I thought it was just stress but on reflection, I probably had underlying anxiety as well.  It wasn't really that clear because I thought it was just normal to feel this way.  I thought it was normal for my emotions to swing from positive to a sense of feeling weighed down; or to over prepare or rehearse for business meetings and every day encounters.  I lived in my head and it was complex and unpredictable. I felt like I was in control but overtime the way I functioned would catch up with me and I'd feel exhausted and burnt out.

Sorry, I jumped straight in there.  I'm Julie and I live on the Wirral, a gorgeous place on the North West of the UK.  I created this about me to give you a little flavour of how and why I got into mindfulness.  If it doesn't answer your questions, drop me a message.

I first began meditating by accident and didn't really know what I was doing.  I literally focused on a word for about 10 minutes, continually repeating it every time my mind drifted off, but after a few days something weird happened.  I began to notice how interactions with others were impacting my emotions.  I didn't connect the dots at first.  Quite separately I came across the mindfulness based stress reduction course which I attended at Bangor University.  

This was the first time I began to learn about how our complex inner world drives our emotions.  The course was really insightful and I wanted to learn more so I enrolled on a mindfulness masters programme with Aberdeen University.  What I learned about the mind, emotions and neuroscience literally changed my life.  It wasn't overnight, there's a lot of history there, but I knew that this knowledge should be available to everyone.  For me mindfulness was the missing piece of the jigsaw when it comes to living a fulfilled life and as a born saviour, yes I'm working on that too!, I realised I wanted to teach, so I qualified as a teacher with the Mindfulness Association.

Now I run courses for people who like the group stuff, and create on-line packages for people who just want to get started and work at their own pace. 

We acquire knowledge cognitively and at an experiential level and it is through experience that we transform.  However, to motivate us, sometimes we need to understand how this stuff works.  All of the courses I provide deliver knowledge on both levels.  They include all of the techniques and nuggets of information that have helped me along the way. 

I know it can feel quite isolating balancing this inner world of ours, whilst everyone else seems to be o.k, but you are not alone.  The mind is very powerful and tricky and we all have them.

When you are ready to pull back the curtain and take a peek inside, I'll be there to support you along the way.