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Welcome to our very first Newsletter

Two weeks ago, mindbodyJOY officially opened its doors —
a first-of-its-kind community for people living with chronic illness who want to explore joy beyond a fleeting feeling. Here, we practice joy as a mindset and a muscle that can be strengthened through small, consistent acts of awareness, play, and connection.
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Inside the Community

Looking Back at October's Theme: The Joy of Noticing

For our first month, we practiced noticing — retraining attention away from pain, symptoms, and fear loops toward what’s quietly good around us.

During our weekly Joy Quests, members have been playing with simple noticing rituals. We’ve been looking for interesting clouds, feeling textures, and “looking for lovely” in moments of quick judgment. We keep it light and specific—no pressure to feel a certain way, just an invitation to practice.

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We are unrushed, relaxed, and we follow a simple rhythm

• One Monthly Theme — one theme, something we can practice together through gentle repetition. A shared focus for reflection and experimentation
• One Weekly Joy Quest — one playful experiment every Monday to practice for the next seven days to spark curiosity and joy
• Live Sessions (Tuesdays & Wednesdays) — co-regulating spaces for laughter, connection, rest, and creative exploration
• Weekly Reflection — a collective pause to notice What Went Well

Our aim is not perfection or forced positivity, but a feeling of aliveness that we can learn to embrace even on hard days.

Curious about our live Sessions?

Here's how we play:
​mindbodyJOY’s live offerings follow a gentle, alternating rhythm. Currently, we meet live on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 12 pm Pacific Time.
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Tuesday Live Sessions rotate between:

• Laugh & Let Go — a full-spectrum experience blending Laughter Yoga and Yoga Nidra led by Yoga Therapist Sonia Weirich. We begin with laughter to release tension and invite spontaneous lightness. We end with deeply restful Yoga Nidra to calm the nervous system.
• The First Shift — a casual welcome session and coffee hour for new members to help settle in and start exploring joy at their own pace.

Wednesday Live Sessions rotate between:

• The Creative Playground — a playful art exploration for nervous system regulation with artist Brenda Loukes-Johnson, focused on process over perfection. No experience or special materials needed — just bring your curiosity, a few different pens, and a willingness to make some “flawsome” creations.
• Cozy Juicy Real — an award-winning connection game designed to spark genuine conversation, laughter, and belonging.

Periodically, we also offer pop-up experiences such as our ‘Future Self’ Visualization Series. These guided journeys are member favorites and help us reconnect with possibility and self-trust.

And this is just the beginning...

At mindbodyJOY, we believe that joy isn’t a mood reserved for the lucky or the well — it’s a skill that can be systematically rebuilt, even in the middle of uncertainty. When we repeat small moments of curiosity, gratitude, and creative play, we’re teaching the brain that safety and pleasure are still possible. Over time, these micro-moments of joy begin to override old patterns of hypervigilance and hopelessness.

Our practices combine what we know about neuroplasticity, somatic regulation, and human connection: repetition rewires attention; safety expands capacity; play restores possibility. This is why our work focuses on small, consistent experiments rather than "life hacks". The aim isn’t constant happiness. It’s helping people remember that aliveness is still available — one gentle rep at a time.

If that concept speaks to you, come see what we’re building.
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Try mindbodyJOY free for 2 Weeks

Experience everything our community has to offer for yourself:
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✅ Weekly Joy Quests
✅ Live sessions for laughter, creativity, and connection
✅ A supportive, understanding community
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Before you go...

We aim to send out a newsletter once a month.
Each edition will bring a touch of inspiration, practical ideas you can try at home, and a glimpse behind the scenes of our community — always grounded in the science of how joy and safety grow.

If you ever feel this isn’t the right fit, you can unsubscribe at any time — no hard feelings. But if something here sparks a small yes, we’d love for you to stay awhile and see what unfolds.

I’m also curious: What part of joy feels hardest for you right now? Or what would you love to learn more about in these letters?​
You can simply hit reply — I read every message.

Here's to more joy!