"Let Your Heart Speak to Other's Hearts" | THF Women's Health Retreat

Thank You to All Involved in The Healing Farm's Women's Health Retreat!

"Let your heart speak to other's hearts." Found on a yogi tea bag, yes. But it's one I saved for a couple of years and had posted on my magnet board in my office. After the women's health retreat I truly found out what that meant to me in my quest to find myself and my new career journey. Obviously it spoke to me in my time of great change and I felt moved to to keep it. As I watched several women working diligently on their "manifestation" boards at the retreat and then thrilled at the results, I realized I wanted to do one too. I didn't get a chance to complete it (I barely started going through magazines when I had to run off to set something up for the next scheduled activity - or three!) so when I took my "staycation" the week after the retreat ended, I had a chance to work on this worthwhile exercise. The yogi tea bag quote finally found its place. So did the fortune cookie fortune that's been taped to my refrigerator door for a couple of years ("Your talents will be recognized and suitably rewarded.").

What the incredible group of women at the retreat showed me is that I truly do want "my heart to speak to other's hearts". On day one of the retreat when I was introducing myself and the team, I mentioned that I am not a specialist. I'm a generalist. That some of the women at the retreat would surely know more than me about health and nutrition, but what's becoming increasingly clear is that I like bringing people together. I want to bring educators and practitioners together in a beautiful setting to teach natural health solutions participants can build into their everyday lives. I want to share the joy and healing journey in my heart with anyone who will join me and I realized that I could actually do that in this new career journey. I learned as much from the women at this retreat as they learned from the talented educators and practitioners I brought together in the beautiful place that is Mayacamas Ranch. So at long last, I want to share my absolute gratitude to the participants, the team and Mayacamas Ranch!

The Participants

Thirty beautiful women and five team members. I was blown away by the enthusiasm, sharing, encouragement, breakthroughs and loveliness of the group of women who came together for this retreat. We welcomed women of all ages even though the retreat was focussing on menopause and indeed we had a wide range of ages. My guess? Maybe from early 30s to early 70s. What a wealth of knowledge coming from these wise and wonderful women. Old friendships were deepened, new friendships were forged. We ate, we hiked, we laughed and we cried. We had mothers of young children who weren't even close to menopause but who wanted to sincerely learn how they could best prepare their bodies for big changes (or who just needed to rest with clean food, exercise, fresh air and a digital detox). We had mothers of young children who were getting close to menopause, we had women who had never had children, we had grandmothers. We had cross-generational inspiration, we learned together and we had fun! We were all already talking about the next retreat so I need to get one on the calendar!

If you want to read a participant's take on the retreat, I was overwhelmed with gratitude and emotion when I read Sarah Kay Hoffman's blog post. She wrote it the day after the retreat (even with THREE kids to tend to at home!). You can read it here:

Dr. Amy Nett, M.D., Functional Medicine Practitioner and One of the Smartest People I've Ever Met

Geez this woman knows her stuff. Of course I shouldn't have been surprised that one of Chris Kresser's staff clinicians at The California Center for Functional Medicine would be so knowledgeable. At last year's retreat we had the brilliant and passionate Chris Kresser himself as our keynote speaker and were all blown away by how knowledgeable his staff nutritionist Kelsey Kinney of "Healthy Gut, Healthy Life" was. How fortunate were we this time around to listen to two well-planned and informative lectures by Dr. Nett about what you can do to best prepare your body for menopause through nutrition and also about hormone balance. I wasn't surprised that Dr. Nett added several new patients to her calendar during and after the retreat! THANK YOU Dr. Nett!

Emily Boorstein: Life Coach and Creator of the "Inner Fitness" Program

Life Coach Emily Boorstein of the Inner Fitness Program

This was Emily's second time speaking at a THF retreat and there's a good reason for it. I recognized through my own journey through midlife that it wasn't just my body going through major changes. I felt like in addition to Dr. Nett's contributions about the physical aspect, we needed to also cover the emotional experience of midlife. Emily graciously covered life-lessons learned through motherhood for all the mothers in the audience, but all of those lessons learned early on through her own personal growth translated well into how to gracefully and solidly tackle the emotional roller coaster that is midlife and menopause. Every time I hear Coach Emily speak, I pick up little nuggets of information that later on end up applying to (pick one or all): a wake up in the middle of the night panic attack (something I never experienced before menopause), a stewing in the shower about something my husband said that made me mad, a sitting in traffic and wanting to flip someone off or even an emotional transition to a new president. My favorite tip from Emily that I use all the time in my life is how to not panic. If I feel some kind of emotional turmoil coming on and want to react, I can now reach into my "Coach Emily toolbox", step back and consider whether this is something that is going to end the world or if it's something I can truly tackle without false emotion. I will forever be grateful to Coach Emily for her support, enthusiasm and contributions. She helped me through my true midlife crisis when I realized I was never going to be a mother and she will always be in my heart for opening hers.

