Spring is a time of transition. As the days grow longer and the weather warms, the world around us comes to life. Use this opportunity to acknowledge your own journey. This is the perfect time to release what no longer serves you and take the first steps towards your goals.

Today we speak with Jaycee Gossett, the Director of Training & Development at The Class by Taryn Toomey, on moving to create and awaken energy.

Splendid Spoon: Hi Jaycee! What did you do to mark the Spring Equinox?

Jaycee Gossett: I taught The Class by Taryn Toomey that evening in Tribeca. It was a great way to acknowledge and integrate the seasonal shift for myself and our students.

My ritual leading up to the Spring Equinox honors the balance between darkness and light while also clearing space to let in new energy. My fiancé and I always do a quick purge at home: we go through closets, drawers, and cabinets, and donate items we don’t use or which belong to a previous energy chapter. This drives him kind of crazy at first, but after a few hours, he gets into it. I clean everything, open the windows, burn some sage and palo santo [This herb and wood are burned to clear energy and purify a space. — Ed.], and then fill the apartment with bright, spring flowers.

Since the Spring Equinox is all about equal amounts of darkness and light — and moving towards the light — I say a prayer of thanks for the opportunity that winter provided to look in and reflect. I then welcome in the light of spring. With such a strong energy of fertility in the air, I also say some prayers for what I’m cultivating and set plans in action with a visualization.

A special feast of seasonal food is always nice to close out the first day of Spring. I love to consciously celebrate the land and the nourishment that’s generously grown for our consumption. Basically, I pray over everything. Ha! Welcome to my world.

SS: How do you use movement to better connect to yourself?

JG: I move to get in my body and out of my head — out of my thoughts and distraction, and into the present moment. I can then dig into what’s coming up for me. I picture movement as a conversation with myself that helps me know myself better. I ask questions and the answers come through physical expression. This journey opens the door for me to connect to what I call “the source” — a higher power, spirit, and energy that lives in all things, or just a deeper emotional and spiritual intelligence.

SS: How can movement be used as medicine?

JG: Conscious movement is medicinal. When I move, I’m physically asking my body what it needs. What energy do I need more of in my life? What needs to happen here, in this movement practice, to bring forth balance? If the answer is fire, passion, and intensity, I move that way. If the answer is to recharge, fill up, and call in, then I move that way. This movement conversation is a healing process.

SS: The Class by Taryn Toomey is such a cathartic experience. What elements come together to make this catharsis happen at every class?

JG: There are so many carefully curated details that go into creating the safe, sacred space that is home to The Class by Taryn Toomey. Our Teachers practice together as a community and study endlessly in order to facilitate this practice that guides people to open up and process strong emotions. The Teacher must be the most vulnerable person in the room and have a deep understanding of their own emotional journey. We take the responsibility of “holding space” for our students very seriously.

SS: How has movement helped you overcome emotional and mental blocks in your life?

JG: When I move, I create energy and then direct it. I use visualization a lot when I move and teach. I literally feel into the spaces where I’m blocked. I see something, step up against it, and with the energy I’m creating as I move, begin to break down any barriers and blocks. I ask myself: What’s keeping me blocked? What is standing in the way for me? What am I not seeing? What needs to happen for me to flow around this?

Moving is the training ground for me. Then when those moments come up in life, I have the emotional and physical muscle memory to work through them.

SS: How do you help individuals release what no longer serves them and better express their true selves?

JG: Honestly, it’s through me doing my own work. The only way I can help others on their journey is by having gone through the experience myself. Studying my own process helps me connect words and movements to the transformation.

SS: Can you share a movement sequence we can practice at home to energize and refresh?

JG: We offer weekly movement sequences on @theclassbytt social media platforms. Follow us on Instagram to get the latest with playlists from all of our Teachers. Here’s the latest from me on Facebook.

SS: What other self-care practices help you release what no longer serves you?

JG: I love to take long baths with healing salts. We collaborated with Pursoma on a special blend for ‘After The Class’ by Taryn Toomey (there’s a mystery crystal in each bag!). I let the salts clear away any negative thoughts, energies, or interactions.

I make sure I have one day a week to sleep as long as my body needs to. It’s a game changer with all the movement I do. It resets my state to a positive, grounded outlook.

Lastly, I spend lots of time in nature and with the people I love. That influx of love and inspiration shifts any low vibrations I may be stuck in.