Testimonials
Indigenous primary Health care council
Darryl Souliere-Lamb, Mental Health and Wellness Manager
Elissa Noah, Mental Health and Wellness Program Coordinator
“Jessica Barudin’s collaboration with the Indigenous Primary Health Care Council has been transformative. Her blend of Indigenous knowledge and Western scientific principles has notably advanced our mental health and wellness initiatives. Her six-part video series on movement and breathwork, accessible to all our member sites, offers invaluable tools for wholistic balance, intertwining Medicine Wheel elements with health practice for our membered frontline workers and health professionals. Her role as a wellness facilitator and participation in our webinar session have been impactful, providing enlightening discussions on yoga and a culturally respectful approach to wellness. Jessica’s guidance fosters integrating these practices with a deep respect for cultural roots. Her authenticity and skills in incorporating cultural understanding into health practices make her a vital ally in our mission towards wholistic health and community wellbeing for Indigenous people.”
Coastal Bliss Yoga Studio, Tofino, BC
Heidi MacPherson E-RYT 500 YACEP RYS
“I invited Jessica Barudin to Coastal Bliss Yoga to teach culturally intersectional yoga within the spirit of small town, Vancouver Island on the lands of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation. Her offerings intersected themes of earth medicine and creation with pranayama and the subtle body. Jessica wove ceremony and sacred traditional song into her classes which cultivated deep community healing. I am currently developing a more detailed curriculum for Coastal Bliss Yoga that will guide us towards building engaged and active inclusion into our teachings and membership. Jessica’s heritage, experience, education and the threads that intersect all of this to the core of her grounding, authentic being make her our preferred colleague for this collaborative work.”
Dr. Hiba Zafran, OccupationalTherapist-Psychotherapist, Assistant Professor, McGill university
“Academically, supervising and co-authoring work with Jessica has revealed to me her ethical- relational accountability, the criticality with which she approaches knowledge paradigms, and her ability to search multiple sources of knowledge. She is a natural born teacher, able to synthesize and name distinctions between western and Indigenous knowledge, design culturally adapted curricula for adolescents as well as graduate students, and move a class of health professional students to care about and directly engage in Indigenous issues on campus. Her research project emerges from years of lived experience in Indigenous healing. It integrates her networks, and her strengths, into a project only she could implement by virtue of her relationships and multiple academic skills and cultural activities.”
Gathering Wisdom for a Shared Journey, Vancouver, BC, January 2020
Eunice JOe, Director of Regional Engagement, First Nations Health Authority
“Jessica is a very culturally grounded individual and has always prioritized relationship building with our communities. She carries herself with integrity and authenticity. This is demonstrated in the strong relationships she has built with our First Nations Chiefs, Leadership and Health Directors in the region.”