episode 93 - Jena Jauchius
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Mel: Welcome to Permission to be Human, the podcast. I'm your host Mel Findlater mother, coach, and curator of Permission to be Human, the company and community. If you're a mom, know a mom, or want to be a mom, and you crave getting out in the world to make a difference, then you're in the right place. This is a space for moms like you to connect with yourself, your purpose, and your big audacious dreams.
Because when you feel your best, you can better you, your family, and the wider world. Let's do this.
Welcome. Welcome back to permission to be human the podcast. It's Mel. Hi. I get to introduce you for a third time today. Jena Jauchius who [00:01:00] is joining us. For a bit of a shorter chat, but one that is also important because you see Jena has been on this podcast twice before. She was on episode 10. She was on episode 73.
And we've talked about so many different things to do with nature and its importance to do with sensory play. To do with her setting up her business. And lately I've been really digging into this theme, courage as you'll know if you've listened to the last few months of podcasts. And when Jena told me that she is running her second. Online summit called sensory kids by nature summits.
I was like amazed. I think it's I'm in. So in awe of her ability to really stretch her comfort zone, I know that this was not an easy thing to do. And I really wanted to have her on the podcast. [00:02:00] To tell us about it and what it's been like to.
Take that step to run one that was a little bit smaller to take that little step.
And then to, you know, I think she's more than doubled the amount of people that she has on the summit. Which is getting her great results in terms of having more listeners find her. So. I had to have Ron here is a courageous, courageous step. And I think. That all of us, other moms and women out there can really learn from. Her experience of creating this summit, whether you create a summit or not in the future, it's more about like taking that step. Towards what you really want, even when it scares the crap out of you. So Jenna is here with us today to talk about our summit.
I am indeed actually speaking on her summit as well, which is awesome. So go and have a listen. Uh, but there's so many other amazing, amazing speakers in the space of.
[00:03:00] Nature and sensory needs and all the things with kids. So listen up to this and Jenna will introduce the summit even better than I just did.
Mel: Okay. Hi, Jena hey, Mel. How are you doing? I'm good. I'm so excited that you are back for a third time on the podcast, which is just amazing and I think just totally necessary. Every time we, we, you know, talk, we just drive so much and your topics are so relevant to the listeners. of this podcast. And I know, you know, this is kind of a little bit of a special one because you've got something pretty cool happening right now that I was hoping we could chat through.
To share what it is, because everybody listening should go and check it out. It's totally free, a summit, uh, that's my little tiny bit of what it is, uh, that Jenna's running. We will get into it more. But also just [00:04:00] to, you know, like, the listeners here, Our moms, a lot of them, you know, we all have dreams. Some of them are business dreams and I thought it would be really fun to talk through what that's been like for you to create this summit.
And You know, how do you like how that is? How do we take that step like the courage that that Requires to do something like that to put yourself out there to ask people that I assume you've never met before many of them Right to come on something and you know all that stuff So that's that's kind of a little intro to everybody of like what we're hoping to dig into here today but Jenna has been on the podcast twice before, way back in episode 10 at the beginning, as well as 73.
We've talked through nature and how that can help regulate us. We've talked through what it's like to set up a business and, you know, [00:05:00] the growth that that gives you and it's just such a nice time to check in again. When you are just, you know, thriving with it right now.
Jena: Well, thanks, Mel.
Mel: A very long intro welcome.
Jena: Where do you want me to
Mel: start? Where do I want you to start? Maybe let's, you know, for those who maybe haven't listened to the other episodes yet, because you should go listen to them. Give us like a little intro of who, who is Jenna.
Jena: Okay. Oh my gosh. Well, that's a big question. So professionally, uh, I'm a landscape architect and for that's 25 years now have been specializing in designing children's sensory based nature filled play learning and therapeutic spaces.
