About

About Julie Benton

As a young girl, I was highly intuitive. I saw and felt things that other people did not see or feel. Over time, I blocked out my intuition, which most children do because we usually are not shown how to foster this gift. We all have the capacity for it if we are self-aware and can tune inside. 

I have always had a deep sense of knowing and could readily feel others’ emotions just by being around them.

I was very much an introvert and was labeled “shy” all the way through college. One thing has always remained the same which was my love of nature, animals, and humans…in that order. As my love of these things continued to grow, so did my curiosity and desire to understand what made people’s behavior so different from one person to the next. I wanted to understand what made people tick and help them find healing in their lives. This led me to discover my love for psychology and  become a Psychotherapist. I worked with many different populations in a variety of settings. 

Julie’s Journey

After having experienced several traumatic events in my life, I began to suffer from bouts of intense anxiety and depression. It was only after I started working with a therapist that I understood how my unprocessed feelings of grief, shame, anger and guilt, were beginning to manifest into somatic symptoms in my body. At that time in my life, I discovered things about myself that helped me realize that trauma is much more than just a remembrance, but something that is stored on a cellular level in the body. This became even more clear when I discovered the depth of yoga and began to actually tune into my body and my breath while being present and gentle with myself through the process.

It was that which changed the trajectory of my life. In 2010 I became a Yoga Instructor combining psychotherapy, yoga, and utilizing my intuition.

 It has given me the ability to see beyond form. I discovered while teaching yoga, I can sense a deeper knowledge of what it means to “read a room.” Spending a lifetime of learning to observe nonverbal cues, watch for breathing patterns, movements, body positions, and posture, combined with my intuition, has given me a depth of insight and understanding. It has helped me understand the importance of body-mind connection and increase one’s awareness of the sensations that arise to implement change and healing.  On a personal note, yoga has been one of the biggest modalities and catalysts for healing. I have made this my lifelong mission to help and heal through my way of yoga.

YOGA 

Education and Experience

  • Master of Counseling 2000
  • Licensed Professional Counselor since 2001
  • Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health 2 year Certification 2002-2004
  • Yoga Alliance Registered E-RYT 500-hour Instructor with over 1000 hours of training and over 5000 hours of teaching experience.
  • In addition to my degrees, I am certified in trauma-informed yoga, yoga for anxiety and depression, yoga for grief, and children’s yoga. I also have completed an advanced 300hr Yoga Teacher Training through Yoga Psyche Soul and have completed numerous continuing education hours in Trauma, Mindfulness-based practices, Yoga Nidra, Polyvagal Nerve Theory, and Somatic Experience.