Amanda Crutcher: Yoga Instructor/Yoga Therapy/Meditator Extraordinaire

Amanda Crutcher knows anatomy and ohhhh how to work with those yoga therapy balls! She cares so deeply about her participant's safety and bodies. Probably because of her Iyengar yoga background, Amanda really focusses on the physical aspect of yoga making sure her participants understand the postures and the anatomy behind them. It's really good training - especially for beginners and to prevent injury. She also brought out yoga therapy balls at her last class. From a practicality standpoint, using the balls at home (safely) is great. It's like being able to give yourself a massage and is great for deeply loosening those knots. I learned this technique at Rancho La Puerta with tennis balls, but the various sized yoga therapy balls were even better. Amanda also graciously opened up her one hour twice daily meditation practice to all the attendees. This is where her deep spirituality came out. Her calm presence and grace surely comes from her deep meditation practice. Something I hope to explore with her in the future.

Diane Gibbs: Massage Therapy and Feldenkrais

This was Diane's second THF retreat as well. Her talented hands were in great demand. Who wouldn't want a glorious massage by well-trained hands while on a retreat? Diane ended up completely booking up, so I was thrilled to bring on my dear friend (and someone who has done massage on me countless times) Angela Bausch. Thanks so much to Angela for bringing her experienced hands to our retreat!

Diane also brought her love for and practice of Feldenkrais to this retreat. As at the last retreat, a lot of the participants had never heard of Feldenkrais, but most experienced beneficial effects through this gentle movement practice. 

Mayacamas Ranch!

Once again I can't thank the staff at Mayacamas Ranch enough. Miguel once again knocked the paleo ball out of the park with his cooking, the rest of the staff was warm and welcoming and the property - even in the wintertime - was as peaceful and beautiful as ever. Seeing the milky way in the clear winter night sky, the fog in the valley on our early morning hike, the steam coming off of the pond, hearing those funny frogs loud and clear every night when going to bed - and that cozy bed! You can't go wrong with Mayacamas Ranch as your home base for a retreat!

And Then There was Karma.....

Karma Moffit and his Tibetan Bowls

How do you top off what you know may be an enlightening weekend for your participants? I always say I don't want The Healing Farm to be too hippie dippy or new age and then I bring in a man named Karma. But, I've been going deeper into my own meditation practice as I move through this midlife of mine and all its changes and have been inspired by the crystal bowls meditations I've experienced at Rancho La Puerta. Since I was introducing various forms of meditation into this women's retreat I thought it might be nice to top off the last night with a crystal bowls meditation. My intention was to have Danielle Hall of Sound Embrace perform, but she ended up being unavailable. Through other contacts I found this man named "Karma" who plays tibetan bowls. He performs all over the world and had even performed at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco for a labyrinth meditation a few nights before the retreat. Now this is a man who has lived life and he didn't hesitate to tell us all about it. I love great characters who embrace life and whatever comes their way and although I might have been able to do without the high pitched conch shell blowing, it was great to be in a room surrounded by women I brought together, surrounded by deep vibrating sounds delivered by someone who has so obviously embraced life fully and taken the less-traveled path. Karma's heart truly speaks to other's hearts. I was so grateful he joined us to top off the retreat.

So what did I get out of The Healing Farm's Women's retreat? Hope and especially ENCOURAGEMENT for the future of The Healing Farm AND This Manifestation Board Illustrating my Hope for My Future and the Future of The Healing Farm.

I think it's no coincidence that this board came out of me on inauguration day, 2017. My hope is for a bright, inclusive and healthy future for all.

As many times as I've muttered "Namaste" at the end of a yoga class, I've never known what it meant and never bothered to take the time to look it up. Coach Emily taught us that one of the translations is "The light in me sees the light in you."  I feel like we all experienced this at the women's retreat. I certainly experienced sharing my heart and felt like my guests shared theirs with me. I think I'm ready now to take the next steps with The Healing Farm. It's still scary and I still have doubts but when a dear friend sends you a link to Sia's "The Greatest" when you express fear of the next step you listen to her heart speak to your heart and so it goes and so it goes. Let your own midlife be a midlife renaissance no matter how scary it might be. Moving beyond your fears and your comfort zone will help you breakthrough to be your "greatest". 

See you all at the next retreat! 

All of my love and heart - Julie

The Healing Farm - Cultivating Practical Wellness!

Something YOU can Control in Many Cases - Your Health!

From the Washington Post

As someone who may be effected by possible upcoming changes in our healthcare system, the Washington Post article in my Google newsfeed today caught my eye. It's really not just that the new administration may make changes that could effect millions of people that made me look at this article, but also that I'm trying to start a business that will help us all realize that we don't have to be so dependent on our current healthcare and insurance industries to relieve some of our chronic conditions. I suppose that might be what the new administration is trying to say by dumping the Affordable Care Act, but alas, they are not talking about prevention to avoid high healthcare and insurance costs or programs which teach people how to avoid those costs to begin with.

