We recently connected with Jodie Seymour and have shared our conversation below.
Jodie, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
My purpose was born from one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. In October 2017, I received a call that changed me; my dear friend Kimmy had taken her own life. It felt like a bomb exploded. I was devastated. Kimmy and I had been friends for almost 20 years. We met in our 20s when we both applied for the same teaching job. I got the job, but she ended up teaching in the classroom next to mine. A sisterhood was formed immediately. We became each other’s confidants, we became friends with each other’s friends and gathered for monthly dinner clubs, creating a tribe. We laughed, danced, and cried together more times than I can count.
After receiving the news, I went into a deep, painful grief spiral. I was merely existing. I was going through the motions of being a teacher, mother, and wife. Not only that, but I numbed. As soon as my daughter Olivia was tucked in bed at 7 p.m., I would open a bottle of red wine and consume the whole thing while streaming old episodes of Grey’s Anatomy. I left my body and crawled into the bottle, night after night. The next day, I would wake up with a headache, which was the only thing I could feel at the time.
My complex emotions of anger, grief, hopelessness, and fear were buried beneath Cabernet and Netflix. As you can imagine, this was not a sustainable model. I could not continue like this, and I found a counselor to talk to and made the decision to stop drinking entirely during this time.
The counselor recognized my need to gain understanding. As an educator, I have always valued knowledge as a tool of empowerment. I started consuming books, podcasts, and blogs in the personal growth genre. I kept reading accounts of how people could shift from suffering and survival to expansion and thriving. These stories inspired me. I had become a seeker.
During this time of inquiry, I repeatedly saw the word mindfulness appear. These authors and speakers had learned to cultivate joy amid chaos and loss. They had found a way to be with pain instead of numbing it. They were giving themselves grace instead of shame. Not only that, but they were forgiving themselves and others. They were letting go instead of holding onto the illusion of control. They were failing and rising. These teachers were vulnerable and authentic. This was the Universe taking me by the hand and leading me down a different, less self-destructive path.
I enrolled in my first mindfulness certification program the spring after Kim’s suicide. It felt symbolic that it was in the spring. I, too, was coming alive again. I was learning to sit with all the pain of Kim’s suicide. Not only that, but I was learning to listen and authentically be with the people in my life. I saw an immediate change in the energy in my house and my dynamic with my students. I noticed I was connecting with people on a much deeper level than I had ever before. Furthermore, I was experiencing moments of joy and gratitude daily, even while still grieving. I was starting to thrive.
I am not saying that mindfulness has made me immune from pain. The difference now is I can ground myself, calm myself, and give myself a safe space to process what is unfolding in my life. I no longer need alcohol and Netflix to avoid my life.
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?
Since becoming a Mindfulness Educator, I started teaching a mindfulness and meditation course at my school. I give students a space to practice grounding in the present moment. It has been very well received and has been the highlight of my 24-year teaching career! I have also started my mindfulness coaching company, Strong Roots Coaching Solutions. I publish a regular blog and provide mindfulness tools free of charge. I have presented at adult education workshops at local libraries and women’s retreats.
This past year, I wrote my first book, Mindful Humaning: How to Stop Saying and Doing Things You Regret. The book teaches why we sometimes struggle to self-regulate, how that impacts connection, what mindfulness is, and how it can help you “push pause” to respond thoughtfully rather than react on autopilot. I also get into how we can learn to train our attention and become more present in our lives with an attitude of non-judgment. Each short lesson has a mantra and an activity to integrate the lesson. The goal is for each person who walks away from reading the book to establish their own 10 to 15-minute daily mindfulness practice. To that end, I recently started a podcast on Spotify, 10 Minutes of Mindful Humaning. I put out 10-minute guided meditations, yoga nidras, EFT tapping, and journaling practices weekly.
I have also started planning women’s retreat weekends in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains. Not only that, but I just announced a week-long international retreat in the Azores in the summer of 2025. A global retreat has been a dream of mine for years. My life’s purpose is to share mindfulness with my students and coach clients so they can find more joy and strengthen their relationships. It is how I honor the beautiful life of my beautiful friend.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three tenets of mindfulness – non-judging, acceptance, and gratitude have been very impactful during my journey. For a long time, my inner critic asked me, “Who do you think you are? You are no not an expert in mindfulness. You just yelled at your daughter for leaving a wet towel on the floor! Why would anyone listen to you?” The concept of non-judging helped me see my shame over my imposter syndrome and that it was keeping me from sharing what I had learned. It is true that I still have times when I am depleted and struggling, and it is harder for me to access my mindfulness tools. However, non-judging helps me give myself grace and authentic apologies when I don’t like my behavior. The harder I work on not judging myself, the more I notice I give grace to others. I know two things to be true – when I am feeling dysregulated, agitated, and not aligned with my true self, it is usually because I am in judgment of myself or others. Second, I can connect and communicate more effectively when approaching someone without judgment. Now my inner voice tells me, “You are simply sharing your experience. Everyone’s an expert in their lived experience. How beautiful you want to share that!” Start to challenge your limiting beliefs. They are most likely rooted in judgment, not in fact.
The next skill I have been actively pursuing is acceptance. The last year, in particular, has been an actual exercise in this tenet. I have had several personal experiences that have been deeply challenging – so much tradegy and loss. I have had a whole host of depleting emotions – rage, helplessness, hopelessness, frustration, and fear. Sometimes, I feel that I am swimming upstream. Acceptance is the only way I can be free from suffering. Not because what has transpired isn’t unfair or wrong, but because it is how it is right now. My resistance to what is causes me suffering. I need to stop swimming upstream and float with the current. When I can let go of my resistance, I no longer suffer. Only then can I focus on what I can do with what is happening now I can use my energy to show up in ways that support myself and others, instead of sitting in my depleting emotions. Ask yourself, what are you fighting against that is out of your control? How can you shift your energies toward more empowering actions?
Gratitude The third tenet, gratitude, has been one of the most impactful parts of my journey over the last few years. We are wired with a negativity bias; daily gratitude practices shift your attention to start noticing the positive. Now that I am spending more time in the present moment, a new world has opened up to me. I experience gratitude for the little treasures in life that I previously did not notice. For exampe, the way the sun comes up over the hill in my backyard, the first sip of my coffee in the morning, and the giggling I hear when my daughter is playing in her room with her friends. There is something in every moment to be grateful for. Even the tough days. You can be thankful for your beating heart or a new day tomorrow. Daily journaling about a daily experience you are grateful for is a fantastic way to build your capacity for gratitude. Grab a journal and start writing!
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
I am called to work with women who yearn to break generational patterns of stuffing down uncomfortable feelings and want to create new narratives around authenticity and vulnerability. I love working with women who to create transformational growth that often happens when people are in periods of transition – career changes, end of relationships, children leaving the nest, loss of loved ones, or confronting what they are using to numb or check out. I want to empower women to stop treating life like a never-ending checklist. I want to help women through these challenges by connecting them to themselves and their inner wisdom.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://strongrootssolutions.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/strongrootscoachingsolutions/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodie-seymour-0b8393253/
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-164077725
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6T83Oyp1Lo53jYbbb2YSZ6?si=2d68d86244284c12
Image Credits
They are all taken by my phone
