Meet Julie Freeman

We were lucky to catch up with Julie Freeman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Julie, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
My purpose has always been pretty clear for me, yet began from roots in a dysfunctional family. Of course, as a child, I did not know that part of my purpose would come from the pains of mostly emotional and verbal abuse with a little physical sprinkled in there.

Interestingly, being a very sensitive child in the 50s, I was part of the generation where “good girls were to be seen and not heard”, thus there was no such thing as expressing needs, wants, fears. I became obese and sugar addicted and for me, “frozen in fear” was a bodily response that I held onto for quite some time.

Move onto career choices – music or healthcare???
I had been a church singer, and cantor, was invited into all of the special choirs in school and there was something about singing that was a connection to God (some may call it Spirit or Energy or Lifeforce). Also, many family members were in the medical field so I volunteered over one summer at my local hospital and learned about Dietetics. Ah, I loved to cook, fed people over holidays and special occasions, so between my food addiction history and love to cook and feed others, I was sold!
Very early on in college, however, I became aware that conventional medicine and nutrition was not the full answer and began to dream of the hospital or healing center of the future. There was not much of that back in my day, thus I pursued mental health in my graduate work and then just kept going – Mind-Body Medicine at the Benson Henry Institute in Boston, Yoga certifications, Reiki, Sound Healing, Genomics and Functional Medicine. I often joke that I am like a kid in a candy store minus the candy.

I’ve always been able to see and connect dots where they don’t seem to exist.
Imbued into all of this were major traumas – marriage to an abusive and mentally ill man who was so talented, but could not see his own internal beauty.   He threatened me and our daughter and I lived in fear. I survived this, working 3 jobs, working through my earlier frozen in fear challenges and went on to continue to follow my passions.  This was lesson #1 that later became such a gift because after the fight and flight settled, I was able to separate the illness from the person, gain even more compassion for the “other’s journey” while not sacrificing my purpose in life.

I finally left work in hospitals and clinics and pursued my dream of a private practice, something unheard of back in the late 90s for dietitians. But my work was more expansive – I brought in in breathwork, nature, music, emotional connection and support along with very detailed assessments into the unique biology and genetics of the beautiful, yet wounded person sitting across from me.

So the long and short of it is, I have taken every challenge in my life as a lesson for me to digest and learn from and to then use it in my “lifework” as I call it.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
The golden question, “What do you do?” There is no neat box that I fit into because I am a bridge between conventional and ancient healing modalities. Many providers continue to refer to me, knowing me from the early days and following my path of expanded whole health practices.

I use deep assessment tools from my functional medicine training, but am not locked into any reductionistic way of viewing a person. I listen carefully to one’s history – traumas, environment, family dynamics and health challenges, connection or lack of to one’s spirit, passion and purpose.
As a society, we’ve been taught to not follow our gut intuition or instincts and yet, there in lies the answers to many questions.

I often tell my clients, I have expertise and ways to help, but you are the expert on you!

My business is an online telehealth practice and I have just partnered with an office manager from my past whose passion is in coaching. She is also a technical whiz which I am not! Our skills truly complement one another and it is the first time in my 45 years of practice that I will not be a solopreneur!

We will be launching our new site on January 1, IntrinsicWholeness.com where we will continue to offer medical services for the complex, chronic illness patients referred to us, but we will also cater to those who want to be at the top of their game in order to continue a life of passion, purpose and joy.
Now more than ever, we need strong individuals who collectively are raising the vibration to bring forth peace, healing and collaboration while diminishing divisiveness and separateness – we are all one people (I have a song for you!)

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I am an optimist and feel blessed and grateful to have this quality. It provides the energy to move forward even when times are difficult. I perservere, yet also listen when I need to pivot, take a different direction and I am creative in my thinking.

I have also fine-tuned these qualities with the assistance of microdosing. I came to medicine work late in life, especially having grown up during the DARE days, but this is another area of passion in my work.

Regarding skills, growing up an only child, I learned to depend upon myself and my parents did not want to have a “spoiled” only child, thus went way too far the other way with depriving me of what others had. My Dad controlled the money, rationing out just so much for Mom and she even had to make my clothes from curtains at times! I know how to live frugally and I do not want for a lot of material possessions. Being able to help others brings me great satisfaction. This is an example of how I’ve gained a life skill through adversity.

My scope of knowledge is spread among science, spirituality and emotional well-being. I use all in my work and of course the art of blending these three parts of the self and meeting people where they are in their readiness, allows for a safe and comfortable place for one to begin his/her journey.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
I love this question, “What do you do when you are overwhelmed?” In fact, I post about my personal experiences and journey because let’s face it, overwhelm, anxiety and depression are by far the most discussed areas at present. They top heart disease and cancer with regard to press and air time.

When I am overwhelmed, I deliberately stop, focus on my breath and go inside to ground myself. I have a few techniques that I use but I also set a foundation with a clean diet, regular sleep times and exercise daily. I do yoga a few times per week and this has a profound impact on my physical and emotional well-being.

Real case, just last week! We are in the process of separating my over 25 years of being a sole proprietor and 45 years in practice and establishing the LLC. Of course, all of my technology has been under one roof, one domain, one ME! I do not understand computer language and can easily become anxious at not being able to do my work. When this happens, I do reach out for help, but I also stop and use a powerful technique called, Wide Angle Vision. The purpose behind this is to see the big picture with your eyes, but also to reset the neurological wiring to be less hyperfocused.
Now that we live behind computer screens much of the day, our eyes become hyperfocused as well as our train of thought.

Ideally go outside in nature (the colors, sounds, smells are healing) and look at the expanse, not focusing on any one particular thing. Breathe deeply (yes, you’ve heard me speak of the breath!) and do this for a few minutes to reset.

I also do a quick re-visiting of the fact that I am safely here now, have come through many challenges and remind myself of my purpose – a tiny beacon of light within my heart that extends hope to and for you.

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Image Credits
Carina Fleckner Photography

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