Meet Julie Turner | Mother of One

This Mama's story...

Hi, my name is Julie Turner and I have a 6-year-old boy named Luke. He is a very happy and loving kid. Being a single parent and not having someone to help with the day-to-day of things can be difficult. Luke is currently struggling with baseball and it would be nice to have a father that could help him with something like that - teach him some of the skills that I am not able to. Time management is a big issue for me as a single mom. 

Advice I would give to other moms is to take care of yourself emotionally, mentally, and physically. Make sure to eat well, sleep enough and fit in time to exercise. Schedule family time in the same way you would schedule a business meeting, otherwise things get too blurry. Although at times it is extremely difficult, being a single mom is also very rewarding. Luke has played a huge role in me starting my own business and he inspires me every day, in everything I do.

I originally started my business in 2012 but moved to LA in 2015. I help people heal by uncovering their Reiki. People come to me with ailments like physical lower-back pain and emotional blockage. I have space in my home for clients to come to and I also travel to clients that are not able to come to me - Skype sessions are available for my remote clients. Also, I am currently working on developing an online program for patients with lower-back pain (i.e. informational videos). To add to this, I offer workshops at middle schools in the area and go to Pilates and yoga studios to conduct classes.

I go to Luke’s classroom every Friday and hold a Mindful Movement class (exercises to teach them how to focus). One day, my son was in the middle of a meltdown and I had to teach him how to calm down and express his feelings in words. I asked him "What are you feeling right now?” He opened up and said that he was afraid of the pitching machine and that is why he was having meltdowns at batting practice. I did exercises with him to help him get over his fear of the machine and then just like that, no more meltdowns. 

I got into this field because I wanted to help people. A traumatic experience in my life forced me to find a way to cope and recover. Dance and movement are what saved me and allowed me to heal and move forward with my life. As a former dancer, I would teach dance classes and during partner dance classes, I would tell my students how to position themselves and allow themselves to trust one another. During these sessions, people would often say that I should be a marriage counselor because I was teaching them to learn how to communicate. This motivated me to continue helping people through my work.

Besides running my own business and raising Luke, I am currently working on a book (title still unknown). It is about how our emotional histories live in our physical bodies and how breathing properly can help. It focuses on which muscles carry our fear and anxiety and what workouts will help you get past them. I am very excited about the work I do and how creative my ‘job’ lets me be. I am constantly thinking of other books, programs and workshops I can create.