Studio Spotlight: Rooted In Wellness – Jessica Karpinske

During a time of great change in her life, Jessica Karpinske found herself in a yoga class for the first time. Her response was immediate and profound. “When I was on my mat in that class, I knew everything was okay. Whatever other chaos is happening in the world, for this hour, I know everything in the confines of this room and on this mat is okay,” said Karpinske.  

That experience planted the seed for Karpinske to create Rooted in Wellness yoga studio in Duluth, MN, in 2018. This full service studio offers a broad array of classes just over the border in Superior, WI, plus online recorded and live content at rootedinwellnessduluth.com. “Rooted In Wellness is here to help you create a life that puts you in the driver’s seat, so you can live your best life,” said Karpinske. “Feel great in your body, heart and mind.”

In 2017, with 14 years experience as a social worker and manager, Karpinske began exploring her options for yoga teacher training. “I was very burnt out. I couldn’t offload the amount of trauma that I would hear in a day or week fast enough to make it OK to keep going back and taking on more,” said Karpinske.”It is a kind of second hand trauma that you take on when you hear really horrible stories. Fourteen years of that and I realized it was time for a change.”

She formulated a plan to take a sabbatical from her job to travel to Bali for training. Shortly before she began, she lost her job. In the face of this challenge,  Karpinske went to Bali, completed her training with Sacred Fig Yoga, and picked up even more tools to help her with her journey.  

Rooted in Wellness applies an holistic and multifaceted approach grounded in Ayurveda, yoga, and health coaching. Karpinske’s  wealth of knowledge and experience touches on everything from personal and small group coaching, gentle and restorative yoga, chair yoga, strength training, functional fitness, and Tai Ji Quan Moving For Better Balance. In addition to these regular offerings, you can also find seasonal special events, workshops, and retreats.  

Karpinske is proud of the Tai Ji Quan program, which built a steady following online. In 2024 she plans to make it available in person. “It’s a modified eight form practice geared toward improving balance and reducing falls in older adults.” Rooted in Wellness partnered with Juniper Network, a statewide organization offering evidence based classes, to help older adults continue safely in their own homes.

In everything she offers, you can sense the work Karpinske puts into her own wellness journey. Her efforts to be active, eat healthy, and improve her health inform her offerings on every level. “Through my own health and wellness journey, I know being active and eating healthy and taking care of your lifestyle habits is super important. If you’re dealing with things like digestive issues, anxiety, or depression, or whatever you have going on, it can be hard to weed out what is actually causing the problem until you start to develop some different habits, such as changing what you’re eating or improving your sleep.”

“A lot of people that I work with, they want to feel better in their own skin,” said Karpinske. “I work with many women in their 40’s – 60’s and they don’t look or feel like they used to. Maybe their energy is low or they’ve gained weight, hormones are changing, clothes aren’t fitting well. I think those everyday ‘not feeling as good as I could’ things start to happen.” Some of Rooted In Wellness’s  offerings work for people exactly where they are, whenever they feel ready to get started. The focus is on health as well as healthy body image. None of Karpinske’s wellness offerings focus on weighing or measuring. The studio itself is mirror-free, to keep the focus on how things feel in the body rather than how they look. 

“What motivates me is that we live in a society that has a lot of poor health habits and dietary habits, and there’s a better way. It’s important to stay active, no matter how old we are or in what capacity we do that. Which is why I offer a lot of different types of movement classes, between strength training, yoga, and Tai Ji classes. We have to take responsibility for our own health. Having a regular movement, mindfulness, and healthy living practice is super important.” 

“I want people to know that they are not alone, wherever they are on their journey,” said Karpinske. “I believe that no matter where we are in life right now, that we can make great change and live the lives we want. We just have to go deep inside, believe change is possible, decide we want something different, and surrender to something greater. This has been my journey, and I love helping others as they find their path to the life they want to live.”

Dawn found yoga in 1998 and it changed everything. Soon after she was telling everyone she knew about it. After years of dedicated study of yoga Dawn is joyfully sharing yoga with others. She offers thoughtfully sequenced classes, workshops, and more, with bits of wisdom and experiential learning woven throughout. Her ongoing aim is to help people mobilize their inner resources, find the “user guide” for their own bodies, and experience the ease, embodiment, and insights available to all practitioners. And she does this with a light heart and playful practice, in fact she’s known for her giggle.