This Washington Post article is such an eye opener about just how much we are spending in the industry on health conditions that CAN be preventable and in many cases managed through diet and exercise. The thing is that having someone else do the work for us (procedures, surgeries, pharmaceuticals, etc) is WAY easier than doing the hard work ourselves and if someone else is paying for it - all the better, right? But the thing is we're ALL paying for it, whether through government programs OR through our escalating coverage costs through private work plans. I remember when I was in my mid-twenties and some of my chronic conditions started rearing their ugly heads. I had really good insurance through my employer. I thought nothing of going to the doctor every couple of months (thinking that I really wasn't paying for it). Getting tested for this and tested for that. Getting this prescription and that prescription...fast forward twenty-something years and I'm self employed with terrible health insurance. I had to re-think my approach to dealing with all of my chronic conditions (which seemed to be multiplying with age). 

In walks functional medicine. Digging deep with a practitioner to figure out the core issues that might have been causing all my misery over the years was the easy part (and the most expensive but still far less than what I've spent over the last twenty years). Doing the work to naturally rid myself of these conditions was the hard part. But considering I came out the other side of the treatment and commitment almost 100% chronic pain and condition free has inspired me to re-think our healthcare industry. For sure there are treatments and meds that save lives and relieve pain - if I hadn't gotten an appendectomy several years ago, I would not be typing here today! But in reading the Washington Post article it's right there in black and white that we really CAN be controlling these out of control healthcare costs if we are actually willing to bite the bullet and do the hard work. To lose the weight, to become more fit and to alleviate some of those chronic conditions naturally and ultimately at a much lower cost AND to not be so dependent on treatments and prescriptions can save all of us literally TRILLIONS of dollars.

The Healing Farm and The Healing Farm | Retreats concept is all about prevention. I want to inspire other people struggling with one, two or multiple chronic conditions, auto-immune diseases, obesity and all that comes with it, to try the preventative route. Start with an elimination diet to reduce inflammation in your body. This may help with not just your physical chronic conditions, but also your emotional state as well. Two books that I used and will always recommend are: "The Paleo Cure" by Chris Kresser (what my Healing Farm Retreat's meal plan and concept is based on) and Dr. Kelly Brogan's book "A Mind of your Own". If you are still suffering after your elimination diet, then it might be time to see a functional medicine practitioner to get some blood work done. This is the expensive part and is probably not covered in your insurance plan (something that needs to change!), but if it reveals a host of underlying issues (in my case a parasite living in my system and deficiencies in some key vitamins) think of how much money in co-pays and prescription costs you may save in the long term by figuring it out in one fell swoop and then tackling the cures naturally!

As I said, we've gotten so used to depending on our healthcare and insurance system to cure our multiple ills - but it's at a huge cost for our country. Envision healing centers throughout the country that are affordable and all about preventative measures and natural healing. It could do us all a world of good both in our bodies and in our pocketbooks!

The Healing Farm - Cultivating Practical Health!

Women's Health Topics This M.D. is Not Shy to Talk About!

Dryness? Low libido? "Urgency"? And we thought hot flashes, weight gain and emotional ups and downs were difficult enough to encounter during peri menopause and menopause!

Since I am lucky enough to do marketing photography for Rancho La Puerta (the #1 destination spa in the world according to Travel and Leisure readers for four out of the past six years), I was at "The Ranch" (as it's lovingly called by its many repeat guests) last week. Given that I'm producing a women's health retreat in January, I was thrilled to learn that there was a gynecologist on site who was to be speaking about women's health issues that are not so easy to discuss. Even with your gynecologist! 

Dr. Lauren Streicher, M.D. practices in my original hometown of Chicago and was NOT shy about discussing "uncomfortable" women's health issues. In fact she was downright funny which is why she makes these topics so approachable. It's no wonder she's been a guest on Oprah!, Dr. Oz and Good Morning America (among others).

I'll be ordering her book and will have it on hand at The Healing Farm's Women's Hormone Balance and Detox Health Retreat January 13th - the 16th at Mayacamas Ranch (a few spots left!) since she does talk a bit about natural solutions for many issues. Among my favorites......

Why not combine a solution for the three issues I mention above? Vaginal dryness (about 50% of women experience during and post-menopause), Low Libido (can be partially due to discomfort due to the following AND preceding issues) and urinary incontinence (about 30-40% of women in middle age experience stress incontinence). 

Did you know that the more you have sex, the more maintained lubrication is? Did you know that strengthening the pelvic floor (yes, kegel exercises) will intensify your orgasms and also help with urinary urgency (the stress kind). Keeping up with maintenance "down there" is the number one way you can naturally keep these issues at bay during your middle years! 

Dr. Streicher speaks in WAY more detail about all of these issues both during her talks and presumably in her book, but my favorite (and based on the discussion at dinner that night and breakfast in the morning - everyone else's too) is a device called "intensity" created by a company called "Pour Moi". Apparently most women who try to do kegel exercises are not doing them correctly and not only that, don't keep up with them long enough to properly strengthen the pelvic floor in order to alleviate these chronic midlife health issues. 