So like nature play areas, outdoor classrooms, green school yards, therapeutic spaces, sensory gardens. I've even designed a few indoor. Uh, nature based play spaces and my [00:06:00] focus is, uh, creating spaces that support children, uh, with neurodiversities. And so what I found, the cool thing that I found in the work that I have done so far is when we create sensory based, intentionally sensory based play and learning spaces that support kids with autism or ADHD.
sensory processing disorders. They actually are spaces that support all of us, all the kids that play there because that's the goal, right? We want all the kids in there playing together, learning together. And it's also good for adults. It just, it's regulating all of our nervous systems at the same time.
So I've been doing that a long time and my business that I've created so that I can focus solely on this work is N is for nature play. And it's just been, it's just been so much fun [00:07:00] creating a business, uh, that has arisen from my, like my professional calling on this planet. Uh, and through that work, I've worked with occupational therapists and speech therapists and different educators, alternative education, micro schools, so many different places, early learning centers of all different kinds, parents of all different kinds, and it's just, It's been such a gift to me, to meet the people that I have and work with the people that I have through this vehicle of my business.
And stemming out of that actually has come this, uh, summit that you mentioned. It's called the Sensory Kids by Nature Summit. And, we're in season two right now. So the first one was back in August of 2024. Uh, this one's happening right now, January 20th through the 24th. And the purpose of the summit [00:08:00] is to expand our conversation around supporting kids of all ages, abilities, and diversities because our kids are more diverse than ever before.
And the way I say the way that it's always been done doesn't apply anymore, right? They need us to step in and do things differently, see things differently, and they deserve and require, a different way than it's always been done. So I've been bringing in, this time around I'm really excited. Mel, you're on it.
So everyone go watch Mel's session. But I've brought in experts in functional neurology functional medicine, alternative education, homeschooling, parent and teacher support, occupational therapy. I have so many people, I have 15 different experts, 14 interviews because one's a husband and wife duo.
But it's been so fun. Like I was saying, connecting with all these amazing experts and people who are doing things differently so that we can [00:09:00] support our parents and teachers and anyone else who's working with kids right now.
Mel: Amazing.
Jena: Yeah
Mel: I just, I am so, the topics, the, the phrases, like everything you say is just such a core belief of mine as well.
And, you know, I think it's amazing that you're out there doing this work and like, you know, we've known each other for, I don't even know now maybe two years and like the amount that you've grown in that time and gotten this business going and are growing it and you are making that difference and spreading that word and you know, we all need to hear this like as you say, like sensor sensory needs are universal.
We all right. And I know I've had a lot of like quite the journey in the last couple of years as well around like. You may even have been the one that, like, introduced it to me, or at least you were at the beginning of the thought process. You know, just around my own needs for that. And that [00:10:00] actually I'm like, oh, I'm irritated right now.
What is it? And if I stop and think, I'm like, oh, it's too loud. It's too bright, or it's too blah blah blah, right? And it's really made me look at the world differently. And what I can do to support myself just that little bit differently. So, I think it's such an important topic, not only for those families, of which there's very many with neurodiversities, but also we all have different sensory needs, right?
Some higher than others.
Jena: Yeah. Yeah. People absolutely, everyone, takes our, we, we take our senses for granted, right? We just kind of assume that, you know, what we're experiencing, it's just like, it's running on autopilot, right? And we're, we don't tune in unless it's like something that really catches our attention.
But what I tell people is that our nervous system and all of our sensory systems that are connected to it, really like, They are responsible for our [00:11:00] experience of life, and you can't turn them off.
Mel: Okay. So what I'm curious about is how, you know, if we all have these different senses, we're all start to tune into them, uh, in our everyday life. How at throughout your journey of being a mother and entrepreneurship, have you Been tuning into your senses, like how have your senses related to this journey?
Jena: Hmm. Oh, that's such a good question. Yeah, I have I have come to Realize how important being in tune with my own senses is like it's like a foundation of self care
Mel: If
Jena: I'm like have a busy day And I'm overstimulated, I've talked to a lot of people, and I haven't kind of, uh, calmed my system down. And I go home.
I bring that into [00:12:00] the, I bring that back home to the kids. And that's not fair. It's not fair for anybody. So I have come, become more aware of when my system gets dysregulated. And when I do that, there's a few exercises that I do to get back into regulation. I do this, like, throughout the day. And it's made a huge difference in when I come home back to the kids who've had a busy day themselves, I'm a different person.
