New Year's Blog

Have fallen off the blog wagon for awhile and decided one of my intentions for 2014 was to get back on more regularly. Naturally, a cold rainy January day was the perfect opportunity to climb on (combined with catching a cold) and take advantage of this time of rest & quiet. Last year I listened to many health related tele-classes, including one by Dr. Sara Gottfried, author of The Hormone Cure.  In my day to day world I counsel thousands of women with similar complaints of depression, low energy, irritability, low or no libido, unmanageable stress and anxiety. Her message of unbalanced hormones as a possible cause resonated loudly with me.

My curiosity led me to sign up for her newsletter. Her informative and vibrant messages are calling me, so much that I registered for her winter detox. Last year my healing focus was mainly physical as I recuperated from shoulder and knee surgeries. This year my focus is more internal and although still physical, aspire to go deeper with diet, nutrition & hormone balance along with my understanding of how they all fit together. My goal is not only to personally benefit from her teachings but share the wisdom as well. Please join me as I share my discoveries and challenges with the detox and making sustainable changes to support my life journey from a place of balance on all levels. Check out her book, take her hormone questionnaire or follow along on my Facebook page, Living Balanced if you want to take this journey with me!

The Art of Healing

Some things can’t be rushed, like dough rising, embryos gestating, flowers blooming. Healing is another and has its own timetable. Sometimes the healing happens in the waiting and may be attached to other aspects of ourselves that have been hidden from view. Emotional wounds as well as physical take time to mend. And occasionally the healing cannot happen in isolation, and require support such as a friend, a counselor, a cast or a crutch. New situations, injuries, crises can be opportunities for growth in ways we can’t imagine until we allow the process to unfold in its own time. I remember the story of the young boy who tried to help the butterfly come out if its cocoon. The butterfly did not survive, as it needed the pushing through and out to strengthen its wings. The newly emerging butterfly was unable to fly without this necessary work.

I have witnessed this phenomenon for many years while sitting with clients as they recover from various life events. Now, while mending from my second ACL knee repair surgery, I am witnessing my own healing journey. Not that I haven’t had my share of wounds over the years. However, this one began 38 years ago when the initial injury happened while playing basketball in high school. Over the years my body adapted and compensated well for knee instability. Now, my knee is physically stable but my mind and body is struggling to adjust to this new sate of affairs. Deeper work is needed to remember how to walk with a stable knee, awaken receptors in the brain that have been asleep all these years and allow the realignment process to unfold. The body has amazing healing capacities so I am not surprised at all the ways it has adapted over the years to keep me upright i.e. tight hips, rotated spine, unaligned shoulders & neck, foot pronation, etc. The knee apparently is a very sensitive joint and the body responds accordingly to the absence of stableness, just doing its job.

According to my Doctor, I should have been able to begin running by 6 weeks post surgery. Running went by the way side years ago due to my knee so was looking forward to tying up those laces with much anticipation. Instead disappointment and frustration are following me around like a shadow. I am choosing, however, to use these feelings as pointers toward different ways of viewing this dilemma such as being more present focused, walking more mindfully, learning new strategies to grow and gratitude that I could have the surgery & potential for healing. My physical therapist says it takes thousands of times to create a body memory in muscles and tissues. I am still in the hundreds and just taking baby steps. This process feels as if I am learning how to walk all over again and I have even crawled recently to start from the very beginning hoping to reawaken the sleeping parts of my brain. Curiosity rather than despair is now my practice as I awaken every day to some new discovery on my path to healing and stability.

Flowing into Spring

Spiral Gatherings met in Monrovia this past Sunday morning. Somehow Mother Nature looked kindly on us and showered plenty of sunshine on a very chilly, foggy morning. We practiced yoga outside, engaged in nature meditation  and discovered ways to nurture spirit on a daily basis.

The Happy Woman Way

‘Spring is about waking up’ says Sara Avant Stover, author of The Way of The Happy Woman.  I have been following her blog and book for the past year and could not pass up the chance to hang out with her at a mini retreat when she came to D.C. this past weekend. Practicing what I preach brought me to a lovely yoga studio called Tranquil Space near Dupont Circle. For three hours I just focused on me. We spent some time reflecting and engaging in a yin/yang yoga practice to honor the emerging energy & light of spring but also grounding & staying close to the earth. The Metro was the easiest means of transportation, arriving just a few blocks from my destination. The walk took me through a hip urban residential area alive with city sights, sounds and smells.

Tranquil Space (TS) is a chic, environmentally friendly & nurturing space that has 2 locations, the second in Arlington. More info on Tranquil Space is available on the web or facebook under that name. TS is ‘a lifestyle-focused yoga destination named among the top 25 yoga studios in the world.’ Blog, youtube and twitter followers can connect as well through their webpage. ‘The beautiful street level shop is located right in the heart of Dupont Circle’s 17th street neighborhood. Decorated with damask-covered walls, exposed brick, and a dramatic chandelier, the space is warm and inviting — a calm respite from the outside. Some of the special design touches enlivening the boutique include dressing rooms made from reused pallet that delivered our building materials, benches made from a Virginia barn supported on reused tree grates, and shelving made from old floor joists.’ A definite must go destination.
    

Spring is a perfect time to pause and do some inner and outer housecleaning. If you have wanted to start a yoga practice there is plenty to choose from in and around Frederick. Yogafinder.com has the most updated list by state and city. Retreats are available as well. There is still room in my half day retreat Spiral Gatherings on Sunday April 29th from 9 – 1 pm. For more information just send an email to livingbalancedwithjulie@gmail.com. So take a pause this Spring, reflect, renew, nourish yourself, & plant seeds to create your year!

Happy Earth Day!

My Yoga hike was rained out today so I went to a yoga class  dedicated to honoring Earth Day instead. Not a bad compromise. The teacher reminded us of our deep connection to the earth physically and beyond. Every breath we take is mirroring the natural pulse of nature; expanding and contracting, waxing and waning, birthing and expiring. The native americans believe we have an umbilical cord attached from our navels to the earth. With this awareness every action is considered as if mother earth were a living, breathing entity.

Yesterday, a friend treated me to a kayak river run down the Cacapon River near Berkely Springs, West Virginia. Wild flowers and woodpeckers kept calling out ‘look at me, look at me’. The rapids and the view called the loudest. Another Earth Day reminds us of this precious life & planet we have been given. We are stewards and have been entrusted to care for our earth mother. Steve Van Matre in Earth Spirit says ‘We need to tap into life’s universal flow and ‘learn to love ourselves less and the earth more’. Pause today for a few moments to give thanks and contemplate what you can do to care for our home. One tiny movement creates a rippling effect.