We recently connected with Janice Wilson and have shared our conversation below.
Janice, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
Finding My Purpose Through Grief: A Journey from Heartbreak to Healing
I never imagined that my life’s purpose would be born out of such unimaginable heartbreak. Five years ago, I lost my 21-year-old son to fentanyl. That moment shattered my world, and I found myself in a place of deep grief, desperately searching for healing, connection, and meaning in the midst of my pain.
What I didn’t know then was that this devastating loss would open a path for me not only to find my own healing, but to create spaces for others to heal, too.
Following my sons passing, I turned to yoga, breathwork, sound healing, movement, and other holistic practices to help me process my grief. These practices didn’t take the pain away, but they gave it a place to breathe. They gave me strength when I felt like I had none and slowly began to reconnect me with my own spirit.
Through that process, I discovered something unexpected: I was deeply called to share these healing modalities with others. I opened a yoga and wellness studio, Feel Free Yoga and Wellness, where we offer yoga, pilates, sound healing, reiki, grief movement classes, and other modalities that support emotional, mental, and physical well-being. We also host events like Spring Equinox ceremonies, Women’s Circles, Ecstatic Dance, Somatic Movement Workshops, Yoga for Healthy Aging and more creating a truly holistic healing space for our community.
You can find me at the studio most days either leading a yoga class, cleaning or keeping up with running the business. I love being there to greet our clients by name and making sure they feel seen and welcomed. Community means everything to me. I believe healing is amplified when we do it together, in safe, inclusive and supportive spaces.
In holding space for others, I found my purpose. I realized that my heart lights up when I am guiding women through healing journeys, helping them grow, transform, and remember their own inner strength. Over time, this purpose expanded beyond the studio walls, and I began leading women’s wellness retreats in sacred spaces that blend movement, mindfulness, culture, adventure, and sisterhood. Our most recent retreat in Guatemala on the magical Lake Atitan reminded me just how powerful it is when women come together to nourish their bodies, minds, and spirits.
But the deepest call on my heart has been to support other mothers like me; those who have experienced the profound pain of losing a child to fentanyl. In October 2025, I will be hosting a special retreat in Joshua Tree called “Grief and Grace” for Mothers Who Have Lost a Child to Fentanyl. This retreat is for women who want to be heard, held, seen, and supported in their grief and healing. It will be a space for ritual, sharing our stories, yoga, breathwork, and deep connection, a sacred container where grief can be witnessed and grace can begin to bloom. If you know of someone who would benefit from a retreat like this, please send them my contact info.
Another part of my journey that continues to shape me is my sobriety. I have been on a sober journey for 6 years and my son and I were on the journey together. I still feel that we are on this journey supporting one another and he is guiding me, watching over me, and reminding me every day whey I choose this life of clarity and purpose.
Grief has become a teacher in my life, a heartbreaking one, but also a profound one. It has shaped me, softened me, and taught me what it means to truly live from the heart. My mission now is simple: to hold space for healing. Whether it’s through a yoga class, a sound bath, a retreat, or a heartfelt conversation, I want people to feel safe enough to meet themselves exactly where they are, know that they are not alone and have hope for the journey ahead.
Healing is about remembering the wholeness even in the midst of loss. It is not about hiding pain or fixing what feels broken- it’s about creating space to feel, to be witnessed, and to remember the light that still lives within us. Healing is always possible. If I can help others find that wholeness again, then I know my son’s light continues to live on through the work I do.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back, there are three qualities that shaped my journey more than anything else:
Self-love, confidence, and trust.
Self-love gave me the compassion to be gentle with myself through the hardest moments. Confidence reminded me of my strength, even when I didn’t feel strong. And trust allowed me to surrender to the process, knowing that healing takes time.
A quote that I refer to often is “I am learning to Trust the Journey even when I do not understand it”
If I could offer any advice to someone on a similar path, it would be this:
Make time and space to heal. Believe that you can experience joy again. And always come from a place of love and kindness toward yourself and others.
That is where true healing begins.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.feelfreeyogawellness.com
- Instagram: @feelfreeyogawellness
- Facebook: Feel Free Yoga Wellness
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