And so like, you know, breathing or getting out to walk in nature, getting some sunshine on my face. There's so many simple things that you can do to regulate your nervous system. Being outside putting your bare feet on the ground. That's like one of the fastest ways to Regulate and calm down your nervous system Breathing there's lots of breathing exercises that you can do Getting out in nature.
I always take a walk every day with my dogs Grounding that and I do that before I even start my work. So [00:13:00] yeah, there's The other thing I do Is I'm more conscious when I have it, I'm more conscious in my sensory experiences, meaning when I'm outside in the sunshine, I notice how vibrant the colors are when I'm outside walking.
I listen to the birds singing in the trees, listen to the sound of my dog's feet, toenails, clacking on. The, the street, or the sound of my footsteps in the gravel and it just like, it makes the moment more potent, right? And, and this is what we're here for is to experience our world. We're not here to be on autopilot through our entire lives.
Just to wake up and, and do like Groundhog's Day, the same thing over and over again. We're here to experience, so let's do it. And so just those little moments when you can remember to do that for yourself, you are feeding your body, you're feeding your [00:14:00] mind, you're feeding your spirit in all of these very small ways that have a very profound impact on your quality of life.
And if you can teach your kids, actually, I take that back. Your kids will teach you to do this even deeper because they are so in tune with their senses. So you don't teach your kids, you teach yourself and then you, you get together with your kids who are already doing it right from like 0 to 7, 0 to 12.
They are, they are fully sensory because that's what their bodies are doing, especially is actually 0 to 3. That's the magical time, 0 to 7, still beautiful, but it goes throughout our lives. And we have to, we have to, we have to grab onto the, onto that.
Mel: Mm-hmm . Yeah. And it sounds like to me, like, like I can't help but but wonder how this journey would've been like for you if [00:15:00] you weren't as aware of all these
Jena: tools.
Yeah. You know, I don't think it's possible because, uh, I have been down such a rabbit hole on understanding kids' senses. And I came to the conclusion that the nervous system is our single most important thing in our life for this reason. It's responsible for our life experience. And so what does that really mean?
So, you know, you always ask the question, what does that mean? You know, how can we go deeper in this? And I think like I'm, I was destined to realize the importance of. Our senses, my senses or my own life experience so that I can share with others as part of my life's purpose.
Mel: Yeah.
Jena: So, I mean, and it's something, like I said before, that we take it for granted.
We totally take it for granted.
Mel: Yeah,
Jena: but that's part of our that's part of our journey as humans right to use our bodies.
Mel: Yeah, and you know [00:16:00] So this I came to this massive realization the other day and it sounds so simple and yet It's taken me, you know my life to figure this out that
our job isn't to Decrease the amount of stress that comes into our life. It will come And by stress, I mean the over arousal of our senses. I mean the everything, like our body can feel stress in lots of different situations. Right? It might be something that actually is happening in life that's making us anxious or whatever, but it might also be the sounds or the lights or the, lack of movement or the, or the, or the, right?
Our job isn't to actually decrease the amount that that happens because it's going to, and that actually the work is in noticing that that's happening
Not judging [00:17:00] ourselves for it.
Jena: Yeah.
Mel: And learning those little tools that will decrease it quickly. Like, oh, that's interesting. Yeah, I am like my heart rate. It's crazy right now or whatever it might be. Yeah. Okay, how quickly can I, what can I do to quickly get that down? Right? Yeah. And some of the tools are longer and some of them are shorter and the more work we do on ourselves, the easier that becomes.
But it just kind of hit me. I was like, you know, I think this whole self care world teaches us or implies that, like, we want to just, like, get rid of stress. It's like, that's impossible, firstly. Avoid the uncomfortable. Right, exactly. Not only is it impossible, but it's also just, I don't know that it's actually would be helpful because It's our body's response to something, which is telling us something.
And without it, we wouldn't have the information of why we're uncomfortable. Right? You've hit it right on the head. Or the, you know, like, yeah. So this is like, this was like moment [00:18:00] for me the other day.
