We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jennifer Gulbrand. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jennifer below.
Jennifer, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
Throughout my life, I’ve felt the pull between who the world expected me to be and who I knew I truly was. Society handed me a script—a path lined with expectations and limitations—and for a better part of my adult life, I tried to follow it. But deep inside, there was always a quiet inner knowing… a whisper that said, there’s more to you than this.
That voice grew louder as I grew braver. And eventually, I stopped silencing it. I started shedding the stories that didn’t belong to me and began listening—really listening—to the wisdom of my heart. That’s when everything changed.
My resilience was born in the very beginning—from being abandoned at birth. And while I spent years carrying the shame and trauma that came with that experience, I also spent years unlearning, healing, and reclaiming who I really am.
The work wasn’t easy. But it was sacred. Through the process of unraveling childhood wounds and confronting the grief I carried, I found a deeper truth: healing is possible when we tell our stories—and when we are witnessed in them.
That’s why I created the WeBreathe Wellness Center and launched the SheBreathes Soul Stories movement—not just to hold space for others, but because I needed those spaces too. These are more than just places… they are communities rooted in truth, transformation, and the kind of connection we all crave.
I found even more strength through trauma-informed somatic therapy, Reiki, energy work, mindfulness, and positive psychology. These modalities became my medicine—and now they’re the tools I offer others.
Resilience, for me, has never been about pushing through. It’s been about coming home. Coming home to my body. To my intuition. To the truth of who I’ve always been beneath the noise.
Every challenge, every breaking point, has shown me that I am not here to simply endure… I am here to restore, to rise, and to help others do the same.
This is how I’ve built a life that’s aligned with purpose, integrity, and soul. And it’s what continues to fuel the work I do today—helping others remember that their essence is not something they have to find… it’s something they’re here to embody.
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 believe that healing is a sacred journey—one that asks us to turn inward, break the cycles that keep us stuck, and remember who we really are underneath it all.
My life has been shaped by early trauma and the long path of unlearning that followed. From the beginning, I was asked to navigate the world with a resilient spirit. But it wasn’t until I began confronting the pain I carried—and rewriting the limiting stories I had inherited—that I truly stepped into my power.
This personal work became the foundation for my purpose. Today, as an author, motivational speaker, embodiment coach, and trauma-informed healer, I hold space for others to do the same: to heal, to remember, to reclaim the fullness of who they are.
In my book, Embody Your Essence: Break Patterns of Suffering and Reclaim Your Joy, I share not just my story, but the insights, tools, and embodied practices that helped me move through shame and suffering and return to joy. It’s an offering from my heart—a guidebook for those ready to stop surviving and start truly living.
Because I believe deeply in the power of storytelling, I created the SheBreathes Soul Stories movement. It began with an anthology—22 women sharing raw, honest stories of resilience—and it grew into a podcast where women continue to speak their truth in real time. These platforms exist to remind us all: when we share our stories, we don’t just heal ourselves—we give others permission to heal too.
My work blends ancient wisdom with modern science. As a Reiki Master Teacher, Somatic Therapy/EMDR practitioner, holistic healer, and coach, I integrate practices like energy work, breathwork, positive psychology, meditation, and vibrational sound therapy to help people heal in a fully embodied way.
I create sacred spaces—whether through one-on-one sessions, workshops, or community events—where people feel safe enough to let go of the armor, tune into their bodies, and begin to trust their inner voice again.
As a speaker, I’m drawn to the magic of live storytelling—how it opens hearts, dissolves walls, and connects us in the most human of ways. When we gather in a room and speak truth into the air, something shifts. We create ripple effects of healing, one story at a time.
Right now, I’m expanding this work through immersive retreats—transformational getaways designed to help women shed layers of conditioning, reconnect to their essence, and re-enter the world rooted, radiant, and renewed. These retreats are more than just a pause from life; they’re a full-body remembering of what it feels like to belong to yourself again.
At the heart of it all is this belief: that healing isn’t about fixing what’s broken—it’s about coming home to what’s always been whole. By honoring our stories, embracing our truth, and committing to our well-being, we rise. Together.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
When I look back on my journey—everything I’ve moved through, unlearned, healed, and reclaimed—there are three qualities that have guided me home to myself again and again: resilience, authenticity, and empathy.
Resilience has lived in me from the very beginning. It was born out of necessity—navigating abandonment, shame, and the kind of wounds that shape your view of the world before you even know who you are. But over time, I realized that resilience isn’t just about surviving the hard things. It’s about rising from them with more wisdom, more softness, and more strength than before.
