Land Acknowledgment + Settler Responsibility:

JILLYWITHIT is a virtual design + healing studio whose headquarters occupy land colonially known as Hamilton, Ontario. I acknowledge that I am on Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ, Attiwonderonk (Neutral), Haudenosaunee, Mississauga, and Mississauga's of the Credit First Nation land. The mere acknowledgement of land rights is not enough: Awareness is the first step towards change; Head to NATIVE-LAND.CA to learn what land you occupy.

As a human and business owner, I acknowledge my own need and potential for growth. I believe that critical reflection, direct action, and accountability are essential in promoting positive and sustainable change.

I am dedicated to be informed by principles of decolonization, abolition, anti-racism, anti-oppression, and disability//transformative justice, and intersectional environmentalism, and root into many other generative practices by Black, Indigenous, and People of the Global Majority.

I’m actively + infinitely (collectively and publicly) committed to learning about anti-racism, ableism, educating the community, and continuously working to be anti-racist both on a personal and professional level. I recognize that I have internalized many of the "isms" and work to unravel these harmful systems that can unconsciously dictate action / inaction.

I recognize that systemic racism exists in Canada historically and currently.
JILLYWITHIT expresses support of, and solidarity with, the movement to end Canada’s system of racism and hate in all forms.

I seek to dismantle systems of supremacy in behaviors, values, and relationships through embodied transformation. We are decentering, not dehumanizing. This work takes time and practice, and I meet it with both curiosity and tenacity.


I recognize that “anti-racist” or “ally” are not labels I can wear, rather, they are verbs: practices + actions I commit to on a daily basis knowing there is no end destination of "enlightenment."

As a sole-proprietor, I Jillian Hassard, I am committed to continuously evaluating and improving on diversity, equity and inclusion when it comes to working with independent contractors, future employees, clients, collaborators, and suppliers.

Sponsoring a branding package for a BIPOC entrepreneur yearly. This effort started in 2021 and I have served a local Six Nation wellness center to date.

Hiring a diversity, equity and inclusion consultant to evaluate and make recommendations that strengthen anti-racism practices in my business.

Establishing and upholding anti-racism standards, inclusive policies and procedures across all business areas.

I invest a minimum of 10% of my operations budget into business services provided by Black-owned, Indigenous-owned or Person of Colour-owned businesses.

Committing to donating a fixed percentage of business profits towards charities, causes or non-profit organizations that support BIPOC people, needs and culture.

embedding anti-racism + Inclusion + values into business:

i look forward to

I am committed to ongoing anti-racism education and participated + invested in trainings + activities such as:

Implicit Bias Guide for Small Businesses | Rhodesia Jackson,
Project Implicit: a research study | Harvard,
Effective Allyship in Online Spaces | Raelyn Monteiro,
Sharing Privilege | GOODBODYFEEL,
The Impact of Inclusivity and Accessibility on Social Media | Erin Perkins of MabelyQ
What Your Clients (and You) Deserve: Intentionally Building an Antiracist Practice | Dr. Erika Dawkins,
Inclusive Strategies for your Coaching Business | VP Wright
Patreon member of The Great Unlearn | Rachel Cargle
Diversity and Inclusion: Are we Serious or Naw? Allyship and Inclusion in Wellness | Monica Cadena and Reggie Harris
Digital Allyship Intensive  | Sacred Alchemist

I have also made monetary contributions to:
Inner Circle Care BIPOC Scholarship
Love Land Foundation
1492 Land Back Lane Legal Fund
Black Woman Agricultural Freedom Fund
Braided Warriors land defenders
BIPOC Queer Community Farm

If you have monetary prosperity, I invite you to donate to the above initiatives/organizations. Not in a place to donate? No shame here, please consider support in the form of volunteering or social media sharing. :)

honouring Lineages

Energy healing has been used for centuries in various forms within many cultures. It is important to honour lineages of the modalities I practice and have also influenced//inspired my lifestyle and nurtured my approach to branding +  wellness. 

While I continue to explore many techniques of energy healing -including my intuition, innate gifts and reclaiming my own lineage- I am trained in Reiki and recognize the westernization and erasure of this Japanese lineage. Reiki energy is conceptualized as Universal Life Force Energy (Qi, Prana, Spirit, Creator, Source). It comes from the Japanese words “rei” (universal) and “ki” (life energy). The predominate form of reiki practiced worldwide today is known as Usui reiki; birthed by Dr. Mikao Usui in the early 20th century. Reiki is taught according to the Japanese tradition of the “sensei” (teacher) who passes the knowledge to the student through an initiation ceremony or "attunement" that is believed to open the student’s energy channels to facilitate the flow of healing energy. This process has been adapted to fit western societal systems. Find the lineage here.

I have also been incredibly fortunate to study with various healers across the globe including Quichua medicine women in the Andes and continue to learn from local indigenous peoples + nations. Communing with these powerful beings is my greatest honour. My reverence, constructive reflection, and gratitude for their welcoming and teachings ceaselessly blooms. As someone who grew up without a biological father, reclaiming and celebrating lineage is crucial to my path.

"The body positivity movement was born because certain bodies had no space to breathe in Western society. The movement was started by Black women and Black queer women whose bodies were too unruly to fit into mainstream, white, heteronormative culture. While later adopters of the movement did so out of choice, it is important to recognize that the original body positive advocates didn’t have a choice. These women were invisible or worse, told they didn’t belong anywhere. More heartbreaking still (yet disturbingly unsurprising) is the way that mainstream, white, heteronormative culture then went on to claim these teachings as their own without honouring the Black women who originally pioneered them out of necessity.

The term "Somatic" was coined and made popular by a white man and there is much to unpack regarding western + European somatic practices and methodologies. I am actively delving into academic + spiritual research and know that the stream of Somatics is steeped with ancient knowledge, ritual, and teachings from the global majority.

In this way, I believe the work I do as a Somatic Soul Coach™ is social justice work, it’s liberatory activism. Giving people greater access to their bodies and to the space their bodies take up is empowering, disruptive and healing. It is a gift from the Black and other marginalized beings who came before us. Let us honour those women and their struggles by continuing to strive for inclusivity in the work that we bring forth into this world.
All bodies deserve to feel awake and alive regardless of race, class, sexual orientation, religion and abilities. All bodies. Everywhere." 

 Paraphrased from Dana Regan of Somatic Soul Coach School

i pledge the following:

I am committed to addressing all avenues of systemic oppression and will continue to have the necessary conversations on race and oppression as well as participating in anti-racism education and training. I have zero tolerance for racism in my community and aim to create a culture of anti-racism in my environment + beyond.

I commit to disrupting and dismantling systems that perpetuate racism, even if that entails rethinking long-standing institutional practices. I am cognizant of the intersectional nature of oppression and examine fields and spaces like higher education, health-care including mental health, design/advertising/marketing, fashion, + more- of which have all historically been unapologetically exclusionary and discriminatory.

I pledge to continually unearth + dismantle the harmful systems within myself through unconscious + generational biases that perpetuate white supremacy and Eurocentrism.

Boundless Blessings + Endless Gratitude,

Jillian, who is a work in progress just like this page :) (2023)