Jake Ferree shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Jake, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
I feel really proud that I recently completed a 10-day silent meditation retreat called Vipassana, where we meditated for 10 hours a day with no talking, reading, or writing. It was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life. Sitting completely still even through pain and discomfort taught me that I’m so much more than the pain itself. When we can hold something fully without reacting, we begin to see that the whole is always greater than the parts. It’s so easy to get caught up in the one thing that feels difficult, but when we expand our awareness to include everything else that’s also happening, there’s strength, perspective, and peace. The days were long, starting at 4 a.m. and ending at 10 p.m., with only two meals a day, but through it all, I felt all my years of practice come together in a really beautiful way.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Jake Ferree, and I’m a yoga instructor, breathwork guide, somatic practitioner, and hypnotherapist with over 25 years of experience in the wellness field. My work blends spirituality, fitness, yoga, meditation, and bodywork including Thai massage to support people in reconnecting to their bodies and transforming from the inside out.
Over the years, my curiosity has continually led me to explore new tools and trainings, creating an integrated approach that’s tailored to each individual. Whether through movement, stillness, or mindset work, my focus is always on helping people experience deeper awareness, healing, and embodiment. I don’t just teach this work I live it and through that embodiment, I guide others to do the same. I also mentor yoga and wellness instructors, helping them build sustainable, heart-centered businesses that align with who they truly are.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before the world told me who I had to be, I was a sensitive, joyful, and imaginative little boy. Full of love, curiosity, and wonder. Over the years, I learned to wear masks and take on labels that helped me fit into what I thought the world expected of me. I built strength, drive, and determination, but often at the expense of my softness, gentleness, and creativity.
Much of my healing and spiritual work has been about releasing those layers, letting go of the programming and returning to my true essence. In doing so, I’ve learned that I don’t have to choose between strength and sensitivity; I can hold both. I’ve come full circle to that curious, playful, loving part of myself, but now with the wisdom and balance that come from the journey itself. I feel proud to live in that integration every day.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
One of the defining wounds of my life was growing up as a closeted gay boy. I hid parts of myself so deeply that for years I even hid them from myself. I didn’t come out until I was 25, and much of my life before then was spent trying to be who I thought I was supposed to be rather than who I truly was.
Another deep wound came from always comparing myself to my older brother. I admired him deeply, his strength, confidence, and masculinity and I spent much of my childhood trying to measure up. Being four years younger, I could never quite catch up, and that created a deep sense of never feeling strong enough or good enough. That story stayed with me for a long time.
My healing has come through years of inner work, yoga, meditation, somatic practices, spirituality and medicine journeys all helping me peel back the layers of who I thought I needed to be. Over time, I’ve learned to honor both my sensitivity and my strength. Embracing my softness, gentleness, and imagination allowed me to see that my true power was never missing, it was simply waiting to be integrated.
What once felt like my deepest wounds have become my greatest teachers. They’ve guided me to balance the masculine and feminine within myself, to live in full acceptance, and to help others do the same.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
Rather than speaking for my entire industry, I want to focus on the biggest lie I’ve told myself within it, one I can also recognize in others and completely understand. For a long time, I believed I always had to be positive, to show only the light and never the struggle. I thought that as a teacher or guide, I had to embody perfection, that sharing my pain or insecurities would somehow make me less of a leader.
Some might call it toxic positivity or spiritual bypassing, but for me, it was a survival tool. I was in a place where my inner dialogue was so harsh that I needed to focus entirely on the positive just to find stability. That mindset actually served me for a time, it helped me build a foundation of strength and faith.
Eventually, though, I realized that real growth meant turning toward what I had been avoiding. I began doing the deeper work, exploring my shadows, facing my wounds, and integrating the parts of myself I had hidden. Through that process, I discovered that authenticity doesn’t come from being endlessly positive, but from allowing both the light and the dark to coexist.
Now, I can share honestly when I’m struggling and still know that I am whole. I can hold it all, the joy and the challenge, the softness and the strength and that’s where the true freedom and healing live.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I truly feel that I’m doing what I was born to do. Over the years, I’ve learned to follow the light, to move toward what brings me joy, healing, and peace. Everything I share with the world comes from what has transformed me most deeply. Yoga, bodywork, meditation, spirituality, somatic work, and hypnotherapy have all given me so much, and my purpose now is to give that back.
What I teach isn’t separate from who I am, it’s a natural extension of my own healing. The more I explore the depths of myself, the more I feel called to share that exploration with others. It doesn’t feel like a job; it feels like a flow, a continuous exchange of receiving and giving, of being healed and helping others heal. That’s what I was born to do.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.feelingmoved.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeferree1/
- Twitter: https://x.com/trainerjake1
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JakeFerree
Image Credits
Amy Goelen, Jesse De Young, Simone Bennett
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