Are You...
a highly ambitious woman who has built an impressive career and life on paper,
and you can't shake the feeling that there's something more for you now?
If your heart is saying YES, then you're in the right place
I see you, Friend
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You've built the career. You've done the work.
You take care of yourself and show up for everyone who needs you.
​But now, there's a tug in your heart, pulling you a different direction ...​
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​​You're considering leaving your clinical job — and opening your own practice, starting a side hustle, or finding non-clinical role
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You're pivoting the next phase of your business — scaling up or down, adding a new service, hiring or firing, or closing the thing you built from scratch
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You're moving out of clinical work entirely — into coaching, consulting, telehealth, tech, nonprofits, speaking, sales, or something you're not clear on
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You're stepping back into work — or out of it — after or in service to pouring yourself into family, caregiving, or your own health.
No matter where you are, what you've built doesn't fit anymore.
You've always known exactly where you're going next. Until now.
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Which can feel disorienting, confusing, or downright frustrating.
This is why you need a map and a guide toward what's next.
In a nutshell...
Hi! I'm Julie.
I’m here to help ambitious women uncover the brazen confidence to create lives + careers that feel as good on the inside as they look on paper.
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I started Illuminate Freedom (and my podcast — the Sink and Swim Podcast) because I believe that you deserve to live and work in a way your soul actually designed for you.​
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I also know that you're an evolving being. What you set out to do at 22 or even last year might not be the thing that you want to do anymore.
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I know that historically you've known what you want and you went after it. Probably excelled at it. ​​
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And I also know if you're here reading this, you've reached a point where your "next step" doesn't feel as clear as it once did.
Or now, for some reason, the stakes feel higher to pivot into what's next.
I've been there too, screaming "WTF am I doing with my life?" into the void. It can feel heavy.
And I'm here to help lighten that lift for you while helping you move forward.
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I have guided thousands of women like you to map their way:
From
Being with a client — present, skilled, deeply good at this. And then you glance at the clock. Guilt floods in fast, because they love you, yet you're already counting down the minutes until the session ends and you can just have some freedom.
Your partner asks how your day was on the evening walk. You want to tell him. But he'll try to fix it, and that's not what you need. So you smile and say "it was great!" — voice up an octave, gritted teeth behind a forced smile. Again.
Every coffee meet-up with your friends somehow becomes a credential exchange. Someone just got certified. Someone just landed a big speaking gig. Someone just hired their third employee. You always feel behind.
You take dreamy vacations, but somewhere around day two you're snapping photos for your IG stories and fielding "omg so jelly" DMs from your friends — and you can't help feeling like you're not having as much fun as your photos make it out to be.
You're constantly mentally rehearsing your answer to "so, how's work?" With some people you give the real version. With most you're silently praying nobody brings it up at all — and when they do, you smile and say "it's great!" and immediately turn it back to them.
You wake up with a tightness in your stomach that no breathwork, journaling, cortisol balancing, therapy, or affirmations have been able to settle. You have a mile-long list of ways to regulate the restlessness. Your HRV stays low anyway.
To
You're in a session and you lose track of time completely — laughing, maybe crying, so in it with them you forget to check anything. You close your laptop afterward with a goofy grin on your face, and your client texts you later saying "You're truly changing my life."
You say the actual thing out loud to your partner. Your voice shakes a little. He doesn't try to fix it. He tells you "Wow, that sounds really hard" and instantly offers to plan and cook dinner. You feel 30 pounds lighter.
You drive home from book club thinking: I didn't know friendship could feel like this. Nobody mentioned their work once. You felt seen for YOU, not for your job title, resume, or how many clients are on your schedule.
You forget to check social media your entire trip. Not because you made yourself, but because you get lost in alleyways, stare at a mountain shaped like a sleeping woman, or feel your heart rate drop as you sink your feet into the warm sand.
You mention what you're doing now — no big announcement, just casually — and people lean in, saying "Tell me more. That sounds so you. I'm so proud of you!" You're not surprised, exactly. But you had forgotten what it felt like to just tell the truth and have it land that way.
Every night you're getting deeper sleep than you have in months. Your HRV is climbing. And oddly enough, you've cut down on the supplements, you're doing less internal work than ever — and if you're honest, life feels kind of boring. In the best way.
Which one are you?
After twenty years of mentoring and guiding women, ​I've learned that the particular tug and curiosity you're feeling tends to show up in one to three ways.
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This is the starting point on your map.
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And when you don't know your starting point, it's really difficult to get clear about where you're going.
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See if you can recognize yourself in one or more of these categories:
Scouting
You've built something real in your work and life — and you're not sure what's next. You just know it's "not this" anymore.
You have a career, a reputation, a life that took blood, sweat, tears, and so many dollars to build.
And somewhere along the way it slowly stopped feeling like it fit.
So you started scouting out possibilities - adding a new service, a rebrand, hiring the business coach, a new certification, Substack or IG, all while regulating your nervous system, taking on a new hobby, and prioritizing yourself.
