We were lucky to catch up with Jules Shuler recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jules thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?

As far as I can remember, I always knew I wanted to help people feel better. As a little girl, I always said I wanted to be a doctor. I became an EMT at 18, went into directly into college at USC as a Health Promotion and Disease Prevention major, I interned at hospitals, surgical centers, got a Master of Public Health, became a strength and conditioning specialist, an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, and now combine all the behavioral change theories from my education with my real-world application of movement science and nutrition to be where I am now: helping women reclaim their bodies, their health journeys, and helping them find a renewed sense of self in their 30s and beyond. It is more fulfilling that I could have ever imagined.

But that’s not without a few speed bumps along the way. I took a major detour in my mid-twenties when I saw my fellow classmates finding their stride in their respective fields. I felt behind compared to my peers; I had a sense of disappointment that I wasn’t as successful as I “should” be.

During that time, a job opportunity appeared from one of my executive clients I was training at the time. She is a high-powered, driven, smart, all around badass woman who, by all accounts, was the definition of success to me. She thought I’d be a good fit at a company in a completely different field, so I took the leap.

The leap led me down a very different path. It was no longer about helping people, it was all about making money. I fell for the age-old trap and it really sucked me in. I thought I was fulfilled, I thought I was successful, but what I found over time was no amount of money can make up for being in a role that was incongruous with my goals and dreams. I found out first-hand that money does not buy me happiness. In fact, it made me a less loving, less helpful, less patient person.

That lesson has stayed with since then. I promised myself I would never make decisions solely based on money. I knew that money follows passion, but it took me a few rocky years to really learn to trust that. I learned to keep my heart and soul involved in what I do. I know at the end of each day I am providing support to others, fulfilling my personal goals and dreams, and getting paid along the way. It is a sustainable, joyful process rather than a limiting one.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Julie, but I usually go by Jules. I prefer using a nickname because it’s relaxed and familiar – something I prioritize with my wellness clients. My clients come to me after years (oftentimes decades) of diets, exercise programs, trying to “get their body back” or feeling completely out of control of their bodies. These women often feel abandoned by the health care system and are tired of not feeling their best.

I believe health and wellness must to start with being relaxed and with getting familiar with your body. Trying a diet or exercise program is akin to trying to fish for a whale with a fishing rod. You might think you’ve got it…there’s a pull on the line! But after a bit of a struggle, the line breaks. And we’ve been told that if we just try it again and again, the result might change. But does it? At least for me and my clients, the answer is a resounding no.

Health coaching for me has developed over many years. I was a strength and conditioning specialist for many years for both triathletes and desk jockeys alike. I found that despite the specific sport or sitting at a desk, the questions were more or less the same. “What should I eat?” “How do I lose weight?” “How do I get through the holidays without getting derailed?” These questions were decidedly not about what was going on in the gym despite all the work the clients were putting in there.

So I studied nutrition to answer these questions from another direction. But just like focusing solely on exercise, I found that focusing solely on diet also didn’t quite answer these questions well enough. “What if I don’t like broccoli?” “How do I stop eating ice cream at night when I’m stressed?” A perfect diet is only as good as the adherence. And who wants to eat cruciferous veggies and lean protein at every meal? Not me!

So it all circles back to being relaxed and familiar. Stress management goes hand-in-hand with metabolism, sleep quality, exercise quality, and general happiness. Being familiar with your body is about understanding what your body does in response to stimuli like specific foods, different types of workouts, where you are in your menstrual cycle, as you experiment peri-menopausal symptoms, sleep quality, and more. The more you understand your body, the better you become at predicting what might happen or what might have happened rather than trying to throw a tiny fishing line into an expansive ocean in hopes you’ll catch a whale.

I work with my clients on a broad definition of health, because that’s what I’ve learned over the years is what is missing for many women. We work on identifying individual goals specific to each woman. These topics can include: sleep quality, rest, choosing foods that fit for their taste and lifestyle, movement that makes them feel good, stress reduction, understanding hormonal fluctuations and their influence, how to advocate for themselves when meeting with their medical providers, and treatment plan adherence. It is a personalized approach to holistic wellness for longterm lifestyle change. Each piece of the health puzzle fits together to create a beautiful picture of a healthful, well woman.

You won’t find quick fixes here – this is for the women who are ready to take hold of their health journey. Women who know there is a better way than short-term challenges or severe diet restrictions. And this is definitely for women who are ready to get to know their bodies better than they ever have.

I believe every woman deserves to feel good in her body. I am here to show them how to reconnect with their bodies and to feel confident in their wellness.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

I have found that a core skill needed to be in healthcare is the ability to put what is going on in my own life on mute while with clients. It’s not always easy, though it’s much like a muscle. The more it’s used, the stronger it gets.

Quieting my own personal experiences and thoughts is a huge part of what has helped me grow my business over the years. I started out always using my own experiences as the baseline, but I’ve learned that my own experiences may or may not be the same for my clients. Giving tips and tricks is not nearly as effective as asking open-ended questions to guide clients to their own conclusions.

If I can show up for my clients fully present with no agenda other than listening, supporting, and helping them discover their own truths, the possible outcomes for them are nearly endless. There have been many times over the years that what I initially thought might be useful in leading clients to more positive outcomes was not nearly as effective as what they showed me in their own realizations. I believe we all innately know our bodies more than we know; my job is to facilitate unlocking these powerful connections in order for my clients to feel empowered in their ability to manage their health and wellness.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

Hindsight is a funny thing. It often makes you choose a different path because you see only that the grass is greener on the other side. A few years ago, I would have easily responded that I would have chosen a different path (still in healthcare!). But today, my answer is that I wouldn’t change my path. It’s been bumpy, that’s for sure. But that’s also what has gotten me here!

It’s given me depth and breadth of knowledge I did not have a decade ago. It’s given me a calmer demeanor and a greater perspective of where the pieces of the puzzle of health and wellness fit together. Without the struggle, the stress, the worry, the joys, the triumphs, the utter crash and burns, I would be less connected to my own body and not able to give the broader perspective of prioritizing grace and ease surrounding my clients’ health journeys.

Helping others, especially women, is so deeply ingrained in who I am. It’s something I strive to pass along to my children and I get tremendous satisfaction when my clients tell me they are starting to feel good for the first time in years. And I get to do that each and every day.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.welletto.com
• Other: Have a question? Interested in learning more about how to feel good? Not even sure where to start? Email me! [email protected]

Image Credits
Whimsee Photography http://whimseephotography.com