Jessica Van Raay - Strong As Water

Jessica Van Raay - Strong As Water I help people build strength + create freedom from a foundation of compassion and community. Want t It's water. Water is free to be. It's salty and fresh. Like you.

Strong as Water is not just a name - it's a foundational belief. Here's why:


No one tries to tell water that it is soil or rock. And yet it isn't bound by a tightly-defined box defined by what it's supposed to be.
​
Just like you. Fluid, hard, and light as air. Water winds, lies still, and gently flows. It adapts, crashes, soothes, and dives. It energizes, rejuvenates, and sustains life. Water is calm and powerful. Deep and shallow; dark and bright. Water is simultaneously reflective and transparent. Resilient. Beautiful. Jarring. Uninhibited. Awe-inspiring. You are as strong as water. This is the foundation from which I coach: You're a multifaceted, ever-evolving person and the keeper of a unique form of magic all your own. From here, we work.

It’s no longer -30! Since it’s now a balmy -8 (…feels like -12 but ☀️), let’s start planning SUMMER TIME GOOD TIMES!Regi...
02/04/2026

It’s no longer -30! Since it’s now a balmy -8 (…feels like -12 but ☀️), let’s start planning SUMMER TIME GOOD TIMES!

Registration OPEN

🔗 : in bio
🙋‍♀️: DM / admin@mudcreekco.ca

[+ I’m excited to share we’re launching 2 x additional week-long camps this summer born out of our ongoing kids/youth programming.]

1. SPRYkids - CLASSIC

🗓️ Jul 6-10/26
⏰ 8:30am - 4pm
🧑‍🧑‍🧒 5-12y
📍 Dashwood Community Center
💰 $297/kid + $267/sibling

2. SPRYkids - CREATIVE

🗓️ Jul 13-17/26
⏰ 9am - 1pm
🧑‍🧑‍🧒 6-12y
📍 Private Training Center, Dashwood
💰 $197/kid + $177/sibling

3. SPRYkids - SPORT

🗓️ Jul 27-31/26
⏰ 8:30am - 3pm
🧑‍🧑‍🧒 6-12y
📍 South Huron Rec Center, Exeter
💰 $397/kid + $357/sibling

When the simplest thing is also the hard thing and the right thing. collectivehumanity
02/03/2026

When the simplest thing is also the hard thing and the right thing.

collectivehumanity

If we’re being honest, my runs are typically wedged between two other tasks. An immediate and intricate warm-down follo...
10/21/2025

If we’re being honest, my runs are typically wedged between two other tasks. An immediate and intricate warm-down following a run typically gets axed.

However…

I’ll sneak these movements in throughout the next couple of hours and I find it’s particularly nice for active recovery.

Although I’d firmly suggest not following a run (or any strenuous activity) with sitting in a vehicle and being strapped down for a couple hours (obviously speaking from too much experience), ‘warm-down’ movements aren’t limited to that 5-15 min window following our workouts. Bring it down? Absolutely. Give your body the gift of a gentle transition from high to neutral.

…But if you have the opportunity to bookend your run with a body nurturing warm-up and warm-down…?! BLISS. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Warm-Down: X-Country / Run

1. Forward fold with overhead sweep - breathe it in! You did it 🙌
2. Hip flexor mobilizations
3. Lizard pose (with a twist)
4. Downward dog
5. Downward dog - three-legged
6. Cat/cow
7. Cat/cow - staggered hands [set-up: slide R hand 1/2 handprint forward + L hand 1/2 handprint backward; repeat w alternate hand positions]
8. Hip adductor mobilizations [3 variations]
9. Child’s pose

Arguably, many of us have spent so much time at the brink of our max capacity that it has become our norm. The sensation...
10/20/2025

Arguably, many of us have spent so much time at the brink of our max capacity that it has become our norm. The sensations become familiar to the point where *not* being at the edge of burnout feels disconcerting.

Give yourself permission to step back from the shoulds and coulds - both internal + external.

Permission to:
… remove things from your list
… soften your expectations
… re-prioritize
… check-in with yourself
… re-evaluate ‘good enough’

Let’s get into the mud:
Q. What doesn’t fit in your capacity chamber right now?
Q. What’s taking up too much space?
Q. How can we *build* capacity in your life? (Hint: it’s not about working longer hours…)

Ahhhh… Permission to pause. Permission to reset.Permission to rest. Permission to listen. Permission to step off to the ...
10/06/2025

Ahhhh…

Permission to pause.
Permission to reset.
Permission to rest.
Permission to listen.
Permission to step off to the side.

For a moment. Or a minute.

It need not be perfect or meditative or whilst in shavasana or after we complete x, y, and laundry. We can do this - take the pause between two deep breaths [literally and figuratively] - as we’re running out the door, wrestling with a decision, mitigating conflict at home or at work, or while washing your hands.

Permission, oomph, is a complicated notion because … from who exactly? The presence of legitimately subversive and influential sociocultural forces aside - it’s our own. WE grant ourselves this permission (even if it sure doesn’t feel like that sometimes).



Note: the author of this quote is clearly not asking for my feedback but I’d like to suggest exchanging the word “important” for “impactful”.

It’s that time of year again!New seasons, new sports, new teams.Sport can be a powerful vehicle for learning about ourse...
09/29/2025

It’s that time of year again!

New seasons, new sports, new teams.

Sport can be a powerful vehicle for learning about ourselves *AND* practicing and developing skills and strategies for life:

How to work towards something | how to push ourselves to be better | how to notice what we need to be able to do our best | managing stress | dealing with disappointment | communication | harnessing excitement | empathy | managing conflict | how to work with others | how to bring out the best in each other …

And the list goes on and on…

And on.

Let’s get on with it, shall we?

We’re excited to kick off our 3rd year of team building workshops + introduce our 3-part team building series.

If curious, check out the *Team Building Event* link in bio for more information / options and we will follow-up to discuss.

Or DM any questions.

Spots are limited.

Wanna come play?It’s more than a workout at Mud Creek Co.
09/26/2025

Wanna come play?

It’s more than a workout at Mud Creek Co.

09/22/2025

What a gift of hindsight, right? Being able to look back and see what you are capable of moving through.

Being able to lean on your track record of difficult days and challenging chapters *regardless* of whether the record would be characterized as surviving or thriving or some combination along the continuum …

We are stronger than we think.

And even when we face a situation or experience we have not yet traversed…

This still tracks. We just get to project the wisdom of hindsight into the present moment to guide us through 🙌

You are stronger than you think.

Slide quote:

Too easy, right? Send a quick note to let me know you want to come play this week.That’s it. 💥 Questions?! Is this right...
09/22/2025

Too easy, right?

Send a quick note to let me know you want to come play this week.

That’s it. 💥

Questions?! Is this right for me?

Hit me up.

🗓️ Mark your calendars!

Fall training sessions + programs start next Monday 🙌

Address

Exeter, ON

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