You know your Enneagram, Human Design, and astrology. You've dreamt up endless ideas at 11 PM with ChatGPT instead of sleeping.
So many possibilities, but you still don't feel clear on what's next.
Seeking
You're pretty sure you know what's next. But you haven't taken the leap yet.
The future version of your life and work keeps tugging at you no matter how many times you talk yourself out of it to focus on being "practical" or "realistic."
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You might not have shared this vision with anyone else yet.
Because saying it makes it real — and making it real means bridges might burn and the version of you everyone has counted on might have to change or let them down.
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You've done therapy, coaching, and retreats to gain confidence.
You have so many journals and vision boards.
And you sense you need a space to say the thing — to someone who has been there and already gets it before you've even gotten the words out of your mouth.
Emerging
You're straddling two worlds. You're already doing your next thing but not fully there — you squeeze it in on the weekends or before everyone wakes up.
It may not be your main thing yet, but it's lighting you up in a way you haven't felt in years.
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And still. You haven't been able to fully step into it. You tell yourself it's not financially viable yet, that your life needs to stabilize first, that you just need to get through this next season first.
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If you're honest — you're not sure who you are without the title, the reputation, the identity you've spent years building.
But you feel a growing frustration and just want to fully move forward already.
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And yet, you're not quite sure when to finally press "go" and make it happen for realskies.
Does any of that sound like you?
If so, I totally get it.
Here's what I want you to know
Whether you saw yourself as Scouting, Seeking, or Emerging, you are exactly where you need to be - the jumping off point to Shine in your next chapter.
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And what I really want you to know is - the tug you feel toward something more, wild, truer, and more "you" is real and important.
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You're evolving from within. There's something in there that lights you up. Of course your work and life would evolve as you move towards it.
​It's not just perimenopause or postpartum hormones gone rogue. It's not just burnout or a bad season.
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Maybe something has cracked you open — a health scare, a diagnosis, a loss, a birthday that hit differently, a friendship that quietly ended, a kid leaving for college.​
None of these things are random. They are invitations. Something tells me you probably sense that.
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And here's my invitation – you don't have to have it all figured out before you show up.
I already know you're deep, nuanced, and complex. I love this about you. I can hang with it all.
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No matter where you are on the journey, you belong here.
And inside, we draw your map forward together.
You've tried everything
And I really mean everything
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Therapy to work your inner critic, anxiety, and trauma
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Retreats to feel invigorated
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Spirituality, Human Design, Astrology
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Hormone panels, functional med, & supplements (oh my!)
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Business masterminds for focus & accountability
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Another certification or CEU to bring inspiration
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A new morning routine that held for eleven days
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All of it has been worth something. None of it has moved the needle so you can Shine in what's actually next.
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And here's the part nobody tells you amidst your endless self improvement checklists and "shoulds" -
Your ambition, discipline, and good-girl conditioning got you here and work for some time.
But now they have actually worked against you.
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Because what you've been handed are other people's maps — drawn for someone else's terrain, wiring, story, and design.
These stories dictate that your body's restlessness is a problem to fix or optimize, rather than guidance pointing you toward what's next.
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And in seeking the right expert, protocol, and answer — you've lost trust in the one voice that has been right about you all along. Your own.
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What you need is your map drawn from the inside out, in your handwriting, in the language of your own body and soul, aka your Soul's Story.
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The problem isn't that you haven't tried hard enough or done enough.
The problem is that you've been squeezing yourself into a story that was never designed to contain who you're becoming, a rigid box that dims your light and keeps you from shining.
Around here, we call that the Conformity Corset — and it's time to loosen the laces so you can go from Scouting, Seeking, or Emerging to Shining.
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Services to help you Shine
Two ways to work with me. One clear path foward.
Step 1: Uncover Your Map
Soul Story Mapping Session
This is where we begin, every time.
Whether you're new to me or circling back after working with me before.
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You show up and lay it all out — the work stuff, the relationship stuff, the body stuff, the tug you've been trying to name for two years.
I hold it, track it, mirror it back.
And together we draw your Soul Story Map: the themes, desires, and direction of your next chapter, in your language, on your own terms.
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You leave with a map you can actually hold in your hands and feel in your body and follow up check-ins with me after your session as you digest and integrate it all.
There's no requirement to move to Step 2 right away or ever. Though many people often do.
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This is designed as a standalone, put-it-all-out-on-the-table-and-hash-it-out container and is, quite chalantly, one of the best things my clients say they've ever done for themselves.
Step 2: Move Forward
Soul Story Alchemy Coaching
This is for the woman who has done a Mapping Session and is ready to bravely move forward along the path with a partner in crime.
I walk alongside you every step of the way.
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We will take what arose in your Mapping session and roll it out at a pace that feels approachable and digestible to your body, career, relationships, and life.
​Rushing through pivots and shifts or biting off more than you can chew is not a recipe for sustainable movement.
