W
hen we first met in 2012, I was struck by how much she
is a force of nature. It’s a force she’s used to create One
Down Dog (affectionately called ODD). I continue to be
inspired by her strength—and her long-term vision for
the ODD community. One Down Dog is a community—and family—
that has been embedded in the studio since the beginning, from securing
funding, to actually building the space, to rainy photo shoots, and to love,
support, and heart.
One Down Dog
Even the name One Down Dog has a heartfelt and community crowdsourc-
ing-based origin story. Jessica, while searching for a name for her grow-
ing business teaching and organizing yoga in rehab facilities, had a timely
conversation with a friend who reminded Jessica of her frequent in-class
instructions, “It’s not about the pose; just take it one down dog at a time.”
Her friend yelled, “That’s it! That’s the name! One Down Dog!”
The name stuck. A high-school friend created the logo: Jessica’s dog,
Patrick—in downward facing dog. Other friends helped create the web-
site, flyers, logo, and photographs. Jessica began photographing herself in
downward facing dog anywhere and everywhere. She also created a series
of “Patrick Says” memes with photographs of her dog. Taking it further,
Jessica asked people to send in images of themselves down dogging during
their travels.Travels through Practice
Throughout her own journey, Jessica’s practice has been an important
source of support. She began yoga when she was in graduate school earning
a Masters in Psychology at the Center for Humanistic Studies in Michigan.
It was her mom who suggested that an awareness of yoga and mindful-
ness might be beneficial in a therapy practice. While Jessica completed her
teacher training, at first she had no intention to teach and was terrified to
speak in front of people. Nevertheless, Jessica was asked to teach yoga at a
prestigious rehab facility in Michigan. While she was eventually promoted
to a full-time therapist position, Jessica discovered she preferred teaching
yoga and felt it was an area where she could make an impact.
When Jessica moved to Los Angeles, her interest in working in recov-
ery led her to Visions Adolescent Treatment Center where she met the
Center’s co-founder Amanda Shumow and felt a connection to the their
treatment philosophy. The group Jessica led included an hour of yoga,
and an hour of sharing. While she no longer actively teaches at Visions,
Jessica continues to direct their yoga program with has a few select ODD
teachers running the groups. She’s committed to helping people dealing