That Year I Spent in My Bath Tub.

Have you ever been hit by a curveball that changed the rest of your story? Let me tell you about that year I spent in my bathtub. Ok, that might be a slight exaggeration, but the truth is, there was a year in which my bathtub was my second home, and bath salts were my best friend. Welcoming our very first botanical bath salts in the studio has me reflecting on how the hardest parts of our stories often become the places we see God do his greatest work, the healing benefits of a warm bath salt soak, and how WE are the greatest advocates of our own health and well-being.

The hardest parts of our stories often become the places we see God do his greatest work. Let me take you back to the spring of 2017 when I had my 3rd son and was months away from the curveball that changed everything. That curveball came in the form of a neck injury while holding my 3 month old. Suffice it to say something was pulled from the top of my head down to my fingertip while talking to a friend at a large group gathering, and I left the friend at the coffee bar mid-sentence and ran for my husband and stroller like Jennifer Lawrence in a scene from The Hunger Games. Through slicing pain, I managed to get out the words in my lowest voice, “We need to leave NOW.”

I’ll never forget when my doc looked me in the eye and said, “You can’t hold your children for 3 weeks.”uuuhhh… say whaaaat???” With my husband going back to work, how was I going to do this “3 under 5 thing” without being able to hold anybody? My doc and chiro agreed to refer me to physical therapy and encouraged me to do all I could to reduce inflammation. 

Cue: that time I spent a whole year in my bathtub.

My main view of my children that year was from my tub. It wasn’t the way I had imagined rocking my new "mom of 3" gig, but it was a beautiful, blurry view that smelled of lavender and sounded like the voices of my children and the whispers of God ushering me into a new chapter of my life. The hardest season of motherhood wasn't the end of my story.  

2017 changed my life in a thousand ways for the BEST. I can’t even believe I’m saying that! Hindsight does us wonders, doesn’t it? My hardest year of motherhood set me on a path to discovering what sustainable well-being and soul-deep healing meant for me. It helped me build daily disciplines of nourishing myself in mind, body, and spirit. It weeded out things in my life that weren’t for me, and laid fresh soil to sew new seeds that WERE for me. In my hardest season, God was doing his greatest work. 

It's a true joy to introduce our first-ever botanical bath salts and the healing benefits they provide because healing is what I experienced from my year of super baths. When I wasn't in the tub, you could find me driving around to massage therapy and PT, icing my neck, cooking leafy greens, taking supplements, and drinking liquid iron because I was severely anemic my labs revealed. I soon grew accustomed to my odd, yet nourishing new daily rhythms, and I don't think my husband ever came home from work without a bag of lavender Epsom salt. After 3 pregnancies with hyperemesis gravidarum, my body was in serious need of replenishing.

So, I became a student of the human body, of MY body, and of how we truly heal, and found that warm salt bath soaks would restore much more than my neck injury.

Submerging our bodies into a bath filled with warm water and salt is proven to be one of the best ways to restore ourselves after a long day. This health-promoting ritual soothes the muscles, hydrates the skin, detoxifies the body, and relieves internal swelling. The macro and trace minerals found in salts can actually be drawn into the bloodstream during a warm bath, which can help to balance out the entire body. Our botanical bath salts have added benefits from lavender and eucalyptus essential oils and earth-given minerals from grey sea salt, Epsom salt, and wild Himalayan salt.  This magic combination works to reduce inflammation and nourish our bodies. Whether we’re seeking silkier skin, a better night’s sleep, or a little detoxification—bath salts can play a beneficial role in our day-to-day routine.  

Fast-forward 6 years later, and my view is of my 6, 8, and 11 yr old making bath salts in my kitchen that will be poured into the bath of someone else, and I wonder: what will their story be? What tender place will these bath salts enter? The postpartum days of healing after a long, hard labor? A moment to celebrate the victory after tucking the last child into bed? A healing remedy for a soar back and neck? I may never know the stories of everyone who uses our organic bath salts, but I know this: choosing a warm bath salt soak is one single brave decision listen to your body, mind, and soul’s need for restoration. Sometimes, taking another warm bath salt soak while your body is putting itself back together is the bravest thing you could ever do.

Friend, if there's one thing I want to encourage you with, it's that you are the GREATEST advocate for your own health. The year I spent in my tub taught me that nobody can make daily decisions to help me heal other than me. It was there, in my Epsom salt baths that I could untether myself from the noise of the world and quietly receive the invitation to cultivate a different life; one that made generous space for nourishment in mind, body, and spirit.

My desperation to hold my newborn baby made me choose that bath, that PT for the umpteenth millionth time. My entire world depended on choices nobody could make but me and me alone. The truth is, my daily decisions would have been a lot harder to make without community and regular check-ins.