Believe it or not, you can see a certified pelvic physical therapist who can properly help you strengthen your pelvic floor (and in some cases, Dr. Streicher does refer patients to them), but the original Pour Moi device that was created helps you strengthen your pelvic floor for a lot less money AND in the comfort of your own home. The device vibrates when you are doing your kegels properly and after 4-6 weeks (4-6 days a week for ten minutes a day) your pelvic floor will be sufficiently strengthened and in most cases, the stress urgency will be gone. PLUS, you should be experiencing more intense orgasms which presumably will make you want to have more sex, which then helps keep everything healthy and lubricated. Voila!

But wait - it wasn't the original Pour Moi device that had everyone talking. Ahhh. Then Dr. Streicher showed us a picture of the "intensity" version. The company got smart and realized they could help women get into more of a routine by making it more fun. Why not add some external stimulation and add an orgasm to the exercise plan? Ha! Brilliant. Not only would you remember to do (and look forward to doing) your exercises, but you can also have fun while doing them AND help keep it all lubed up down there. Now this made everyone giggle and then seriously discuss!

According to Dr. Streicher, in most cases, there's no reason for 50% or more women to experience these common symptoms of aging and there's REALLY no reason we should feel uncomfortable discussing these issues. ESPECIALLY with our gynecologist! This is one of the reasons I wanted to create a women's retreat. I want us to come together and discuss these issues that so many of us experience in a comfortable setting amongst other women so that we can bring that discussion openly out to other women. Let's not be shy about these things!

I hope you can join us in January to hear Dr. Amy Nett talk about an ancestral functional medicine approach to natural solutions for women's health issues during middle age.

The Healing Farm - Cultivating Practical Wellness!

"If" by Rudyard Kipling

"If" by Rudyard Kipling

I am far from a poetry buff and in fact I'm pretty intimidated by poetry. Most of the time I don't get it and feel guilty about that. It's probably because I'm somewhat A.D.D. and have never been able to concentrate long enough to really take a poem in. That's why it's a surprise for me to be writing about a poem. But this poem now has great meaning for me and it's just from one evening. Let me explain.

When we sat down for Thanksgiving dinner this year, our host (who is known for writing witty poems for everyone in his life and had just written one for my 50th birthday) announced that he was going to read a poem before we started dinner. He mentioned his love for poetry and his first grandson's new appreciation for poetry. His grandson is about 10 year's old (my guess) and you could tell Grandpa was proud and thrilled that his Grandson had a new appreciation for poetry. Our host is also politically active and opinionated and had strong opinions about our recent presidential election as does a great deal of this country (including myself). These are some times of great change in this country, this world and on this great earth and I think this Grandfather recognized that the future may be challenging for his grandson and he wanted to express how he felt to his grandson through this poem that has obviously inspired himself throughout his life. So he read Rudyard Kipling's poem "If". Being a witness to this interchange was truly an honor.

BUT, the A.D.D. intimidated by poetry person in me came out and I could hardly understand the poem as it was being read because I was so distracted by wanting so badly to listen and understand. Ah the dilemma of the constantly distracted! Therefore when our host finished reading the poem I almost dropped my jaw when my quiet and somewhat anti-social husband had something to say. He actually recited a line from the poem and mentioned that he set a Dennis Hopper reading of the poem to music several years ago and this version was living on his Soundcloud page. You could not have surprised me more that my husband knew this poem. I know from being married to him that he thinks WAY more deeply than most people including myself and that one would never know it unless they truly got to know him one on one, but this was something that completely bowled me over and impressed me.

When we got home, I asked him to play this edited version of Dennis Hopper's reading of "IF" and then asked him to repeat it four times. It's gorgeous and it hit me like a ton of bricks why this Grandfather wanted to read this poem to his Grandson on the heels of this election and on Thanksgiving. Everyone should understand this poem and the humility in living a life that it expresses - especially our president elect.

So here is a real treat. Brennan's remix of Dennis Hopper's reading of "If" by Rudyard Kipling:

https://soundcloud.com/brensbeats/if-dennis-hopper-tribute

Tremendous. I'm so thankful that my husband is such a deep and thoughtful thinker. Most people wouldn't know it but he's a pretty special human being and I would say lives a lot by the poem "If".

Gratitude Reduces Inflammation!???

We all have probably read something like this by now, but do we truly practice it? I read this yesterday in the New York Post:

"Emmons also has compiled a list of health data points from his and others’ studies on gratitude that show there are many emotional and physical health benefits of being consciously thankful. For example, practicing gratitude is related to 23 percent lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol and led to a 7 percent reduction in biomarkers of inflammation in patients with congestive heart failure. There are studies that suggest gratitude led to reductions in depression and blood pressure and improvement in sleep quality among those with chronic pain and insomnia. In one study, 88 percent of suicidal patients reported feeling less hopeless after writing a letter of gratitude." 