Jena: Yeah.
Mel: Right? Yeah. Which maybe I knew, but, but it's just like put into words. You must've
Jena: got it at a deeper level.
Mel: Yeah. I think that's what, yeah, that's what it is. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, okay, that's just kind of a separate, separate thing on the same topic.
Jena: Well, actually, it's, it's actually a really important, uh, topic that you, or we're, you know, taking this further into, uh, our bodies are highly intelligent. They're highly intelligent in and of themselves.
And so, when we feel crummy and when we have sensations in our body, when we have chills when someone tells us a story that really moves us, That's our body's way of telling us, information about what we're experiencing. So, like, uh, if you hear, say, if you hear a story and it makes your stomach churn, that, that gives indication that about how you're feeling about that story, uh, and maybe it's bringing up feelings of [00:19:00] anger, and so it's all just information.
It's nothing that, it's nothing you want to avoid necessarily. It's just giving you information about your experience within that and definitely don't run from those feelings. When, like, here's an example, the first time I did the summit, uh, and this will speak to your topic of courage. Uh, the first time I was, uh, suggested that maybe I should put on a summit, I'm like, hell no, hell no.
I like, that's a lot of work. I can't put myself out there. I had these, I had a really strong feeling of like, nope, I don't want to do it. Don't want to do it. Total discomfort. And then I'm like, okay. That is like the chicken shit thing to do. That's the chicken shit answer. So I need to revisit how I really feel about this.
And so, I'm like, okay, no, let's, okay, I'm just going to decide to do a summit. Even though my body's [00:20:00] telling me otherwise. Well, at least I think I was. My ego was telling me otherwise. My body was like, you know, just processing the emotions. I'm going to make it small. I'm going to make it manageable. So I had six people on.
I did the whole thing. It was fun. It was super fun. And I grew and I had all those feelings in my body and I grew. And so when you have some of those feelings, that's actually the direction that you want to move forward. If you move into anger, if you move into something that makes you uncomfortable, those are your areas of growth because that is your edge.
And your body knows it. And so anything that can come up in your life that feels uncomfortable, that makes you scared, that's your growth edge. And that is a beautiful indication to you [00:21:00] that those are areas of growth that you can pursue. Because your comfort zone, like it feels good, it's safe, it's like, you know, fuzzy socks on a winter day, but you don't grow there, right?
You don't grow there. You're already living there. And so if you want to be a bigger person, showing up more fully in your life, you find those uncomfortable areas and you, it's like, I love the, I love, it's, it's like the symbol of a bison. When winter storms hit. When they blow through where bison live, bison intuitively know to walk into the storm, because they come out the other side faster.
They don't walk away from the storm. So, be a bison. Be a bison in your life.
Mel: Yeah, and you know, everything you just said, and what I also heard in there was you being, having compassion for yourself within that, saying, okay, like, I'm going to take a second, I'm going to be really pissed off that someone recommended this for a [00:22:00] bit, and then I'm going to, you know, be a bison.
But it was also, I'm gonna go small because actually if I just leap into having like 20 people and this that and the other make it massive Then my body's reaction my is gonna be overwhelmed, right? Instead you're like, okay, how can I what can I do? What are the little what are the little things that I can do to step towards this and slowly build up that courage?
That is You know, Oh, maybe this would be okay. Oh, maybe that conversation was actually kind of fun, you know, like all the things that come with it and you slowly, slowly stretch that comfort zone to the, to the next kind of size. Right.
Jena: Yeah. Yeah. And so exactly. So that summit went from six back in August, you know, like.
Five months ago or whatever. And this time around I have 15, like I said, 14 interviews [00:23:00] to do. And that was, it's, a massive jump for me in the scale of what this summit is. And what it can be. And I definitely hit an edge because it's been a lot, it's been a lot. And connecting with all these people have, it's been amazing, but the, uh, the sheer effort in doing it and the logistics and the preparation and, Uh, all of that has been, has been definitely an edge for me, but what I've seen now is that back in August, I could hold space for six people.
