Fredericton Wellness Instructor Brings Peace Of Mind Amidst Self-Isolation
FREDERICTON – Juliane Nowe, who runs a business hosting events and workshops teaching natural remedies and how participants can connect with themselves, has pivoted online, seeking to fulfill a need for mental wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nowe provides an array of services, consisting of courses, virtual events, an online membership, one-on-one sessions and juicing packages. She offers six courses on the website and streams free or by-donation through events on her Facebook page.
The pandemic led her to re-evaluate how she can bring the wellness experience online and was already ahead of the curve, having made some of her classes online last fall.
“That was a way for me to create something and still be able to offer it in a different way,” she said.
Nowe mainly uses Zoom for her workshops, but also uses Facebook Live.
“I’ve noticed Facebook Live has better sound quality if you don’t have a mike, or if you’re doing things with sound, like guitars, singing bowls or singing,” she explained.
She had purchased her Zoom membership months ago and was already familiar with using the platform before physical distancing was implemented, taking her knowledge and using Zoom, Facebook Live and Instagram Live for classes or one-on-one videos. The platform is a crucial business tool, especially in helping to keep, build up and share her content in the future.
“I’m always thinking ahead,” Nowe shared. “I’m always thinking of how I can repurpose something.”
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She is working on a two-day online retreat where she makes videos and people can follow them on their own time or do together with friends or family from the comfort of your own home.
“It’s thinking of more open-minded ways of bringing that in-person experience online, to still feel connected and getting used to this new way,” she said.
Overall Nowe has settled into the hopefully temporary normal, with the biggest adjustments learning about the intricacies of video and WordPress technology and finding a happy medium of free and priced content.
“To find that balance of ‘here’s something for free’ but then I want you to realize this is my business, trying to find that balance has been the biggest adjustment,” said Nowe.
She has had people reach out asking if she can do a live online event to replace their set lunch break, where they would do yoga, attend reiki or do any form of wellness to destress during the normal workday.
“They also are in a work setting where they were used to having people come to them, to teach them yoga or to have that lunch or break for 30 minutes,” said Nowe.
Additionally, she has been brainstorming new ways to engage with customers during quarantine, such as a sale on her juicing package as part of a two-day juice challenge.
“Something I’ve noticed that’s really surprising is people keep saying well no one has like money to spend, but I have been selling things that are like a one-time offer,” she shared.
“People are more scared of the $20-a-month subscription, almost like that locked in thing of not knowing if next month we have the $20, but right now they know they have the extra $50 so they’ll buy the course for 31 days instead,” she said.
“It’s kind of more of like, ‘what can I do right now, what do I have right now, what do I need right now?’ and instead of thinking so far ahead, which I think is so different for a customer looking for something.”
Addressing the unsettled feeling of grief affecting so many people during the pandemic is another imperative.
“I think a lot of people aren’t talking about the amount of grief that there is, and then that ‘ego’ part of us is like starting to lose his power in a sense because we’re not attached to the roles inside of us,” she explains.
Nowe hosted a webinar about the seven stages of grief earlier this month and has an entire week dedicated to grief in her 31 Days to Know Thy Self course.
“I think the sooner we start going through the stages of grief, you get to acceptance, the better it is for everyone,” she said.
In spite of the circumstances of the pandemic, Nowe has greatly enjoyed sharing her knowledge and teachings online and hopes her offerings and platform will be as successful as possible and to continue them once quarantine lifts.
“I find it makes me more creative, it’s like a nice way to connect with people and to reach more than like one person at a time,” she explained.