This is research done by Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis and Michael McCullough of the University of Miami.

Practicing gratitude is scientifically proven to reduce inflammation and it feels so good so why don't we practice it regularly? I have actually naturally built a gratitude practice into my daily routine pretty easily and have been doing so for about a year. It started last fall when I was truly going through a hard time. When everything seemed to be falling apart and I was having trouble getting myself out of bed in the morning, I would look out the window behind my head and stare a little bit into the camellia tree that's right outside and first I would say thanks for the trees, then it moved into nature in general, then my family and friends and then the life that I've been given. Just this simple act would make me feel good enough that I would get myself out of bed and start my morning routine. Compared to millions of people on this earth, I've been given one of the best lives I could have been given and believe me, compared to some of the people I know I struggle with a lot of things despite this blessed life I've been given!

Although I still look out this same window almost daily and give thanks before I start the day, I've since also started building a gratitude practice into my meditation routine. I really only meditate ten minutes a day, but once I'm done with that ten minutes I continue with a breathing meditation that I read about in Kelly Brogan's book: "A Mind of your Own". First I do alternate nostril breath and then I switch to in and out breaths in my left nostril (which is supposed to create a sense of calm and peace) and on the in and out breaths I go through the very basics of what I'm grateful for in my life:

• The life I've been given, this earth I live on and the gorgeous mysterious universe
• My husband
• My parents
• My family
• My friends
• My talents and creativity

If you had told me a few years ago that I would have a regular practice of nostril breathing I would have looked at you like you had two heads, but a few years ago I wasn't taking the risks I'm taking now in my life to move forward with what I hope will be a more productive and meaningful path in my life. Its important to me to give this career change and The Healing Farm my best shot and I need all the help I can get to take the kinds of risks I'm taking and to put myself out there despite my fear and doubt. Practicing gratitude every day has been a great way to recognize what I already have in my life and all that I've achieved thus far (strong relationships with friends and family is more than I could have hoped for in my life and that's already achieved) and if practicing gratitude can also help reduce inflammation in my body? Well, then that's just the icing on the GF cake!

So THANK YOU to all of those who may be reading this and especially to all of my past retreat clients and upcoming retreat clients for helping me make my dream come true! If anyone has taken the time to read this, feel free to announce what you are grateful for in the comments section!

"Not too Hippie Dippy" but Offering Meditation and Yoga at the THF Retreats? Disconnect or Smart?

When I first started dreaming of The Healing Farm retreat property and wellness ranch concept I always said that I wanted to offer "tasteful and affordable" retreats. Not too high-end where they become unaffordable to most people, but I also wanted to build a property that is lovely and austere offering programs that aren't too "hippie dippy" and intimidating. I've been told that using the term "hippie dippy" might insult some people. It's kind of like referring to myself as being "efficient" because of the German in me. I can say it because I'm German! And I feel like I can poke fun of the hippie dippy culture because - well - I'm a little hippie dippy myself!

I've not been to Spirit Rock Meditation Center mostly because I've not had a meditation practice in the past (pretty good reason), but even as I've started dipping my toe into meditation, I figured I would be intimidated and not feel like I belong because I don't have a long history of meditation in my life or even at this point a deep and regular practice. But as I've moved in the past couple of years into starting this new business called The Healing Farm and The Healing Farm | Retreats, I've also been introduced to the challenges of midlife and peri-menopause. As I mentioned in my post about turing 50, this is not an easy time to be making big changes!

As I was approaching my last multi-day retreat; planning/facilitating, putting myself out there and doing something I've never done before, I was met with some great challenges. Two things happened during this time:

1) I had a photo assignment at Rancho La Puerta (I photograph there once a year or so for their marketing materials) and brought my cousin Annie as my guest. Annie has a regular meditation practice and while we were there I decided I should check out RLP's introduction to meditation. One of my fave instructors (JayDee!) was teaching that day and he taught me some very important lessons about meditation:

• That there will ALWAYS be thoughts moving in and out of your brain. It's constant, but what we're trying to do with meditation is learn to look at those thoughts in a detached way without judgement, without letting our emotions get in the way and simply observing them and then letting them go. This made me feel like I wasn't failing every time I've tried meditating in the past. It's normal to continue to have thoughts pass through your mind when you're meditating and that simply learning to let them go by returning to your breath (or chant or prayer or whatever you decide to use) is the key to living more in the present and not allowing your thoughts to consume you.
• He admitted straight away that he's a type A personality (and if you've ever met JayDee you could figure that out in an instant) and that if he can teach himself to meditate and to have a regular practice, just about anyone can! Although I'm not a type A personality (far from it) this also made me feel a bit less intimidated about the fact that I felt like I couldn't control the constant flow of thoughts in my head.
• He taught us tricks to bring your mind back into the present and to the breath. One of the practices that I still use regularly is counting to ten (repeating the number with both your in breath and your out breath). This practice helps me so much as my mind drifts to realize that maybe I'm at 11 and oh! that means my mind has drifted and I need to come back to my breath and my one through ten numbers).

