it is available to all of us at any moment, many of us have lost our way to the center of our own being where that inherent wisdom resides. WellSoul aims to provide a number of paths home through practices of high-frequency intention, focused attention, neutral awareness and creative action.

Rip & Tan: What kind of Attitude or expectations should one bring to a WellSoul workshop?

Jakki Leonardini: We know signing up for a workshop can feel nerve-racking and vulnerable. We encourage participants to sign up with the intention to be present, grow, learn something new and build connections. There may be a few tears, but I assure you there is also a lot of laughter, joy and playfulness.

Kasey and I both believe that our purpose as human beings is to evolve in consciousness, which makes growth and healing as exciting an adventure as it can be challenging.  As far as expectations go, we recommend tossing those by the wayside by giving up any attachments to how the weekend might unfold. You never know what the universe has in store. Be open and trust!

Rip & Tan: What does it mean to “run energy,” and how do you teach people to do it?

Jakki Leonardini: Running energy is an active meditation practice that allows us to work with and shift energy by tuning into the chakra system. Each chakra represents a different aspect of our being and stores within it memories and narrative relevant to our life experience. The practice is designed to ground us in the present moment and to identify and remove dense vibrational energy trapped in the various energy centers along the spinal cord—from the base of the tailbone to the crown of the head. Most importantly, running energy connects us to divine source energy for the purpose of healing. The more we actively visualize the energy of fear, doubt, pain, resistance, insecurity and scarcity leaving our space and replenish ourselves with the energies of love, truth, abundance, forgiveness and gratitude, the clearer our container becomes and the more creative, wise and capable we will be.

Rip & Tan: How can we get started with a daily mindfulness practice?

Jakki Leonardini: Well, because the only real moment you have is this one, I recommend arriving in the here and now! Start by grounding yourself and calling your energy into the present moment. Do this by first checking in with where your energy might be. Is it at tomorrow’s board meeting in anticipation or lingering on a conversation you had with your mother yesterday? Is it ruminating in the past or tripping about the future? Once you can see where it’s gone, call it home by visualizing its return from all these distant places.

Next, sit upright in a chair with legs uncrossed and feet firmly planted on the ground. Imagine a cord of light or the roots of a tree traveling from your root chakra located at the base of your tailbone all the way down to the center of the earth. This grounding cord serves to anchor us in present time, connecting us with the energy of mother nature.

Then, imagine a cord of light traveling from the crown chakra located at the top of the head upward to the supreme being. This cosmic cord anchors us to the divine universal source energy that connects us all. Once your cords are placed, repeat your name three times. Your name is your frequency, and by repeating it like a mantra, you call yourself back into your body. This is one of many practices we teach that can be done in less than a minute, in the car, at the office, any time you feel yourself off center or out of balance.

Rip & Tan: How did you develop the framework for your workshop curriculum?

Kasey Crown: It all happened pretty organically, although it has not been without the occasional growing pain. One of the things we treasure about our partnership is that we challenge one another to grow, and that isn’t always comfortable. I tend to be a little more serious, a byproduct of being a trauma therapist, while Jakki is the ultimate free spirit. We balance each other out, and this is actually how we developed the framework for our curriculum—through our mutual intention to strike a balance in the healing arts.

Despite being deeply spiritual myself, I have my feet firmly tethered to this earth and have always been a bit woo woo averse. I often worry about how certain practices of spirituality bypass the hard work of the human experience, sending people into la la land. This kind of escapism does not properly tend to our mental, emotional, physical and relational health.

Jakki loves to tell me that I am officially out of the woo woo closet, having partnered with a “clairvoyant energy healer”! I mean, what sounds more woo woo than that! Believe me when I say I get “othered” all the time when people hear it—something I am becoming more resilient to.

But the truth is, it isn’t woo woo at all. Clairvoyance (meaning clear sight) is a skill that everyone has the capacity to develop. Working with the human energy system and the energy that surrounds us is the oldest form of medicine there is. Our framework is designed to make people feel comfortable leaning into both the scientific and the spiritual so that they can best access the Soul wisdom necessary for healing.