LIFE STORIES: JULIA CAMERON

This months Life Stories is lifestyle blogger and entrepreneur Julia Cameron, who found herself living a toxic and rather damaging lifestyle to compensate for low self-esteem and a sense of disconnect but somehow found the strength to turn her life around by focusing on personal development and spirituality. Read on for an inspiring story of perseverance, gratitude and inner peace.

N A M E : Julia Cameron

L O C A T I O N :  London/Northern Ireland

B A C K G R O U N D : Designer, Lifestyle Blogger and Entrepreneur

M Y   S T O R Y : Ive always been quite extreme in everything I do, and I now live a healthy and balanced lifestyle with my partner but this has come after many years of toxic living. I went through a period of about 5 years where my self esteem was low, I felt very disconnected and lost and turned to a hedonistic and unbalanced lifestyle to distract me from those feelings which left me feeling isolated. I turned to anything that would give me the feeling of temporary connection but things spiralled out of control and I made many bad choices resulting in ill health, low energy, frantic mood swings, a weak liver and poor digestive system. I turned to personal development and followed a spiritual path which lead me to realise I needed to make some big internal changes and implement daily rituals to infect big change on my mental and physical health. I finally found my focus and direction when starting my own business and being inspired to create my own line of jewellery which is all about enhancing our inner goddess.

Practising gratitude on a daily basis has had a profound effect on my life which  lead me to create a line of gratitude bracelets to remind people to focus on what you do have as opposed what you dont have.  I now also blog about my experiences and aspects of spirituality and personal growth that I’m interested in and hope to inspire others to get rid of limiting beliefs and learn to be their authentic selves.

I really started to make big changes as a result of my lack of focus and incessant digestive issues. I realised I was consuming far too much sugar and since cutting our wheat and dairy those issues have been massively reduced. I also avoid all processed foods. I have a very sweet tooth still but I limit my sugar intake to things like very dark chocolate occasionally and a bit of date syrup on my porridge. Having less sugar in my diet has also really helped with stabilising my mood and concentration.

One of the biggest changes I made was moving out of the city. Living in central London had its benefits but my soul was yearning for some space and being an online business I was able to travel so I decided I would move out of the city to be immersed in nature and really focus on my health and what works for me. I moved to Ireland to be by the sea, I began eating totally naturally, sourcing all my fruit and veg from organic sources. I took up running and joined my local gym where I am now an avid spinning fan. I learnt the strategies to deal with stress in my life and I now regularly attend personal development seminars and make time each day for reading and learning new things.

I believe the quality and consistency of your rituals determine the quality of your life so I have an empowering morning routine which helps me to start the day in my best way. I used to live and wake up in a haze where I was unable to make decisions easily but now I have so much more energy and clarity of thought. My partner and I travel a lot and now co run health and fitness retreats in Thailand and Cape town so it’s very important I show up with confidence and energy.

R E S U L T : My life has totally turned around since implementing healthy positive rituals and using gratitude as a practise in everyday life helps me to stay positive and fulfilled. I do the best for me, not in comparison to anyone else and I measure my success on my own personal progress. I can’t remember the last time I got a cold and I am the fittest I have ever been, I just did a 10k charity run and am now planning a half marathon something I would never have believed a couple of years ago. I now feel balanced in mind and body, the journey back to full health has had its challenges but the results are worth it, the best thing about being in great health is being able to give more to those around me and inspiring others to become better versions of themselves by implementing small and simple changes.

J U L I A S   T O P   T I P S :

• Make time in the morning just for you, a powerful morning routine to me consists of, waking up with purpose, practising gratitude, a glass of warm lemon water,  meditation and some light movement/ yoga sequences.
• Try new things and move every day. I now love going to classes at my local gym, I do spinning, boxcerise and since going to Thailand for our JPDV fitness retreats I really love Muay Thai and total body fitness classes.
• A teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in my water several times a week is great for my gut. I also really love millet porridge which is easier and lighter on my stomach than oats. I love to have it with some chia seeds and berries. I’m a huge fan of cacao and use it in lots of my recipes. It gives me good energy and is great magnesium kick.
• Lymphasizing is a great way to expel toxins from your body. I have a rebounder at home which I use every morning, it’s also a great wake me up. I also manage my energy and digestion by never eating after 7 at night, unless I’m on holiday of course!

To follow Julia go to Instagram and Twitter.

*Do you have an inspiring story related to your health and wellbeing that you would like to share with us and have featured? Please e-mail STG at info@sustaintheglow.com – we would love to hear from you.