2) At the end of our week together at Rancho La Puerta, Annie and I went to the "Oak Tree" space and meditated together for twenty minutes. It was such a lovely experience and such a nice way to end our week together. Annie then sent me a book that I have found incredibly helpful in teaching myself meditation: Thich Nhat Hanh's "The Miracle of Mindfulness" (an introduction to the practice of meditation). This book was key in starting my practice. Another book that has helped me get a little further into my practice is Pema Chodron's "When Things Fall Apart".

I still consider myself a "beginner" in my practice since I really only meditate 10 minutes a day (15 if I add in my deep breathing practice) and usually only about four days a week. This is fine for me right now and even with that tiny bit of practice, very early on I realized that when I woke up during the night in a panic (this was a combination of peri-menopause and planning that first big retreat) I could calm myself down and soothe myself back into sleep by practicing my one to ten counting meditation. It was amazing to me how quickly this worked for me and I still do it every time I wake up in the night. Panic is not part of my nights anymore because I now know how to tame my thoughts, put them aside and not let them consume me.

So to celebrate the end of my wedding photography season, also a private (me only!) celebration of turing 50 AND as a start to visiting retreat centers as I dive into learning more about existing retreat centers and various programs out there, I decided to be brave and signed up for a one day women's retreat at Spirit Rock. It was called "Women, Wisdom and Meditation" and our leader was Grace Fisher. One of the first things Grace said to us was that she was attending a retreat at Spirit Rock last year and she felt a sense of not "belonging". She then told us that this was despite the fact that she has been teaching at Spirit Rock for 17 years! For someone who was at her first retreat at Spirit Rock and who was feeling like a little bit of a "meditation impostor" this shocked me but as I continued to listen to her talk, I realized that many women feel this sense of not belonging and thus we started our retreat day understanding that we all belong. As human beings living on this earth and in this universe we are ALL connected and we should ALL feel like we belong. 

I've recognized that meditation and prayer have been practiced for more than a couple of millennia for good reason. It calms us. It reminds us that there is something greater than all the thousands of thoughts that go through our heads constantly and that we really ARE all connected on this earth and in this universe. Meditation isn't just for the hippie dippie and prayer isn't just for the practicing religious. They both can be a great source of calm and comfort in lives that aren't perfect, that include lots of stress, emotion and difficult times. Therefore, I decided in planning this upcoming multi-day retreat that including meditation, both guided and long "sits" would be an important addition to the program. In navigating this midlife transition not only do we need to learn how to manage our physical self but we also need to learn how to manage our emotional self too.

In my next post, I'll be introducing the yoga instructor (Amanda Crutcher!) who will be joining us for the upcoming Women's Health Retreat which will feature lectures by Dr. Amy Nett, M.D. (one of Chris Kresser's first clinicians). Dr. Nett will teach us natural and functional medicine practices for navigating mid-life and menopause. We will also be hearing from Coach Emily Boorstein on navigating the emotional side (I just bought Emily's mother's book at Spirit Rock: "It's Easier Than You Think" by Sylvia Boorstein) and I will talk a little bit more in the next post about how we will build meditation into this retreat. I hope you will join us in January!

On Turning the Big 50!

My mother always said she wished I had been born on "All Saint's Day" (I grew up Catholic). She said she even tried to get the hospital staff to induce labor. But, much to her regret, I was born on "All Soul's Day" or "Dias De Los Muertas" (The Day of the Dead) in Mexican culture. I was always secretly thrilled I was born on The Day of the Dead. I think I probably didn't relate as much to the saints even though I would like to think I'm saintly. 

I had always planned to spend my 50th birthday canoeing with the locals to the island of Janitzio in Mexico.  Every year there are elaborate alters set up on the island's cemetery to honor the dead and the locals spend the night on the island. Apparently the highlight is when the fishermen light candles on their canoes and row out. A little macabre? I know, but I guess it's my connection with being born on a day to celebrate the dead.

But, here I am! 50th birthday next Wednesday and I'm in California! One of the reasons I'm hosting a women's health retreat focussing on mid-life changes is because I'm going through them myself and I want to reach out to other women my age and even much younger to say, HEY! We are going through a LOT here. Not only are our bodies changing (if you're younger, it's never too early to prepare yourself emotionally and physically for this), but we're also going through many life changes too. Many women at mid-life are rethinking their careers wondering if what we're doing now will satisfy us for the next twenty or so years of work. Many of those who have kids are sending them off to college and becoming empty nesters. Many women at 50 these days may even still have young ones at home and are struggling to keep up while their bodies are tired and their emotions are like a roller coaster. And overall, we're also starting to understand what it's like to watch our own parents age and dealing with inevitable loss. Some of us are on the verge of menopause (or already in peri-menopause) and realizing the window to having a child is closing - or really has all but closed. 

