Tribe Member Jordan's Journey to Wellness

By Hannah Whitesides, Director of the Tribe @ Project P and the Project Passport Wellness Hub

Note: The Tribe @ Project P is paused at this time for the public and only open to women booked for travel retreats

As a whole, the Tribe @ Project P is a community of women dedicated to being well, living joyfully, becoming inspired, and exploring fearlessly. But if you take a look at each individual woman, you will see that we all come from different backgrounds and have different stories, passions, and experiences that led us here. Here, in the Tribe, we strive to make all of our members feel seen and heard. We want to highlight each member for her unique contribution to the community. I sat down with Jordan Burstion and her story is one I did not see coming. It is a story of perseverance, bravery, and resilience. 

Jordan is originally from Fayetteville, North Carolina. She studied at Duke University and now lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. Jordan’s wellness journey began with one of the most challenging battles of her life. In the summer of 2019, Jordan had a major health scare. She began hallucinating coupled with the inability to pronounce her words so much so that others could not understand her. Doctors told her that she had suffered a silent migraine which presented itself as a stroke. This, insanely enough, was triggered by a fire alarm. Jordan was traumatized by this experience because she had absolutely no clue, at that moment, that it was a migraine. How would she? There was no pain and when we think of migraines we associate them with pain. These silent migraines continued for a year which triggered an immense amount of anxiety and panic attacks. While this experience was horrible and traumatic, Jordan began to recognize the importance of her mental and physical health. 

Her wellness journey continued when she was hired as a Business Analyst working on the Paycheck Protection Program. Unbeknownst to her, one month into that job she started suffering from burnout and knew she wanted to leave the field but she had to stick it out for a year. Even though the burnout she was experiencing was extreme, leaving wasn’t easy for Jordan by any means. It took her one year of working up the courage to believe in herself enough to leave. One year of figuring out how to tell her family, who she knew wouldn’t understand or provide immediate support. One year of saving up financially to even be able to support herself without that income. But in that one year, Jordan found what she was looking for and allowed herself to dive in. 

During her challenging year as a Business Analyst, Jordan began meditating in order to handle the workload from her job while making sure her mental wellbeing was in check. In our interview we discussed the process of meditation because many times people who suffer from anxiety find it extremely difficult to meditate due to the process of clearing one's mind. She explained to me that meditation is a journey and it’s not black and white. In an attempt to suppress her panic attacks she turned on stand up comedy and focused on controlling her breathing. This is a form of meditation because it allowed her to calm herself down. Her next step focused on affirmations. She would tell herself, “I am safe. I am well. I am healthy. I am happy.” After a couple of months, Jordan was able to calm her nervous system down, stopping the panic attacks. Eventually, she was able to sit and meditate for 5 minutes with her thoughts. 

“Meditation saved my life” 

Upon this realization, Jordan wanted to help others achieve what she had. She created an instagram account, @kosabena, as a hobby during her time as a Business Analyst. When she finally left the field to pursue Entrepreneurship full time, she decided to make her hobby her career, Kosabena. She explained to me that, “the name is inspired by the African goddesses Inkosazana and Abena; the former is associated with agriculture & rainbows while the latter is celebrated for watching over children once they leave home.”

“Kosabena’s mission is to help individuals become more of who they already are - creative, powerful, loving beings. Our personalized meditations serve as words of encouragement, permission to rest, opportunities to explore within, and inspiration on your journey to become your favorite self.”

Jordan’s journey hasn’t been easy by any means but it has led her to the Tribe. She expressed to me that being a member of the Tribe has encouraged her to ask for help and be accepting of it. She is an introvert, meaning her energy comes from herself rather than from others. However, being in the Tribe has shown her the benefits of sharing her vision with others and finding comfort and support in her journey of Entrepreneurship. 

Jordan believes that she is on track to be the happiest and healthiest version of herself. She is excited to dive deeper into her wellness journey and help others live happier and more fulfilled lives. In addition, she is passionate about stand up comedy and eager to get back into writing and performing it. She believes that stand up comedy is a way to rewrite her narrative and laugh through the uncertainty. 

Just like Jordan, the Tribe is filled with amazing women dedicated to being the best and healthiest version of themselves. No matter where you are in your wellness journey, there is a group of women committed to supporting you every step of the way. 

Other highlights from Jordan:

Jordan created an amazing ebook, Happy Weight 101 where she shows you how to implement strategies to ensure your Happy Weight Journey is effective, consistent, and enjoyable! Not to mention, this 85 page guide is FREE! Click here to download and support our amazing Tribe sister.

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The Tribe @ Project P is an exclusive women's community that provides a sacred wellness space for women to feel seen, heard, and valued; allows them to connect and build a supportive community; enhances travel inspiration; and helps women foster life discovery while uncovering joy in their daily lives. The Tribe @ Project P offers 1:1 coaching opportunities, surprise membership gifts in the mail, live virtual retreats, fun virtual social events and interactive wellness content, activities and challenges.