Having women who were grounded in their faith and living in a stable and healthy place to regularly check in with kept me going. By surrounding myself with women who supported my wellness goals, I made incredible progress and got back to feeling strong, healthy, and confident.

Now, I'm helping other moms do the same.

So, friend, I’m curious. Have you had a few curveballs come your way over the years, too? Are you feeling more and more ready to make intentional decisions that nurture your mind, body, and spirit back to health?

Are you ready to get your energy back, dive into your seasonal goals (what matters most to you right now), and cultivate a nourishing lifestyle in mind, body, and spirit?

Would you benefit from creating a sustainable, customized approach to wellness that fits your lifestyle and empowers you to live nourished in mind, body, and spirit?

Are you looking for some accountability and encouragement in your faith and wellness?

If you answered yes to all of those questions, then I’d love to invite you to join my Summer Thriving Together Community. All you need to do is APPLY HERE (no application fee) to see if this might be exactly what you need to help you thrive! Consider this your first brave step towards a healthier YOU!

It's a true joy to help YOU thrive. If I can heal and get stronger, you can too, and it would be my JOY to be on YOUR team.

Girl, you’re amazing. Let’s do this!

With joy,

Katie

Better Together

I remember feeling a shift towards renewal in mind, body, and spirit after I had my third baby. My body had been through A LOT (3 hyperemesis pregnancies, anemia, and a neck injury, oh my!), and I was ready to get my energy back and figure out what a nourishing lifestyle could look like for me as my body was healing from so much! Even though I was exhausted and overwhelmed with where to begin, I knew I needed relationships that could support my desire for a healthier life. By seeing other moms pursuing their health, I began to share my desires to thrive again with them, and they helped me pursue gradual shifts in my lifestyle habits that helped me slowly begin to thrive in mind, body, and spirit. Now, I'm helping other busy moms do the same.

The truth is, the daily decisions that helped me get healthier and stronger would have been a lot harder to make without these amazing women who were grounded in their faith and living in a stable and healthy place to regularly check in with. Because of pursuing our well-being alongside one another and the encouragement I received, I made incredible progress and got back to feeling strong, healthy, and confident. 

Who we surround ourselves with can make a powerful impact on us, right?!

As part of my pursuit of my family’s well-being, I enrolled in the Institute of Integrative Nutrition to become a wellness coach. I love approaching the idea of wellness holistically, and Josypring became the vision of my heart while I was in school. It’s so fun to see it take shape and come to life!

We can’t do it alone. I believe we all can benefit from having a community that supports our wellness goals.

I’d love to invite you to cultivate a nourishing lifestyle in mind, body, and spirit with me! That’s why I’m offering (at no cost) the opportunity for women to be a part of my FIRST-EVER Thriving Together Community.

Dream with me for a minute. How do you see yourself showing up for your life 3 months from now?

What difference would it make in your life 3 months from now if you had access to…

~ An online community where you will have devotionals, encouragement, support, and check-ins to help hold you accountable to the goals that you feel good about!

~ A customizable wellness plan and regular sharing of progress with others

~ Healthy recipes

~ workouts

~ a community of like-minded women going through life together!

~ Invitation to all Joyspring Community Gatherings 

Do you get excited about that?! If you answered a hearty “YES,” I want to invite you to FILL OUT THIS FORM so I can provide you with my very best resources to help you THRIVE!

If I can heal and get stronger, so can you!

With joy,

Katie

Hey, November

This month, we are all about finding our JOY through practicing a mindset of gratitude!

I can’t think of a better way to ease our way into the holiday season than framing our mindset with gratitude. Here in the studio, we’ll name one thing per day that we’re thankful for.

Here are some creative ways to pause and practice gratitude this month with your spouse, family, or friends.

1. Make a thankful tree

   1. Go for a nature walk

   2. Collect sticks

   3. Arrange them in a vase and display in your home

   4. Leave blank pieces of paper, string, a hole punch, and a pen next to the display

   5. When you walk by, house members can write down one thing they’re thankful for and hang it on the tree

2. Start a gratitude Journal

   1. Leave a blank notebook open on the counter with a pen. Encourage everyone in your home to write down something good to celebrate or be thankful for when they walk by and read it at dinner each night.

3. Write thank you notes- simply write 1 note or txt message each week of the month to someone, naming what you are thankful for about them.

4. Plan a Friendsgiving to show your gratitude for the relationships in your life.

5. Plan a mini personal gratitude retreat by setting aside time to Create your Live Well Plan to practice gratitude for the life and season you have been given. In thankfulness for being alive, create a plan to live it well by living with deeper intention. Experience the ripple effect of taking care of yourself so that you can show up to love and serve those around you well!

