Ep. 23: No More Mind Chatter - Guest Julie Shapiro

Julie is an amazing, certified yoga teacher and mother of two. She got her start in the brick and mortar world of gyms, and slowly transitioned to the online world of training and teaching.

She enjoys yoga (of course!), as well as tennis and reading.

Julie has experienced anxiety, weight loss, and mindset shifts on her journey. She shares that in her life, anxiety and weight have gone hand in hand. Ever since her early teens, Julie has dealt with anxiety. She explains that it felt like a light switch flipped and everything was suddenly “heightened”. This feels like such an accurate description to me!

It took years to piece together the connection between eating, anxiety, and everything else going on. Julie attributes therapy, mediation, and yoga as having had a huge healing effect in her life.

In fact, it was after her first yoga class that she finally experienced a quiet mind - no more mind chatter!

It was as if the elephant on her chest was gone, and she experienced the first taste of what it could be to have her anxiety lift.
This is also when she started to see her true self, with so much less negativity and judgment.

Although yoga was initially something she pursue primarily for physical fitness, it didn’t take long for her to realize that yoga was about so much more than just exertion. The feeling she had after completing an aerobic class was really different than the feeling she had after completing a yoga class.

As an entrepreneur, Julie shares a bit about her journey with undercharging and over-giving, as well as the burn out that results from that.

Learning to value her skills, education, and talent allowed her to begin charging in a way that honored both herself and her clients. She reminds us to value ourselves and our gifts - balance is vital when it comes to business and life!

Another note: self-care doesn’t have to be about hours in the spa. Waking up and doing 5 minutes of yoga, or taking some deep breaths and setting an intention for your day, can be powerful acts of self-care too. If you feel like you’re constantly running on a treadmill -- try slowing down. You can choose to do that!

Hit the slow down button, recenter yourself, and give yourself some space to breathe and check in. It only takes a few glimpses to realize that you NEED those moments for yourself.

Share also shares that the more she uses her strengths and gets to know who she is, the closer the gets to who she really is. I love the idea of moving TOWARDS yourself on your journey to growth, rather than trying to reinvent a bigger, better version of yourself. Instead of escaping yourself, you’re becoming yourself. It’s a beautiful thing!

FUN THING: Julie is providing a guided meditation and worksheet for a course I’ll be launching next month, called In The Midst! If you enjoy writing, want to tap into your story, and think Julie is pretty amazing — come check it out!