Hi- I'm Julia, and I'm really glad you're here. Nearly 15 years ago, I was a (then) young-ish teacher teetering on the verge of burnout (for the first time; there were others later on too). The irony was that while I was developing a series of courses for high school students on environmental sustainability at that time, I was still clueless to the fact that my approach to life was the very definition of unsustainable.
While striving for perfection *seemed* to have worked for a life in schools... it clearly did not. It was trying to be a perfect parent years later that finally cracked my perspective open. So I became curious about what I could do and drew from what I knew best: biology.
It didn’t take long to see that my students could also benefit from what I was learning. My first approach was to write mindfulness workshops that elaborated on major biological themes. It also led me to continue my formal studies beyond biology and education to include a certification in social emotional learning facilitation and yoga instruction (200hr).
The services I offer here share this information with a broader audience. I draw from experiences as a former birth doula, a current science educator, and a parent. My goal is to help families and other educators see mindfulness practices as more substantial and skillfully applicable.
About
A few moments that led me here include...
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2006: My biology degree was quickly followed by a masters in education that I earned while teaching full-time as a NYC Teaching Fellow. Having already navigated one health crisis by then, I just figured a healthier future was ahead... but I was missing a lot of information.
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2015: Stepping into matrescence (without knowing the term or how to approach all it entailed) revealed quite a bit about my own neurotype and how I relate to the world. Up to that point, it had been a very long time since there was a steep learning curve to climb; and that empathy made me want to serve my classes even better than I had before. Anyone can find their way to mindfulness though a variety of lenses, but I feel lucky to have stumbled on neuroplasticity pretty early in the search- which, generally speaking, refers to the dynamic nature of nerve connections. The simple fact that we can strengthen some patterns and edit or prune others was empowering... and so it felt right to keep exploring.
2020: Learning how to support different neurotypes in my home shed a lot of light on my own development as a person and educator.
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2024: Taking the leap to share how knowledge of biology can inform the use of mindfulness tools; the goal is to help others to solve a variety of challenges faced by the individuals and organizations they serve.