Now I can hold space for 15 people. And I've seen that come, uh, in, in the amount of registrations that have gone up. So can I, can I hold this size of space now? And I'm doing it. So,
So that has been really, really fun to see me kind of navigate this, uh, the, the [00:24:00] bigger scale of this summit. So it's, it's, you know, the area of growth.
Mel: Yeah. And in that area of growth, as you've kind of, like, touched on, and as I could almost see your body language telling me right now, it's, it can be, like, uncomfortable, right? It can be, like, oh, like, uh, so people can't see what I'm doing, but, like, the energy is moving, like, my hands are shaking a little bit, like, on purpose right now, right?
Like, this energy of, kind of, tremor. And I'm curious of like, how do you, how do you keep it fun? How do you keep yourself wanting to do it and go back to it?
Jena: It's, uh, especially getting, uh, in the preparation, I would say the two weeks before the summit aired, that was like, like go time for me. And, there was a couple of days where I had to.
Like, fully take a step back from [00:25:00] it, to remind myself, like, this should be fun, this should be fun when it wasn't. So, how to keep it fun I would say, Connecting with the variety of people that I've connected with has kept it fun and going back and revisiting the interviews that I did when I'm, you know, taking the, the video editing and taking the clips out for a promotion and that sort of thing and go, wow, like talk about some really cool stuff and thinking about like.
My gosh, this is going to, you know, people, people need to sign up for the summit because the people that are coming on to it are so stinking cool. They have such an incredible message to share. I want people to, to have this, like just to have, have, you know, listen to these various experts. So I think that imagining the connection that's happening that keeps me going.
Connecting with the amazing people that I [00:26:00] have keeps me going, having people email me and say, are you playing in next summit? Because I'd really like to be considered for that. That keeps me going. Yeah, I, I think just getting it going, the flow of it is helping carry me through kind of the, the more challenging preparation time.
So once the ball got rolling, that really helped. And so it hasn't felt like drudgery. I will say at least twice a day, I take myself out of the work of it to go get some sunshine and to go get some fresh air and to go spend some time with my kids or, or whoever just to get my mind out of it. So yeah.
Mel: Yeah. Amazing. So, you know, I'm hearing connection and space away as well. And you know, just [00:27:00] reminding yourself of like, what's this, what this is for, right. And I can really identify with, so actually, so the, I'll finish. I had two thoughts at the same time. They're both related. One is I can really identify with the connecting with other people and talking to people that you're interviewing, right?
Like it's an amazing way, like for the podcast, I'm like, this is why I do it. Yes. I like listeners. I love you. I want you to get all this information. And like, it's partly selfish too, because it feels really good to go and connect with people and to have a reason. Have an excuse to go and have a really interesting conversation, right?
I've met people. Totally. I wouldn't have a way I mean, I just had an email here in a time when I'm like, oh, I need some more guests. I didn't even try It was like a guest from a year ago saying hey, you should meet this person and you know, like it's like Oh, I'm excited to meet that person that sounds incredible and it's related to this other thing that I've been thinking and you know, it [00:28:00] does that work for you and I'm so glad that you've You Being able to step into that and feel that as well and, you know, grow in your own confidence within that, in that connection building.
And the other thing that it makes me think of is, you know, So, I'm going to put an assumption out there because this is what it's like for me but in what you were saying around, you know, you want other people to listen to this for because this is such a great conversation. Other people have to hear this conversation, right?
So for me, what I'm hearing, because this is what it would be for me, is it's way easier to advertise and market for other people than yourself. Yes!
Jena: Yes,
Mel: I'm so excited about what you're doing right now. I'm bringing you back on my podcast. We're gonna put this summit out there in the world, blah, blah, blah.
You know, like that's way easier than me just saying, Hey, come listen to my podcast. It's really cool, you know. And as women, we are, you know, We like to help other [00:29:00] people.
Jena: So yeah, that, you know, I experienced that after the first summit, uh, I wanted to hold a, like a three day workshop series for people so I could share about the work that I do and all the, uh, eight senses and how to create how parents and teachers can create sensory based, blah, blah, blah.
