READING TO EMPOWER THE HEALTHY STYLISH & BEAUTIFUL YOU
 Meditation, journaling, self reflection, and all spiritual practices are much easier to do daily if you create sacred space to do so. It is the spot set apart for you to engage in deepening your spirit, centering yourself, and grounding - your clarity spot.
When the kids were little it was a struggle to find time for myself to be. However, the daily practice of sitting and reconnecting with yourself and the power beyond you is what keeps you calm, happy, and energized. At that time, I had a chair and a candle in the living room. When I lit the candle, the kids knew mom was taking a 10 minute time out. Now the kids are bigger, I enjoy more private corner of my bedroom for myself. How to Set Up Your Clarity Spot: Find a place in your home where you feel comfortable. You want to be able to unwind here, not a spot where you feel on display or your guard needs to be up. Think of the place you feel happiest or most relaxed. Add something to make it special and denote that this is a space set apart: a candle, pictures of those you love, a special book, journal, a plant or flowers. My favorite way of creating this space is looking around the house for my favorite things or meaningful items and using those for my clarity space. What you place there can change based on your mood, goals, or the time of year. Mine changes throughout the year. I try to keep it visually aligned with my goals and how I want to use the space. I may add a shell I found at the beach to remind me to relax; pretty leaves the kids collect to take me back to my favorite place, the woods; or in spring a potted daffodil welcoming change. If I am working on a big project, I may put something there that reminds me of my “why” in doing the project. I try my best to spend time in my clarity spot each day, even if it is only for a minute. Yesterday was hectic, so my time was spent there doing nothing, but taking in the love of the Universe with each breath. Getting your intuition back is the most valuable self development you can ever do. It is the no fail, no lie, no bullshit, truth serum. Listen to it, and it will tell you what to do.  Getting your intuition back is the most valuable self development you can ever do. It is the no fail, no lie, no bullshit, truth serum. Listen to it, and it will tell you what to do.
Childhood, for most of us, impaired our ability to access our intuition. When we listened to intuition and told grown ups, we were corrected, ridiculed, and told we were wrong. You may ask why is daddy hurting me? He isn’t hurting you, he loves you. Why is mommy crying in her bedroom. Mom’s not crying. She just got something in her eye. We accepted what they said, although internally we knew they were lies. These small betrayals to our internal compass slowly erode our confidence in our intuition. It’s essential you get your confidence back. Break the habit of doubting the voice which is quite clearly telling you what is going on. It's hard to do. You will learn to hear yourself in Be Your Own Guru, but begin by militantly being on your own side. You need to trust yourself - it’s the key to confidence and getting your intuition back. Relying solely on our rational mind - the alternative - does not nourish you. Meditation is helpful in this step. When you give space to listening you will hear intuitive hunches and create the internal space for them to percolate up. That’s valuable stuff. Love, Julia xo Every morning before I get out of bed I visualize what I want in my day. I see everything I know is on my calendar happening how I want it.  I see my time at jolie, my workout, time with my kids, what I’m making for dinner, my errands and chores. I see myself going through my day with high energy and enthusiasm. If I have any special request, I make it then. This morning’s request was to be open to new opportunities, The visualization sets up my day to be the best it can. I begin with an intention and belief that it’s going to be a fabulous day. When you greet the day uplifted, it smooths the winkles. Try this out. It’s easy, practical, and only takes a few minutes. You will be surprised how it uplevels the quality of your day. For help with visualizations, email me. Love, Julia xo  Can meditation help when you're facing a challenge like cancer?
