We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kael Jensen. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kael below.
Hi Kael, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
This is a really tough question for me, but I am grateful to be asked it. Those of us who have experienced many hits in life often forget to look back at it all and be reminded how incredible it is that we are still here. It’s nice to have that reminder from time to time.
When I look back on my experiences, I can’t be certain it is just one thing that catalyzed resiliency. Instead, I think it’s a culmination of many things, including a sense of connection (whether it be to loved ones, to a community, to the land, or to a cause), self-awareness, perspective adjustments, and a will to make the most out of life as long as I’m able to be cognizant.
Having experienced many health issues, quite a lot of trauma, and the after-effects those both have on a person, I cannot say it has been easy to get up after each “round in the ring”, if you will. There is one distinct moment as a teen, however, when I realized resiliency was not an option, but my happiness was.
In my early and mid teens, I struggled immensely with major depression, disordered eating, and suicidal thoughts. None of this helped when, at 14, I had been diagnosed with late-stage Grave’s disease: an autoimmune disease of the thyroid. I became extremely sick very quickly and only had one option in front of me to save my life. The weeks following were a mix of gratitude for having caught it when we did, but also immense sadness knowing my life would forever be changed.
Fast forward a couple months after treatment and the early stages of learning to live without a thyroid, I ended up in Paris for a once-in-a-lifetime family trip over spring break. Surprisingly, I even got to celebrate my 15th birthday there. The evening of my birthday, we were at the top of the Eiffel Tower, overlooking the lights of the city. I recall standing with the crisp March air hitting my face as I looked at the horizon, and something changed inside me. At that moment, my perspective of the world literally shifted, standing at such a great height seeing so far out in the distance. With a chill at my neck and Paris twinkling below, I told myself that no matter what was going to come my way, I would make it my mission to get through it. I also said I would be open to happiness and be conscious of the things I was grateful for.
I would love to tell you incorporating these realizations happened instantly, but they did not. It took a lot of training over the years; but, through each situation that tested me, I can see my resiliency. And bonus, I am a far happier person than I knew I could be. Now, I can look back and say to myself that I have a 100 per cent success rate on living and getting through anything that has come my way, albeit maybe getting roughed up a bit along the way. This has been an important reminder that I carry with me when another tough event inevitably comes rolling in. “You have a 100 per cent success rate so far, Kael. You can get through this.”
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I have been a Massage Therapist since 2006, helping people to feel good in their bodies, especially those who have complicated, unusual, or “invisible” conditions. When I went back to school, I had originally planned to become a physician. However, in my final year as a pre-med student, I underwent significant health issues and I needed to let go of my dream of becoming a doctor.
Luckily, not long after such a devastating decision while I was wrapping up my Kinesiology degree when I was thrilled to discover a Masters degree in Health and Wellness Coaching at the University of Minnesota. Through my training, it was no surprise that I was continually drawn to working with those who struggle with chronic and complex health conditions, as well as with those who are navigating neurodivergence, such as ADHD in adulthood.
It’s a pretty unique and incredible feeling to combine health coaching with massage to help people improve their quality of life.
Over the years, I have discovered the incredible power of hands-on exploration for coaching which I love to integrate with my clients. Using supplies such as paints, markers, clay, and oil pastels while incorporating techniques like writing, somatic practices, and sensory exploration really help people make a positive connection with their bodies. This has been showing to improve clients’ mental health, allowing them to make substantial progress toward their goals.
Being able to blend coaching with massage holds incredible potential for people to become empowered in their health and move from being tired and stressed to inspired and rested.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Another good question, and I’m sure my answers will change over time, but for now, Persistence, Pivoting, and Support have been the most impactful qualities in my journey.
Persistence might sound like never giving up; however, I see it more like not giving up on yourself. As long as you are persistent and follow through with your needs, you can make it through just about anything. Taking an honest account of who you are, who you want to be, and what might need adjusting along the way to get there is an important part of persistence and not giving up on yourself. Being honest with yourself will make all the difference.
Pivoting has been an essential role in any journey. You may have your heart set on one specific thing, but life has a way of changing your path, whether you want it to or not. There will be times where you realize you are being pushed and pulled in many different directions; maybe due to finances, family needs, health changes, and so forth. You will need to find ways to pivot. I wish I could say there is one way to do it, but there isn’t. Sometimes the pivot will be a smaller adjustment. Other times, you will realize the pivot you must make is extremely uncomfortable for you. Regardless, my recommendation is to find ways to pivot so both your mental state and your body have the least blow to the both of them. Which brings me to my final point.
Support has been vital for my journey. Without it, all those pivots that I needed to make along the way would have made me feel even more disoriented. Support is a broad statement, so I like to look at support in multiple categories. That way, I know if one area is not as readily available or accessible, then I can lean on some other options. Whether it’s friends, family, colleagues, community movements, nature and park systems, therapy, support groups (and even basic needs as supports like financial care, a safe home, reliable transportation, healthy food and water), being reminded of and using your supports in your life will be instrumental in allowing you to move through obstacles that come your way and to move forward in your life.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Over the last three years I hosted numerous networking events for healthcare and wellness professionals in and around the area. It was such a treat! This year, however, I have taken these events off my roster to focus on other things.
Although not active in networking events, I would love to collaborate with incredible people in the health and wellness field. I would love to join people in classes, workshops, and the-like. I feel very called to a new chapter in my career that includes educating people about coaching, and offering classes on how to look at goals and transform habits so change isn’t so daunting.
For any collaborations, contact me here: https://www.braidedearth.com/contact-3
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.braidedearth.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kael-jensen-m-a-nbc-hwc-cmt/
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Kael Jensen
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