For anyone just beginning their healing journey, I want you to know this: setbacks aren’t failures. They’re part of the process. Let every challenge become a teacher. Let every moment of struggle deepen your capacity to hold more of your own light.
Authenticity is what saved me. For years, I wore masks, played roles, did what I thought I “should” do. But it wasn’t until I started honoring who I really was—the raw, real, sometimes messy version of me—that I finally felt free. When we live in alignment with our truth, we attract the people, opportunities, and healing that are meant for us.
If you’re on the path of self-discovery, start by getting quiet. Listen to your gut. Reflect on what actually matters to you. And then make choices that reflect that truth—because authenticity isn’t something we find, it’s something we remember.
And empathy… well, that’s been the heartbeat of my work. Whether I’m sitting across from someone in session, sharing a stage, or holding space in community—I lead with my heart. Because I’ve been in the depths. I know what it’s like to feel unseen, unheard, unworthy. And I also know the power of being met with compassion.
To cultivate empathy, we have to slow down. We have to really see one another. Listen not just with our ears, but with our hearts. That’s where true connection lives.
These three qualities—resilience, authenticity, and empathy—have shaped not just the woman I’ve become, but the work I do in the world. They are the foundation of how I serve, how I lead, and how I live.
And I believe they’re available to each and every one of us—if we’re willing to show up, soften, and come home to the truth of who we are.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
Over the past year, I’ve undergone a profound transformation, both personally and professionally. One of the most pivotal decisions I faced was stepping back from my role as the sole steward of the WeBreathe Wellness Center. This space had been a labor of love, a sanctuary I nurtured to foster growth and healing within the community. However, I felt an undeniable pull toward my personal passions—writing, speaking, and leading retreats.
Rather than closing this cherished chapter, I reimagined the center as a space-sharing collective, inviting other heart-centered women entrepreneurs to utilize the environment and community I’d cultivated to launch and run their own businesses. This evolution not only empowered these women but also ensured that the essence of WeBreathe Wellness continued to thrive as a collaborative sanctuary.
This past year has been one of the most expansive, soul-stretching chapters of my life. It called me to reevaluate everything—to pause, to listen more deeply to my inner voice, and to choose alignment over obligation.
One of the most transformative decisions I made was stepping back from being the sole steward of the WeBreathe Wellness Center. For years, I poured my heart into creating this sanctuary—a space rooted in healing, connection, and conscious community. It was my baby. My mission. My everything.
But somewhere along the way, I began hearing a whisper. A gentle nudge reminding me of the parts of myself I had placed on hold. The writer. The speaker. The retreat leader. The woman who feels most alive when guiding others back to the truth of who they are. I realized that holding everything on my own was no longer serving me—or the greater vision.
So instead of closing that chapter, I reimagined it. I transitioned WeBreathe into a collective—a collaborative container for other heart-centered women entrepreneurs to rise, serve, and shine. Watching them step into this space with passion and purpose has been one of the most beautiful gifts. It’s no longer just my sanctuary—it’s ours.
Creating space in this way allowed me to come back to what lights me up. I launched the SheBreathes Soul Stories Movement—first through an anthology of 22 brave, wise women sharing their truths, and then through a podcast designed to amplify the voices of women reclaiming their stories. These platforms have become sacred vessels for healing—because I know firsthand that when we share our truth, we heal… and we invite others to do the same.
This shift also created more room for me to deepen into my healing work. Through trauma-informed somatic therapy, EMDR, energy healing, and sound, I now support individuals who are ready to move beyond survival—and into soulful, embodied healing. I help them release shame, reconnect with their bodies, and remember their worth. And it feels so aligned. So true.
More than anything, this past year has been about honoring the quiet voice inside me. The one that knows when it’s time to let go, to pivot, to say “yes” to joy. I’ve let go of old expectations—mine and others’—and leaned into trust. Into joy. Into my own divine timing.
And what I’ve found is this: When we stop trying to hold it all, we make space for what’s truly ours to hold. I feel more grounded, more nourished, and more connected to my purpose than ever before. And I know that this alignment allows me to serve more powerfully, more compassionately, and more authentically.
This is what growth has looked like for me. Not more doing. But more being. More truth. More freedom.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jenngulbrand.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamjenngulbrand/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.gulbrand/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-gulbrand/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@embodyyouressence11
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