I have a dear friend undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Alternative cancer treatments have been my obsession lately to help support conventional treatments and make them less painful. Mindfulness meditation, the practice of focusing on the present moment, has helped cancer patients experience less pain, more calm, and increased happiness according to a 2011 study. Mindfulness also helps the body to heal by helping cancer patients sleep better and feel less stress. By concentrating on compassion and the present moment, meditation is an alternative to the anxiety and worry many people experience. Through mindfulness, we become more aware of our thoughts and emotions. This allows us to create more space so we can choose to enjoy the present moment and not race towards future what ifs. We can choose more healing thoughts and appreciate what is - positive mindset has been documented over and over as a non-medical key to healing. Experiencing a health challenge? Try developing a meditation practice. My Learn to Meditate course offers instruction in mindfulness and using meditation to promote calm and relaxation. Also, experience our mindfulness and compassion meditations as well as singing bowl meditation to help you cope with the stress of illness. I wish all health and healing. Love, Julia xo MOTIVE TO MEDITATEWhen you meditate, you plug into a supercomputer. When I meditate I solve problems, find inspiration for new initiatives, cut through my feelings to find the core truth, let grow of anger and frustration and have the most amazing conversations afterwards. It’s my superpower.  Meditation is more than sitting still and quiet. Many people resist meditation because they think it’s boring or a waste of time. It is easy to believe that time can be used more productively: working, exercising, going out, shopping, or seeing friends. Meditation can seem self indulgent. Time is limited: we expect those other activities will accomplish more in terms of money and relationships.
The benefits of meditation are so multifaceted- it can change your life in many ways. Eight weeks of regular practice will make you happier and more centered, rewire your brain, reduce stress related hormones, improve intuitive skills – that’s the short list. In our busy, complicated lives we don’t realize its importance because meditation does not immediately produce emotional, physical, and mental benefits we can see. Meditation works subtly from the inside out. Meditation, in many cultures and traditions, is considered the way to live a balanced, harmonious life with others and the planet. Many religions, including Christianity, see meditation as an essential part of life just like eating, working, cultivating relationships. They begin and punctuate the day with meditation understanding that connection to Source or God grounds us and empowers us to work on our life’s purpose. The more relaxed and calm we are, the more we are receptive to the flow of experiences, information, and solutions in our lives. It allows us to be more aware of our environment and act with more presence of mind. If you think there is not time to meditate, you are missing a key opportunity that can change your life. When you meditate, you plug into a supercomputer. When I meditate I solve problems, find inspiration for new initiatives, cut through my feelings to find the core truth, let grow of anger and frustration and have the most amazing conversations afterwards. It’s my superpower. Not to mention, my fine lines relax and my energy is more positive. The most difficult obstacle blocking you from achieving your goals is that you don’t know yourself as well as you think you do. The activity of life distracts us from going inside and asking questions of ourselves. That is why meditation is so vital. It takes you out of the commotion: the awareness created in meditation helps you get in touch with yourself, learn about yourself, and love yourself. The more knowledge you have about yourself, the better you will understand yourself. From there it is easier to decipher why you are here and what your true purpose is. You are an amazing, powerful, creative being, but me telling you that is kind of like your mother telling you you are beautiful. You need to discover yourself beautiful just like you need to uncover your own powerful, amazing, creative self. There are many types of meditation. At jolie we teach various forms. This allows you to find the types that work best for you. You can learn and refine those and can take them with you into the rest of your life. My favorite guided meditations are visualizations, body scans, and sitting in silence. Using those forms I shed stress and manifest things like crazy. Here are some tips to get you started: take five minutes in the morning and focus on your breathing. I often do this after hitting snooze on my alarm if I’m sure I won’t fall back asleep otherwise I do it after my shower. It helps to focus on the light of a candle or imagine myself walking across a never ending field. Notice how your body feels, emotions that arise, thoughts that come up. Gradually increase your meditation time as you feel comfortable. Guided meditations at jolie are also a wonderful way to kick start and deepen your practice--it’s akin to having a private trainer for your mind. You move forward finding greater peace within and your own superpowers. with love and gratitude, Julia Stress is the enemy of maintaining beauty and health. Hormones related to stress put our cells into overdrive. We were created to respond to momentary stress, but not to the constant onslaught modern life can present. Sustained stress damages our cells causing more rapid aging. Fat cells respond to high stress levels by storing more energy as fat. Aging and weight gain--a dreadful combination.
Taking time to breathe and meditate quietly throughout the day is a wonderful antidote to stress. Slowing down consciously two to three times a day gives the spirit time to reconnect with the sacred inside you. Just a five minute break will relax the body and clear the mind. So today set a reminder on your phone to stop, breath in for four counts and breath out for four counts. Concentrate on your breathing. Visualize stress, tension, and worry draining from your body as you exhale and light energy flooding you as you inhale. This practice alone will do more than glass of wine ever could! |
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