Turning 50 is a big deal.

So here I am in California because at 50 I AM changing careers and in doing so am currently running two business. I'm stretched thin and finances are as well. I thought about that dream trip to Mexico. I also thought of using miles to go on a soul-searching trip to an ashram in India. I had all sorts of ideas. But, now that I'm planning a new retreat (the women's health retreat) and have learned to think things through and plan accordingly, I decided what I really wanted to do was celebrate where I live and the beauty that surrounds me. I also want to celebrate surrounded by family and friends and mostly - on my actual birthday - I want to be alone with my husband celebrating that as much as my life is in flux right now, the one thing that's certain is my love for him.

So my birthday party will ironically have about 50 attendees and I chose an environmental center called Slide Ranch on a gorgeous stretch of land along the coast in West Marin County where we will do yoga in the yurt, decorate sugar skulls (to honor the day of the dead), roam the gorgeous ranch looking at the animals, tide pools and views and have a big old chili eat-fest. Then a dance party in the yurt. A lot of work to prep, but it will be a lot of fun too!

Then off to Mercey Hot Springs where there is no internet and no phone service. Just me, my hubby, our Springbar tent and the healing waters of Mercey Hot Springs. If Harbin Hot Springs hadn't burned to the ground we would have been in "our" much loved dome tent five, but alas, we'll have to wait until they rebuild to again experience one of The Healing Farm's influencers.

Much to celebrate turning 50. I've had such a blessed life. A great and strong family. Deep, deep friendships, a fine career and talent and a deeply loyal husband whom I adore (and the feeling is mutual). As much as I struggle with all of my mid-life changes, I am so very grateful for my first 50 years.

I will make it part of my 50th year journey to celebrate the first fifty years writing about the many incredible experiences I've had in my life. I can't wait to share!

PS - Yes, that yurt in the above pics is the exact spot where I'll be doing yoga for my 50th with a picnic area right beside it!

Washington Post Features Rancho La Puerta in the Sunday Travel Section - Two of my Photos Used!

A Thrill that two of my photos were used to illustrate a travel story in the Washington Post about Rancho La Puerta - a little bummed to not get a photo credit, but hey, visits to RLP are enough!!!

I always call it my "favorite place in the world" and I think Dina Mishev writing for the Washington Post hits the nail right on the head when she describes what's so special about Rancho La Puerta. It's precisely ALL of what she writes about that has inspired me to want to found The Healing Farm: Rancho La Puetra-esque with more of an affordable cost structure, a focus on functional healing.... and meat!

Funny. The first time I went to Rancho La Puerta was probably almost the same week and year as Dina! I was lucky enough to be called on to help them re-build their photo library for their marketing materials. I'm now proud to say many of my photos have become some of the iconic shots in the RLP marketing materials including a lovely photo of my friend Patti enjoying the view under Alex's oak, my friend Lyn on the cover of the spa brochure, a photo of a visiting yoga instructor doing dancer's pose and of course that outdoor shot at the lounge building with the wisteria which has ben one of the post cards you receive in your room every time you visit. See my photography site for more samples of my photos from RLP.

Whether I build The Healing Farm or not, RLP will always be one of my favorite places to go in the world and I'll always be honored to tell the newbies on the bus that this is my _________ time (currently eight) that I've been to "The Ranch" and that I have the honor of getting to know the guests so well having fun with them while photographing. They all are more than happy to sign model releases because everyone is on board with promoting our "favorite place in the world"!

The second of my photos used to illustrate the Washington Post's article on Rancho La Puerta.

Mayacamas Paleo Reset - I couldn't have asked for a better group and outcome!

There is so much I want to say about this retreat, the team and the guests. There's not enough time in the day for me to express my gratefulness, my joy, my feelings and my gratitude. Brennan and I are taking off tomorrow for Mercy Hot Springs for the retreat after the retreat so I'm feeling a bit rushed in posting this so I think I'll just suffice it to say for now that I've come out of the retreat feeling like a new person on so many levels. It's thanks mostly to my guests who shared so much with me last week. Not only about the reasons why they were there, but also the physical and emotional breakthroughs they experienced throughout the week. I wish we did the group shot earlier in the week when we were at a full 30+ people. We're missing so many in this shot, but  a HUGE thank you to my guests. It would not have been the retreat it was without your warmth and enthusiasm!

A career change and starting a new business mid-life is not easy and I've had lots of challenges, heartache, joys and breakthroughs along the path of producing this first multi-night retreat. I started a blog last year called "Birthing a Business" which I haven't kept up with much because I was afraid to post about all the truly difficult times, but I feel like last week I really did birth a business. I don't think I'll be afraid to post the challenges and heartache and panic along with all of the achievements because now I truly understand the rewards that come from really putting yourself out there and taking a chance and going outside your comfort zone. I would imagine it's like when people decide to have a baby. You are going into the unknown and you know it's not going to be an easy road, but the growth and rewards that come out of it far outweigh the challenges.