What about you? What creative ways can you practice gratitude this month?

With joy,

Katie

Warm + Cozy

This month, we are all about finding our JOY through all things warm and cozy. When autumn begins to flaunt its muted pallet, turning our heads with every shade of gold and rust, I find closure to one season and joy in welcoming another. I look forward to replacing warm weather and sunlight with warm pots of soup simmering and candle-lit cozy gatherings of friends and family around our table. As October shortens our daylight and chills the air, how can we carry the warmth of summer with us?

Cold weather inspires us to create comfort. Here are some of my favorite ways to create warm + cozy.

1. Light candles. Repeat.

2. Drape warm blankets across beds, chairs, and sofas.

3. Hold your warm beverage of choice in your hands for 10 minutes of stillness while you sip and savor in the mornings.

4. Pour a second warm cup and walk around your yard or block in the crisp fall air.

5. Dim lights and have a candle-lit dinner paired with relaxing music.

6. Make a big soup + Invite others to gather around your table to linger in good company.

7. Go to the library and check out books about anything and everything interesting to you, and leave them on end tables to grab with a warm cup of tea and a cozy blanket for any-time-of-day rest.

8. Homemade pizza & movie night.

9. Bonfires. Hearth fires. Youtube fires. Need I say more?

10. Rearrange furniture in a way that invites rest and present conversation.

These are simple ways to inspire joy when darkness and cold set in. How do you create warm + cozy?

Hey, September

This month, we’re all about finding our JOY through creating momentum.

A change in season is the perfect time to create new momentum. September gives us a brand new opportunity to listen to the nudges tugging at our hearts. What do you visualize your fall looking like? What do you hope for? These ideas are the early winds of momentum. How do we create forward motion?

I believe in the power of talking out loud. Sharing our visions and hopes in a conversation with a loved one is where it all begins. Give yourself the gift of talking with someone about what you see as you look at the final quarter of 2022.

This fall is your blank canvas. Your life is a masterpiece.

Momentum is a lot like mixing paint. You mix until you make the color you’re truly after and make your first bold stroke, then another, then another. Eventually, you’ll find your momentum. What colors will you paint with this fall? What will propel the strokes forward?

Newton’s First Law of Motion says "Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it." So, how do we create new momentum when we feel stuck? There is good news. While there are external forces outside our control, we are each an external force to something or someone. When we act, things change. When we don’t, they stay the same. Thankfully, every day is a new opportunity to find joy by creating new momentum.

If you’re looking for some creative strategies to inspire you this fall, here are 5 ways to create momentum!

1. Set your intention. Choose a word or phrase that encompasses your hope or desire for the homestretch of 2022. What matters most to you? An intention is the why behind your goals. What are the things you desire in this season? Why? Here is a great guide to setting an intention to help get you started. Keep it hanging somewhere you will see frequently! Set it and manifest it.

2. Make Commitments Momentum is more than just moving. Creating momentum starts with a commitment. A commitment to you. Creating momentum is a shift in mindset that can change your life. What’s one thing you want to commit to (or not to) this fall to propel you forward toward your hopes and goals? What’s the next step? Take it.

3. Schedule TIME for change September is ripe with things to fill our schedules with. Our time and energy are our most valuable assets. How can we replace “things we should do” with “things we love to do?” Go ahead. Schedule the things you love and want to do.

4. Create your team Identify people in your life who can help move your life forward. Call on them together or individually to let them know of the changes you want to make, and invite them to help you move past any roadblocks and keep the momentum going. Community is essential to growth. If you find your community lacking, don’t be afraid to be new in town. Are there any places, groups, or meet-ups happening in your area of people who share your values and dreams? Can you find a regular time to bounce ideas, share knowledge, and creative ideas with one another?

5. Take the first step. Where do you want to get moving? Write it down. Now is the time. You don’t need to have the perfect plan or see the outcome today. You will learn as you go, and that is all part of the growth. Taking the first step can be the hardest part, but imagine yourself on the other side!

6. Overcome your fear Fear is a normal part of the human experience. But remember, fear is not your boss. Don’t let it be your compass. Your body, mind, and spirit are your sanctuary. If fear wasn’t in the driver’s seat, what’s one brave thing you would do today? Perhaps your “feeling stuck” is just your fear getting in the way. Whether it’s fear of failure or fear of success, identify it and move beyond it!

Creating momentum in your life means doing a little more of the things that propel you forward and a little less of the things that hold you back. What about you? What moves you?

With joy,

Katie

Joyspring Studio founder and owner