Yogis Uncovered | Meet Jessica
In this edition of Yogis Uncovered, we sat down with Jessica, an Austin-based yoga instructor who transitioned from an advertising career to the mat, finding clarity and peace as she embraced motherhood. Her philosophy emphasizes self-expression, confidence, and body positivity. Watch the full interview as Jessica shares how movement and an unapologetic embrace of her body have enhanced her life and practice.
“For me, it was just a way to get back to where I was, to kind of claim myself back after having a baby.”
Hi, I’m Jessica! I’m originally from Victoria, Texas, but now I live in Austin. I went to UT and then I moved to San Francisco for three years, then New York City, and then back to Austin. So I kind of made the triangle, and I’m back. I’ve been back for maybe 12 years, and yeah, it’s home.
Did you always plan on returning to Texas after your studies?
My degree is in public relations but I kind of went more into advertising. I actually worked in the advertising department of a law firm in San Francisco. And then I was going to move to LA, but then I went to New York City for a long weekend, and I fell in love. And so then I moved there for just a little over a year. I worked for a big advertising agency over there, and it was amazing. I met so many interesting people. But you take a girl from Texas and you put her in New York City and I missed just the wide-open spaces. I missed having a car, and I wasn’t really into the winters. The winters were so brutal but at the same time, I actually really, really loved it. So it was bittersweet to move back to Austin. But at the same time, I really missed Austin too.
What was it like living in such a busy part of Manhattan?
I lived literally on Broadway, and I lived on Broadway and Central Park West. An incredibly beautiful area. John Lithgow was my neighbor, and I passed him getting groceries every once in a while. So, I mean, it was an amazing experience all around, and I would run in Central Park, and I loved that. But in my mind, I was like, "I can’t stay here forever."
How long have you been practicing yoga?
Maybe 12 years, right when I moved back. I really moved because I wanted to have kids. So after I had my first child, I got into yoga.
Can you tell us how yoga helped you transition into motherhood?
I really needed to find some calm and clarity and peace of mind. I would typically do yoga when my kids had fallen asleep. So I would even do it on the floor by their crib. It was something that I could do that was quiet, that was just for me, where I could just tap into my body, releasing stress in my shoulders and my hips, the backs of my legs. It helped with body awareness, sensuality. It helped in so many different aspects of my life that I just kind of got addicted. I was very lethargic, not getting a lot of sleep. Having a baby is beautiful, it is, but it’s just very tiresome, and your body changes. So, for me, it was just a way to get back to where I was, to kind of claim myself back after having a baby.
How has yoga made your life better?
Over the years, yoga has made me stronger, more flexible. It’s helped with body awareness, sensuality, sexuality. I’m just definitely more confident. I have better posture. I’m definitely stronger even though I’ve been lifting weights and running for years. I was a cheerleader in high school and I never stopped being active, but yoga has enhanced all of that. It is definitely a supplement to everything that I’m already doing. It’s a supplement to motherhood now, even though I have teenagers because just at the end of the day, I’ll do an entire hour of yoga, and I’ll just do a complete 180. My shoulders just slide down my back. I can just feel my jaw relax. It’s just very grounding and therapeutic and it’s amazing. Restorative, all the things.
Is nudity a spiritual or philosophical part of your life?
Yeah, I sleep naked. I’ve done nude photo shoots and things like that. My bikinis are very tiny. For me, there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing wrong with a woman expressing and being comfortable in her body. I’m from South Texas, so a lot of women do not dress like me. They dress very conservative, like big ruffles, or their shoulders are always covered, long dresses. I’m definitely in the minority for that. But I love it. I take care of my body, so I guess I’m proud of the way I look.
Did you embrace nudity as a child, or did that come later?
Absolutely not. I’m from a small town in South Texas and almost my entire family was Baptist. I went to a Baptist church for a really long time, and then I was confirmed as a Lutheran. So, religion was a big part of growing up, and everybody was extremely conservative. They’re still very conservative down there, just in their values and everything. So, no, I did not. I was fully clothed all the time. If I look back at some of the pictures of myself when I was growing up, even as a teenager, my prom dresses, it’s just amazing how much I’ve changed and I actually am a lot happier. I just knew that that wasn’t actually me at the time. It was just a kind of a uniform of how I was supposed to dress.
Do you have a favorite yoga pose or a specific style of flow?
I love flows where you kind of feel like you’re getting a full-body massage. But for me, I just really love, I just get really tight hips. So anything that is 360 hips, and that’s typically pyramid pose like almost any of the warrior poses, low lunge getting into the hip flexors, lizard lunge, anything. And then honestly, top to bottom Vinyasa flow, but I like to move. I don’t typically hold poses for 10 breaths. I really like to sweat.
Do you have a personal motto or a philosophy you live by?
Absolutely. Honestly, this is so cliché, but "live in the moment." I flew here yesterday to [film these programs]. And the reason I did it is because you only live once, you know? I didn’t know what to expect, but I thought it could be fun. And it was completely worth it, and I’m so glad I did it. That’s kind of how I live.
Where can our members find out more about you?
You can find me on Instagram at @bebright.yoga. I’m not currently teaching at a yoga studio, but I do a lot of private sessions and I actually get a lot of satisfaction and self-fulfillment out of that because I help just people who are either beginners or injured.
*this interview has been edited for brevity and clarity