The team that supported me all week was not just professional and incredibly knowledgable, but as I got my two hour delicious massage from Diane Gibbs yesterday, I also realized that every single person on the team: the educators, the practitioners and the Mayacamas staff cared so much for our participants (and me). I really don't think I could have put together a more caring team and it made all the difference in the world. Thank you to:

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Chris Kresser

Chris Kresser for such an inspiring and informative keynote lecture. Most people were there for you and you delivered a million times over. I can't thank you enough for putting your trust and faith in me with your patients and fans. We all want more!!!!

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Kelsey Marksteiner of Healthy Gut, Healthy Life

Kelsey Marksteiner of Healthy Gut, Healthy Life. I knew that anyone who works for and with Chris Kresser would be incredibly knowledgable but how could I have known just how brilliant, informed and passionate you really would be. Everyone loved your lectures and for those who had a private consultation, I heard nothing but rave reviews and how much they got out of their sessions.

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Diane Sanfilippo of Balanced Bites

Diane Sanfilippo of Balanced Bites - What a thrill it was for us all to watch you in action and in person! Also so knowledgable about the paleo diet and cooking and the two dishes you made were so outstanding and soooo doable at home. I couldn't believe a zucchini, tomato salad would be something I would consider bringing to a party - any party, not just for the paleo crowd. Delicious!

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Yoga with Erin Cookston

A huge thank you to Erin Cookston for planning two yoga classes a day and for your constant smile and enthusiasm! Everyone loved you and your classes and you were one with the program, people and team. Your spirit and talent were felt by all! And Oh my. I just realized I never photographed one of your classes! Ugh!

Coach Emily Boorstein - Inner Fitness

Coach Emily Boorstein - A last minute addition, but I wasn't surprised to see her lectures packed every time. Adding personal/inside growth I realized as the week went on was just as important as feeding our bodies with healing and nutritional foods. Everyone agreed it was a valuable addition to the experience.

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Massage Therapist Diane Gibbs

Diane Gibbs - I swear I would know who just walked out of a massage session with you based on the dreamy look they had on their face. Your caring, healing hands were also a much-needed addition to the retreat and the Feldenkrais classes you taught I think produced a LOT of Felednkrais converts!

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Chris Randle of Oakland Community Acupunture

Chris Randle of Oakland Community Acupuncture - I can't tell you how many people told me they went from a treatment with you right to sleep. Your treatments were all the rage and your QiGong series was a great addition of movement meditation. A lot of people agreed that more meditation type activities would be a terrific addition to the "inner fitness" (to use coach Emily's term) portion of the retreat.

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Mayacamas Ranch Team

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The Mayacamas Ranch team and especially our chef Miguel. For a first stab at a paleo retreat - especially one as extreme as a reset - you guys nailed it. A+ all around. I was especially touched on the last day when Miguel told the remaining guests how inspired he was cooking the paleo diet and that he was so inspired he actually ate our meal plan all week and had some of his own physical breakthroughs! I could not have gotten a better compliment and hope to see the whole Mayacamas team again at the NEXT paleo reset retreat!

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My Husband Brennan

For his unwavering support and patience.

A Million Thanks to everyone. I'm inspired to move forward with The Healing Farm and The Healing Farm | Retreats because of all of you and if I ever build The Healing Farm property I will create a "Founders" week and invite my first retreat group as an annual reunion!

Much Love - Julie

Favorite Place in the World!

Rancho La Puerta

The wisteria was in bloom, the hills were green, the organic garden was brimming with asparagus, lettuce and all sorts of other goodness that we ate in our meals and the guests were, as always such fun to meet and all so interesting! I've posted a few of my personal photos here, but you'll have to go to Rancho La Puerta's site to see the pro pics!

I am truly blessed to go to Rancho La Puerta to do photography for their marketing materials. It's been an inspiration to me since the first time I went and will always be my favorite place in the world, unless I successfully build The Healing Farm property! 

I learned so much this time about the history of the ranch, attending a lecture series by Ludwig Max Fischer PHD and watching a new documentary about the life of Rancho La Puerta founder Edmond Szekely and the origins of this first wellness spa in the world (established in the forties!). Edmond Szekely was so ahead of his time studying other cultures as well as ancient cultures to uncover various natural healing, spiritual  and meditation practices. Founding the ranch in the forties with his wife Deborah the now hugely successful wellness spa started as a tiny camp in Tecate Mexico. Deborah often comes to the ranch to speak to the guests and I was fortunate that Max's appearance and lectures last week also coincided with a visit by Deborah who is still active in health and wellness advocacy. Deborah's "people's lobby" called Wellness Warrior should be an inspiration to all who yearn to get back to whole foods and simple, organic and local agriculture practices and want to lobby congress about big ag!

I would highly recommend watching "Tree of Life, The Living Legacy of Edmond Szekely" here if you want to be inspired by a true forward thinker about our health and longevity and natural healing processes:

Viva Rancho La Puerta! - until the next time.....