Finding Flow After Fear: Jessica’s Path to a Heart-Led Business

When Jessica first stepped onto a yoga mat during her teacher training in 2014, she didn’t yet know it would change the course of her life. What began as a personal search for peace after years of anxiety and grief slowly grew into something much bigger: a mission to help other women reconnect to themselves through surfing, yoga, and holistic living.

“That YTT completely changed my life and my perspective on it,” Jessica shares. “I realised that I should just do things despite my fears and stop caring about what anyone else thinks.”

Her new initiative, Wildheart Surf, was born a decade later: a space where women can slow down, find ease in their bodies, and remember their own strength. “What I wanted to share most of all is that feeling of pure relaxation you get from doing yoga, as well as the acceptance of yourself and the connection to something higher,” she says.

What has been your biggest lesson in business since launching?

“I’ve been working as a freelance copywriter and content creator for the past decade, as well as a freelance yoga and surf teacher. I’ve learned a lot from freelancing, but since launching Wildheart Surf, a whole new world of entrepreneurship and lessons has opened up.”

“The biggest lesson,” she says, “is that I can’t do everything myself—and I don’t want to. Working with local partners is just so much better. I feel stronger because of it, I’m more motivated, and there are real people to brainstorm ideas with… something I miss in my other work. I’m fully committed to making Wildheart Surf succeed, but I’m patient.”

“If it doesn’t happen right away, I will keep on building. This is my passion, and I feel like it’s my purpose too. Can’t stop, won’t stop. And that’s another lesson I’ve learned: once you follow your passion, you’ve found your purpose.”

“I thought I was losing my mind”

“Twenty-five years ago, my dad died from depression,” Jessica explains. “The stress of that trauma, together with the massive amounts of alcohol I drank as a teenager, led to my first panic attack.”

“I was sitting on the sofa, watching TV, feeling hungover from the night before. All of a sudden, I got hot, I started to sweat, and I felt an immense wave of fear coming over me,” she says. “I thought I was losing my mind.”

After that first panic attack, more followed. For over a decade, fear often blocked her from doing the things she wanted to do (like surfing!) until she found yoga.

Doing what you love despite your fears

“Thanks to my yoga teacher training, I learned how to calm myself down so I was able to prevent the next panic attack.”

She applied this mindset to both her surfing and her career. After completing her YTT, she began teaching yoga and surfing, while also working remotely as a freelance content creator.

Lessons from the ocean: on patience and staying calm

“The ocean has taught me a lot as well, and one of the biggest lessons is to be more patient. Not just with others, but especially with myself,” Jessica shares. “I’m a competitive person, especially in the water. Sometimes that gets me a wave, but more often it gets me absolutely nowhere.”

“I think the ocean humbles you when you need it, and it lifts you up when you need it. It can be both a mirror and a medicine. That’s why I think breathwork is so important, because it helps you stay calm in chaotic situations––whether that’s due to the ocean, other people, or your own mind.”

“If you already carry a lot of stress or emotional weight and you go into waves that are too big for you, you might end up feeling even more stressed or even a bit traumatised. But when you know how to relax (with breathwork), or when the ocean is calm and quiet, it’s a great way to release stress,” Jessica adds.

“When I feel anxious or stressed, I do my 4:8 breathing. That’s four counts in, eight counts out. Exhaling longer stimulates your vagus nerve and activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which is your ‘rest and digest’ mode. It literally calms you down.”

How Ayurveda helped her get back into balance

Besides breathwork, Jessica finds her balance with Ayurveda, a traditional healing system from India. For many years, she struggled not only with anxiety but also with gut issues and irritable bowel syndrome.

“I found Ayurveda five years ago, when my IBS was the worst it had ever been. Thanks to Ayurveda, I got my digestion back to normal, which was a huge deal after struggling for such a long time. I was so happy that I started writing about my health journey, and that turned into a book (Out of the Mud).”

“One of the things that helped me was simply paying more attention to how I ate. Chewing properly, slowing down, and eating mindfully (instead of eating on the go or when I was stressed) already made a huge difference.”

Out of the Mud: a holistic approach to healing

Jessica’s book, Out of the Mud, tells the story of how she found her way out of the darkness. Both mentally and physically. Writing it, she says, was also an act of acceptance.

“Writing my book was super therapeutic, and it was a way of accepting everything that had happened. For a long time, I ignored it all and hid it from other people. But if you can’t hold space for yourself or for what has happened to you, it’s difficult to fully be yourself, and it keeps you small.”

“Women need to take up more space”

That same compassion now shapes her retreats and workshops. 

“Women often arrive feeling closed off or small, maybe because of work pressure, family expectations, or because they’re stuck in a role that no longer suits them (or maybe never did). But then I see them open up and start accepting who they really are. They go from feeling small to taking up more space—literally and energetically—and I think that’s such an important thing for women to do.”

According to Jessica, that idea also extends to entrepreneurship. “I think a big challenge for women is to take up space in any industry, because men are so dominant all the time. But I’d rather be seen as a bitch than stay small and voiceless,” she says candidly.

“In general, I think we women have to speak up, take up more space, and connect with each other to build strong networks and communities. It’s all about community and building connections. We can’t do it all on our own. That goes for men too, I guess.”

Lessons from the lineup

Like the ocean, running a business comes with wipeouts. “Oh, I wipe out all the time, mostly because I trip over my own feet, haha,” Jessica laughs. “Sometimes I have a hard time believing in myself or in my vision, which is the biggest obstacle in my journey,” she admits.

“That’s why I said community is super important, because they’ll catch you if you fall. And they motivate you and see solutions when you don’t. But I also believe in floating around sometimes, and not paddling all the time. Sometimes you just gotta catch your breath and be still for a bit. Watch the other surfers. And then suddenly, BAM, you’re inspired again and you paddle full force into the best wave of your life.”

How traveling influenced her life

Jessica has traveled extensively, teaching yoga and surfing in Nicaragua, Bali, Spain, and Sri Lanka. “Traveling changes you a lot, and I would say that my time in Bali definitely influenced the way I look at business and at life.”

“It helped me appreciate the small things and be grateful for what I have. I don’t feel like this all the time, unfortunately, but I keep coming back to it because it’s one of the things that’s just super healing. That’s what I try to teach as well in my yoga—being grateful for the small things.”

Why staying true to yourself is crucial

If Jessica had to name the core of her work, it would be simple: stay true to yourself.

“I try to not get carried away by the rush or craziness around me,” she reflects. “It’s easy to look at other people or other businesses and feel like you need to do what they do, but if that doesn’t align with who you truly are, it doesn’t work. Not in the long term, and not for a happy, soulful life.”

When she feels overwhelmed, she steps away. “It’s easy to work 24/7 as an entrepreneur, but that can quickly burn you out. So when I feel stressed, I stop. I spend time in nature, go surfing, do yoga, and re-energize.”

Any advice for aspiring Surfpreneurs?

“Yes, a good friend of mine always says: ‘Never try, never know.’ When you have a heartfelt, persistent idea, I think you should go for it. You never know how it will turn out unless you try. Do it together with someone if you want to, or ask a friend to coach you. Having someone there to discuss things with or to share responsibilities takes the anxiety away.”

And to her younger self? “Do what you love, and study something that you’re passionate about. Oh, and don’t let your fears stop you from taking that surf course at 19.”

You can find Jessica and her retreats at wildheartsurf.com and on instagram @wildheartsurf.

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