Boss Ladies | Jaycee Gossett
Photos c/o Jaimie Baird
Jaycee Gossett is a Founding Teacher and the Director of Training + Development at The Class By Taryn Toomey. Based in New York, she is a truth seeking, wild-hearted and passionate spirit who fights for the greater good in all things. She loves the ocean, the sun and causing a healthy bit of trouble.
As a child I dreamed of becoming
An astronaut, a pirate or a cowboy. Someone who explored the unknown and had exotic adventures.
The last photo I took on my phone
My fiancé, Adam, sleeping. We have a running joke...he falls asleep everywhere and I document it as proof that he spends half of our relationship sleeping.
My guilty pleasure
Sleeping in on Saturday mornings followed by coffee made by Adam and served in bed. Multiple cups of coffee. Long baths with TCTT Pursoma Bath Salts, wine nights with the ladies and really good food.
One thing people might be surprised to learn about me
I love bowling and Elvis Presley.
My favorite way to unwind
Massages, Aire Baths in Tribeca and a long beach day that consists of lying in the sun, sweating for hours and swimming in the ocean.
My real life hero
The people who dedicate their life to some form of service.
What I love about my work
Teaching is a huge passion for me. Moving my body to music is my great love. As a kid I would listen to music and want to live inside the song. My soul wanted to be in the movie the singer was creating – and now I get to do that every day! So much of my time is spent listening to music and curating experiences for other people to live and move with the music, which is just the greatest.
Being a part of a movement revolution that is creating huge change for people offers me a sense of purpose. It is rewarding to see people experiencing healing and transformation, and it brings a tremendous state of humility to my life on the daily, which reminds me that none of what I do is about me.
The hardest thing about my work
There many days of fatigue, over working and just over-doing everything... to the point that my spirit and physical body gets tired. In those moments it’s challenging to find the energy to give and the wisdom to give to myself. A lot of my time is spent changing roles, which can get a bit chaotic as I go from teacher to executive to administrator. I need a certain amount of space, quiet and uninterrupted time to be in the creative zone from which I like to create and teach my Class, and I don’t always get it!
How I got started with my current career
I was the only girl in a house of five boys. Mom was so excited to finally have a girl to do all the things that she felt were “little girl” activities. She had me in dance classes as soon as I could stand on my chubby legs, and I have been moving ever since. The dance path led me to yoga, fitness, spirituality, healing movement, commercials, performing, acting, TV and travel. I spent years traveling around the world studying the origins of movement and healing. This led me to creating a show for the Travel Channel called Dance The World. After that venture I reconnected with Taryn serendipitously and took her Class. From the moment that Class began, I was intuitively struck that this is where I needed to be. I had no idea how or what that would look like, but I knew I wanted to work with her.
One of the biggest mistakes I made when I was starting out
So many moments of comparing, judging and not listening to myself, thinking I knew everything, wanting to have everything right away, and the lack of patience to wait it out really brought a lot of suffering to my life.
I used to think success meant
Having no stress. No worries. Financial freedom. Living above the boring mundane responsibilities that are required to be in the real world! Not having to really need anyone.
My current definition of success
Feeling a sense of honor to be able to do the things that are required of us to exist in the physical world. Having a life of purpose and meaning. Feeling a sense of deep ease in oneself. Being of service to those around you. Surviving another day.
An example of when I had to push through my insecurities
I push through my insecurities every day. By nature I can be very introverted, quiet and self reflective. I struggled for a long time to live in the open where everyone could see me. It was hard to be vulnerable, open for judgment and criticism, exposed. That process is a challenge. My insecurities sound like...can I trust this, will I get hurt, will I be disappointed, am I smart enough, what if I choose wrong, what if I miss it. It’s an ongoing process to feel safe in my body and to set down the insecurities that make me want to run.
A few ways I practice self-care
Drinking tons of water. Drinking green juices and eating as nutrient based as I can. Having mornings with Adam where we can drink coffee together. Making time to laugh with my favorite people. Getting my butt in our other Teacher's Classes at TCTT. Making time to be a student. Breathing clean air. Watching This Is Us.
My happiest moment in the past 6 months
I can’t pin point one moment but I was fortunate to have the opportunity to be with Taryn Toomey and Natalie Kuhn in the Dominican Republic leading The Retreatment and we bunked together. There were many nights of laughter and much needed soul joy.
XO,
Jaycee Gossett
Photos c/o Jaimie Baird