Ceremony
"Life is clearly a ceremony for Jo Ann..she brings an exceptional gift of presence wherever she is."
- Carol Stewart
"Not only do I see you as a mentor, teacher, mother, grandmother, and friend, but also as keeper of the stories and wisdom of our ancestors. Stories that need to be told and shared."
- Vanessa Legge
Jo Ann honors sacred traditions and the circle of life in all forms. She is called upon to hold ceremonial space at the doorways of birth and of death, to bless pregnancies and to herald the naming of sweet babes, to celebrate sacred union, to hold tender heartfelt space for the loss of a loved one and for healing circles, ... to honor the Ancestors.
She is aligned with wisdom teachings of many Indigenous teachers from many Indigenous communities and she carries a grace and power of grandmother wisdom as a ceremonial leader, dream weaver, keeper of the sweat lodge and a singer of medicine songs. Medicine Wheel teachings and the way of Council form a foundation for the ceremonies she leads.
“Her medicine reaches the hearts of many...thanks to her guidance and support I have been able to continue expanding my own medicine. She is a beautiful gift to this world.”
— Soniko Waira, Artist, Visionary Quito, Ecuador
"I am grateful for the potent oral tradition that Mama Jo continues on. Through song, dance and story-telling, we are able to continue to share the teachings of our ancestors to all future generations to come."
- Victoria Grace Lopez, Whistler BC
"She is loving and wise and generous with her teachings. Her songs speak to the soul and connect us to the truth of oneness and will rock you like a baby."
- Shauna Grace
"You hold a place of sacredness and beauty, of fertility, abundance and power and most of all...ancient truth."
— Lucy Loscocco, Seattle, Washington
"You are always holding such a shining bright light for the evolution of our community."
- Delia Aaron
As a captivating speaker at international conferences Jo Ann is warm,
generous and real. She is a champion of the collective awakening and of remembering our sacred place on our one beautiful blue planet. Drawing on her medicine gifts she is a gifted storyteller through her rich experiences with conscious birth, living in Indigenous cultures, filmmaking, breathwork, activism, urban planning, architecture and speaking up for the waters and the greening of the planet. Somehow she manages to connect the dots and connect to the Bigger Story... leaving listeners with a deeper sense of the greater whole.
Breath is believed to represent the movement of spirit in the body. Through the power of the conscious breath we not only sing, speak from our hearts, birth our babies and climb mountains – it is the window, the spiritus – through which we can more fully know ourselves.
Through workshops, circles and private breath sessions Jo Ann offers participants the opportunity to connect deeply and consciously with their own breath, and through it to a fuller sense of themselves. She creates a safe and sacred space within her circles and retreats for the heart to speak and she has an abiding faith in the unique gifts that each person brings forth. Through the conscious breath she is able to help others recognize some of the unconscious patterns that are operating in their lives, making space to change them. The breath is vital as it brings us into the present moment, as it calms and reinvigorates, heals and soothes, connects us with our inner spirit and yet is deeply physical.
Jo Ann is the National Co-ordinator for Canada for the International
Breathwork Foundation and has been active internationally in the spread of conscious breath into schools, the office, the boardroom, into Indigenous cultures and to decision makers in the highest levels.
As a birth attendant Jo Ann offers gentle conscious birthing support for mothers and their families at home, hospital, in the water or on the land.
She has held peaceful space for gentle birth for over 25 years in many cultures including all across Canada, Europe, parts of Africa and Indigenous communities in the Arctic. She understands the deep unfoldment and transformation of self during pregnancy and birth and offers a calm wise presence. She listens deeply to each mother-to-be for what allows her to feel held, to relax and let go. “We share a plenty over lots of cups of tea!”
She is a greeter of new souls and says, “ I am humbled and awed at the beauty of each new soul who arrives to earth...each with the promise the
Creator has written upon their heart. The moment of birth is a never-beforemoment just as each of us is one-of-a-kind... we are so preciously loved and held. Birth is one of the greatest Teachers in my life.”
Who has a dream?... we all do. Whether one remembers their dreams or not... they are still present just below the surface patiently awaiting us to notice. Dreams for us (we are all wisdom keepers) are a source of infinite wisdom and understanding... releasing an expansive, creative force with limitless potential to explore the universe that exists within us. When we begin to dream consciously we enter the world of spirit, becoming more aware of being able to be in two worlds at once. We begin to discover the rich interplay between the messages in the waking world and those messages arising from the dreaming world..
Through Dream Weaving circles with Jo Ann one gets a glimpse of the weave of the universe and a felt sense of how each of us carries a thread of the collective dream. She has an innate sense of being able to hear the patterns that connect the dreams which she weaves into a magnificent tapestry. As we gather our dreams together we get to see how we each carry a puzzle piece of the greater whole. It is a deeply satisfying experience that aligns with the underlying intelligence of the universe. And it is not the same if even one of us doesn't show up - we each hold an important part!.