And I had the hardest time marketing that three day thing, because it was, it was my stuff, So much easier sharing about all the brilliance of all these other people I was talking about and talking to and sharing with the world. Isn't that funny?
Mel: Isn't it interesting? So yeah,
Jena: I, I, and yet,
Mel: like, that's okay.
Actually, it's freaking awesome. It's a hack. It's like a hack into your own energy. Like, okay, I'm really struggling getting marketing going. What else can I do here? And it's like, oh, I'll market somebody else. And it was like, I'll go back to me. Right? Yeah. Yeah. The perfect mix for that.
Jena: Absolutely. And I, and [00:30:00] I'm, I'm hoping by doing this that I can, uh, Well, build my confidence in marketing for one, cause I'm not a natural marketer, uh, two is to create the habit of by, you know, sharing about others, sharing myself that I just, it just becomes more natural, becomes more natural to pat myself on the back.
It becomes more natural to share this amazing work that I do because I, it is it and you the same thing, you know, and I, I assume that so many people listening. Can relate. It's a hard, we have a hard time, as you say, as women, especially embracing our brilliance and sharing that out loud.
Mel: And I think part of our brilliance is in connection and we get to show it in those opportunities, right?
We can talk about it all we want, but. It's when people get to hear the interviews, you know, this interview, the ones that you're, you had with me for the summit, which definitely go and listen to everybody. [00:31:00] I'm going to be listening back because it was like, what, a month ago. So I'm like, what are we talking about?
Uh, but I know it was really good. And, It was, you know, it gives us that opportunity to show our brilliance, which is in the conversation and it helps people see who we really are. And so in a way you're marketing yourself, like without meaning to,
Jena: right? Right. Yeah. It all comes down to connection. It's so important on so many levels.
Mel: Definitely. Okay. As always, we could talk for like two hours, but we're not going to this time. We'll just do it again sometime. Yeah. But tell us, tell us more about the summits in terms of like, where should people go? How long is it? Like, whatever, anything else you want to tell us. Let's get people listening in.
Jena: Yeah, so it's a five day summit. Starts Monday, January 20th through Friday, January 24th. [00:32:00] You can access it if you go onto Facebook. Search for N is for Nature Play. All my posts there relate to the summit right now. And so you can go on and, uh, click into. Any of the links that point to registration and get yourself signed up there, it's all free.
I have really amazing leaders and innovators, as I was saying, in the fields of neuroscience, functional medicine, homeschooling, alternative education, parent support, the child nature movement. I mean, so many.
Mel: Seriously, like, amazing ones, by the way. I was like, I'm on your email list as well. So I was looking at them and I was like, I want to listen to all of these.
Like, they seriously, like, I'm not just telling people to listen because I like marketing you because you're awesome. I'm also like, No, I'm gonna go and listen to these because they sound really interesting. Like, fantastic sounding people. So yeah, you check it out. They'll be in the show notes for this as well.
People can check that out and I'll be sticking it up on [00:33:00] my social media as well to link people over to it. So, so many ways to awesome to find what you're doing. And hopefully this conversation also just inspires the listeners to realize that like, this was not you two years ago, right? This was like, probably not even like in the dreams two years ago to even know that that was an idea, right?
Jena: Never on my radar.
Mel: Exactly. So, you know, know that each little step that you're taking right now as a listener, like, That is a step towards whatever your brilliance and greatness is going to be, whatever your dream is going to turn into. So, you know, Jenna's the perfect example of, of, you know, somewhere along the journey, uh, that she is because I know she's got a million other things she's going to achieve in the next little, little and long while.
Yeah. Right back at
Jena: you.
Mel: Yeah, amazing. So thank you [00:34:00] so much for joining us again today, Jenna. And, uh, I can't wait to listen into the summit. Thanks, Mel. You are the best.
That is it, folks. This has been Mel Findlater on Permission to Be Human, the podcast, and I am so glad that you have joined us here today and hope that you have taken away some tidbits that will help you go away, connect with your big audacious dream, and make that massive impact in the world that you are dying to make.
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For real, you [00:36:00] do.