We'll tap into your intuition and confidence via somatic parts work, IFS-informed coaching, narrative and story work, mindset work, and whatever creative or spiritual tools fit you.
These containers are highly attuned and personalized, ranging from 8 to 14 months.
I take only 8 clients per year into this coaching work so you get maximal support.
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If you know you don't like to adventure and travel alone, tap below to inquire more.​
"When Julie asked me what brings me the most joy in my life I couldn't answer. It was real awkward and there was a long silence. I had lost myself in my career. Flash forward through a lot of tears and triumphs—and working with Julie was seriously life changing. I wake up excited and energized by the work I do rather than dreading it."
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— Kayla, Sports Physio and Dog Mom
"Before working with Julie, I was working 60-hour weeks just to make my boss happy. I lost my sh*t on my son over a spilled cocktail. Now, for the first time in my life, I have chosen me. Doors are opening. This was by far more valuable than any certification I've ever taken—it's a life changer."
— Dawn, Nurse Practitioner and Boy Mom
About Me
Pleased to meet you. I'm Julie. And I'm so glad you're here.
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For over 20 years I've worked alongside women in healthcare and other service-oriented professions who are exceptional at guiding everyone else through transformation while quietly questioning their own.
I understand this particular kind of feeling stuck and disoriented on the inside. Not from a course or certification (though I've taken a whole slew of those) , but from personal experience.​​​​​​
I'm a dog mom, highly sensitive and intuitive woman, Swiftie, and lover of bold colors, travel, game nights, and books organized by color. You can find me anywhere from muddy on my mountain bike to strutting in purple sparkly Valentinos.
I transitioned fully into the coaching world after 10 years as a Doctor of Physical Therapy.
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Lemme tell ya, that was a doozie of an identity shift and still is some days.
I'm also a former Division 1 swimmer, cancer survivor, and a perimenopausal woman who spent years paddling furiously inside her own "good girl" conditioning, which I call the Conformity Corset.
I used all of that conditioning to build a highly reputable clinical, teaching, and speaking career, then i pivoted into a million-dollar coaching business, all while pledging allegiance to optimizing everything in my body, mind, and spirit.
It all looked so good on paper.
But plot twist, I still found myself wondering: is this it? Something doesn't feel right.​
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So no matter where you are and what brought you here, I want you to know that I get it.
And even though you may feel restless, curious, or some semblance of utterly lost, I want you to know this is normal and you're not doing anything wrong.
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And even though it may not feel clear to you right now, I want you to know there is a way forward.
"I respect Julie's work immensely; and refer clients, friends, and colleagues to her often because she's a rare combination of highly skilled and deeply compassionate. She has the magic touch in her ability to relate with empathy, not condescension, with her clients. She inspires clients to live fully and autonomously in a way that's meaningful to them. "
—Jessica, founder of the Integrative Women's Health Institute & Mom of 2
"The coaching and mentorship I've received from Julie has helped me tremendously to be able to serve my clients holistically, but more importantly, it has allowed me to do so without ignoring the demands going on in my everyday life, like staying healthy, being a great mom to two little girls, and staying connected with friends and family."
—Kari, Sports & Pelvic Physical Therapist & Mom of 2
Let's stay connected
Listen
The podcast
This is where I share stories of women who have stepped outside of the box and bravely charted their own paths.
This is where my guests and I say out loud the things you're afraid to admit you've been thinking, the messy middle stuff, the identity crisis stuff, the Am I the only one who feels this way stuff.
Spoiler: you're not.
And you just might involuntarily exhale while listening.
Read
The email club
Yes, that's really what it's called.
This is my weekly-ish dispatch — honest, unfiltered, no hustle-culture bullshit, zero pressure to be anything other than yourself.
Just real thoughts from real walks through the messy, sometimes stinky and farty parts of life.
If you want a voice in your inbox that actually sounds like a human and not a sales person, this is it.
Gather
The free women's circle
Each month I host a free virtual gathering for women creating lives and careers that make them feel alive.
This isn't a workshop or networking event (no small talk!) and you don't even have to wear pants.
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It's just humans gathering with a whole lot of oxytocin flowing. A place to be held while you're so busy holding everyone else.
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You don't have to prepare. You just have to show up.
Before you go...
Before you go...
You made it all the way down here. That means something.
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Whatever brought you to this page — a Sunday Scaries spiral, a conversation or doom scroll that cracked something open, or just a tug you've been carrying for longer than you'd like to admit — you're in the right place.
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There's no wrong next step from here.
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If you're ready to draw the map and move toward what's next, I'd be honored to be your guide in a Soul Story Mapping Session.
If you're not there yet, come hang with me on the Sink and Swim Podcast, at a free monthly Just Be with Julie virtual circle, or be a part of the Notes from a Fart Walk Email Community.
Stay, linger, and even lurk as long as you need.
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And if you have questions — about any of it — just reach out. I'm a real human who actually reads and responds to her own emails.
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With all my seeing and map-loving,
Julie
Shine in the life & career that fits who you're becoming
