Jaelyn Willis leads Wellness Workshops

In a world where slowing down feels like a luxury few can afford, Jaelyn Willis is creating intentional spaces for rest and reflection called Wellness Workshops. The workshops are typically held Wednesday evenings in the Triangle area, offering a sought-after ‘third space’ for people to prioritize mental wellness.

These workshops include roundtable discussions, journaling worksheets and even licensed therapists. The workshops typically center around a theme such as patience, healthy habits or facing your fears. Willis provides all the materials for attendees to write, draw and express themselves creatively as they reflect on these prompts. Willis’ workshops are always filled with soulful music, laughter and most importantly, vulnerability.

“Vulnerability is a superpower,” Willis insists. “People need to realize that once you put the phone down, we’re all human, and we all have feelings, and we’re all going through life.”
Recently, the workshops have drawn upwards of 20 people and taken place in venues like Lucky Tree — an eclectic café just minutes from NC State — the House of Art and local art exhibitions. As attendance continues to grow, Willis is continuing to create inclusive spaces that resonate with students, locals and creatives.

Yet, the path to creating Wellness Workshops, originally known as Wellness Wednesdays, was not linear. The workshops reflect Willis’ own self-care journey, and were born from a desire to create the kind of healing space she once needed for herself.

After graduating from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T), Willis stepped into corporate America, where she found herself financially stable but mentally fatigued.

“My mental health was plummeting. It was bad, and everything came to a stop. My YouTube channel came to a halt. Me making music …,” she recalls. “I tried my best, but I was just sacrificing my mental health for money, and I realized that that’s not okay.”

This realization prompted a leap of faith, and Willis left the corporate world behind, trusting that her voice had a purpose.

“God gave me this voice for a reason, and I’m going to use it,” said Willis as she shared how her faith led her to use her voice “for inspiring and helping people.”

Before creating Wellness Workshops, Willis launched her podcast titled “Inner Wisdom” in 2022. For the first year, she kept her podcast “on tuck” out of fear.

“I think it was because I knew that it was going to make me so uncomfortable being so vulnerable with just my voice and opening myself up to be perceived,” she explains. But once she pushed through that fear, she discovered a natural talent. “I can talk to a brick wall,” she laughed.

The podcast focuses on navigating her twenties, “the ups, the downs, the stagnation points,” and features guests sharing their wisdom.

“When I have guests on, I let them pick their topics, which makes them a lot more comfortable sharing. They drop the wisdom gems all the time about navigating their 20s, or just life in general.”

However, Willis still wanted to create a physical space that would meet the mental health needs of the community. As she describes it, the inspiration for her workshops came during a moment of divine clarity, “I was in this group chat, and they were saying, ‘Oh, we need to go to Jaelyn for wellness advice …. then boom, the idea just came to me.” At the time, Willis recalls she “had negative in my bank,” but felt led by God to continue to use her voice for good.

In 2024, Willis hosted her first workshop in her apartment complex.

“It started off in my apartment leasing office clubhouse, … and I just used their printer. Probably around 10 people showed up to the first one, more than I expected, because I didn’t really know what I was doing. But after the first … I just had to keep it going for myself and for my peers too, because I needed wellness myself.”

The growth happened naturally, spreading through word of mouth, social media and what Willis humbly describes as “the quality of the material that I’m providing for people.” As the space evolved, more and more people began attending Willis’ workshops.

Over time, Wellness Workshops grew into a movement of sorts with people from across the Triangle area resisting poor work-life balance through mental wellness.

Willis didn’t just stop with young adults. As a substitute teacher, the door would be unexpectedly opened to bringing her wellness workshops into schools.

“I’m teaching sixth graders how important it is to put the phone away, journal, be mindful and talk to your peers,” Jaelyn explains.

What began with about ten people gathering in her apartment complex’s leasing office clubhouse organically grew into sessions at coffee shops, art houses and now even in schools.

Michelle Melgarejo, a regular attendee of Wellness Workshop, shared, “Wellness Workshop creates space for me to focus on my mental wellbeing by starting the conversations I don’t think about on my own, helping me get inspired and want to create more while it helps my mental. The writing prompts get me thinking and asking myself questions that help me focus on being present, help me reflect on current and past situations.”

For Melgarejo, the workshops provide consistency and a safe environment. “I know that every other Wednesday I’m going to be asked something about myself or an experience and have me open up about it without restraint and judgment. I’m able to hear others and their experiences knowing that I’m not alone, and that relieves a lot of stress and anxiety I can sometimes put on to myself.”

The workshops are creating community healing, as Melgarejo describes: “Wellness Workshop has provided me a safe space to share my experiences and feelings without shame and has provided me resources that I need, as well as a community that I cherish so much.”

Through the workshops, Willis also shares how she’s witnessed participants develop confidence in public speaking and emotional expression.

“[Those] who come to wellness workshop, their public speech has improved because you’re around a lot of people, strangers, at that, they’re being vulnerable… Just the confidence it takes to share, the confidence it takes for me to do wellness workshop — It’s not easy doing that. It’s not easy being vulnerable. I just think it’s a beautiful space for Black people to feel safe and to feel heard.”

For some, the workshops serve as an accessible alternative to therapy. “People have expressed to me that they use Wellness Workshop as therapy, which I love, because times are tough for some people. Some people really can’t afford therapy.”

Though quick to clarify she’s not a licensed therapist, Willis emphasizes the importance of creating spaces where people feel heard, which is why bringing in professional resources through Lighthouse Therapy, a Black-owned mental health practice, has been so important.

“I’m really proud that we have Lighthouse therapy at Wellness Workshop,” Willis said. “They’re founded by a Black woman. All the therapists and counselors that work there are Black people—Black men therapists, which is amazing, and Black women therapists.”

Workshop attendee Melgarejo shared how the partnership has caused her to consider therapy as well: “Thanks to Wellness Workshop I was introduced to Lighthouse Therapy & Counseling and plan to start therapy there soon. Overall, it’s a space that has truly made me have time to reflect, inspire and create! I love the community and [the] sense that I have my mental wellbeing balanced,” she said.

While Willis doesn’t exclusively market her workshops for Black communities, she acknowledges the natural gravitation. “I don’t market it for Black people, but I’m Black as hell, and so, of course, I attract Black people, and we need each other. We need each other to talk to and to be listened to.”

Willis’ experience at North Carolina A&T deeply influenced her approach to community building.

“At A&T, I felt at home. I look to my left, I look to my right, I see me — people who can relate to me, people who want to see me win, want to see me succeed,” she shared. “It prepared me for the real world and showed me that I can do anything that I put my mind to.”

Looking ahead, Willis’ ambitions for Wellness Workshop are big. “I definitely see Wellness Workshop going on a college tour, definitely getting into more public schools, maybe even having my own class at a school or at a college, or starting my own school one day.”

Her creative vision extends beyond the workshops as well. “I see myself being on stage at a festival doing music. I see myself in a podcasting studio with lights and all that stuff with my podcast, probably a talk show, probably my own show,” she said.

When asked about the source of her courage to pursue these dreams, Willis shared, “It all comes from God. That’s the only source that I go to. Like, before this interview, I prayed outside for a good little minute.”

When asked to share advice to young people seeking wellness and figuring out life, she shared the outro to her podcast, saying, “Be kind to yourself. Help others when you can. Follow your dreams and always listen to yourself. And stay present.”