Today’s meet a mom is a local Licensed Family & Therapy Counselor and Yoga Instuctor – Jules Parkin. Jules has spent the last 10 years in private practice helping moms and parents who are experiencing fertility challenges. Her private practice has become part-time as she has found a passion in Yoga for Emotional Wellness and began her own business – Jules Parkin Yoga. After experiencing fertility challenges in her own life, Jules found that yoga practice helped her manage some of those difficult feelings and emotions, so this work is something that is very near and dear to her heart. Jules offers gentle yoga and restorative yoga + mindful movement. Restorative Yoga is a gentle, slow-paced practice using props such as bolsters, blocks, and blankets. It provides a space to slow down and just “be”.
You can find Jules teaching classes at The Center for Hope & Healing in The Woodlands and at Wild Spirit Yoga in downtown Tomball. She offers individual, small group (friends, family, and co-worker) and group classes. She will also be offering fertility yoga after the New Year as well. After connecting with Jules is so apparent how important this work is to her. How it’s personal, and she has dedicated her work to helping moms heal and work through difficult emotions. Jules says she “is grateful for this nurturing practice and for work that feels authentic to me and bring me so much joy ❤”.
Continue reading to check out this local twin mama’s #meetamom interview to learn more about her story, how yoga has impacted her life and how she is now sharing that gift with others.
Where are you from originally and how long have you lived in the North Houston area?
I am originally from Orange County, CA in Southern CA. We moved to The Woodlands in 2007 when the boys were 1.5 years old (14 years).
How many kiddos do you have and how old are they?
16-year-old twin boys – Jack & Max
What are your favorite local things to do? (with kiddos or just for mom!)
My boy’s wakeboard and race motocross, so we spend a lot of time at Hanger 9 Wakeboard Park and 3 Palms Action Sports park. We also enjoy camping at motocross races and at the beach, and enjoy going to music concerts.
As hard as it is to find the time, what’s something you do just for yourself?
I enjoy doing Yoga, gardening, cooking, shopping and paddle boarding.
One thing people would be surprised to know about you…
I can wakeboard and ride a dirt bike. Yep, my boys bought me a dirt bike for Mother’s Day a few years ago. While I don’t ride very fast (think turtles pace), it does create great family time and laughs and it’s a good way for me to keep up with my boy’s interests.
What’s the best mom advice you have ever been given (or your own advice to mamas out there)?
When our twins were toddlers my mom used to tell me, “You have to wear them out before they wear you out”. Ha! Wasn’t that the truth. We have always been an active family, so we spent a lot of time playing outside, going to parks and riding bikes. I think this advice still applies now that they are teens. I am not sure we were always successful, but we sure had fun trying.
When did you begin teaching yoga and what was the inspiration behind starting your own yoga business?
I first started practicing yoga 17 years ago when my husband and I were trying to conceive. This was a challenging time in life and I found that my yoga practice helped me manage some of my difficult feelings and emotions. It allowed me the opportunity (or practice) of bringing some calm moments to my body and mind and helped me reconnect with myself again. What I learned about myself on my mat I was able to apply in my daily life.
As a psychotherapist, I found that in addition to talk therapy many of my clients were wanting to move their bodies. They wanted to manage energy and emotions stored in the body. I remembered this feeling so clearly from my own personal fertility experience. It was then that I was divinely led back to my yoga practice and became a yoga teacher. I began to incorporate breathing awareness and gentle movement into some of my therapy sessions for clients who wanted to incorporate these tools. Seamlessly, my work expanded over the last few years to offering Yoga for Emotional Wellness teaching Gentle Yoga and Restorative Yoga. I am so grateful for this nurturing practice and for work that feels authentic to me. It brings me so much joy.
What type of yoga do you teach?
I teach Gentle Yoga and Restorative Yoga + Mindful Movement. Restorative Yoga is a gentle, slow-paced practice using props such as bolsters, blocks, and blankets. This practice can help elicit our natural relaxation response shifting our nervous system from “fight, flight & freeze” to “rest and digest”. It allows us to discover space to soften both the body and mind and makes room for self-compassion.
How do you believe yoga can help and heal moms?
In our fast paced lives, yoga provides space to slow down and just “be”. Yoga can provide a supportive space to be with “what is” in our lives. Whatever feelings, thoughts, or emotions in the body arise, yoga provides the opportunity to bring a loving awareness to what is happening in our lives. It is an opportunity to invite in self-compassion and grace. Through breath awareness, embodied movement and pausing, we can learn to identify and manage patterns of holding stress as we invite in ease during our practice. As we practice on the mat we can then begin to bring this loving awareness and practice into our daily lives.
Where can North Houston moms participate and join in?
I teach classes at The Center for Hope & Healing in The Woodlands and at Wild Spirit Yoga in downtown Tomball. I offer individual, small group (friends, family, and co-worker) and group classes. My classes and offerings can be found on my website www.julesparkinyoga.com and on my Instagram @julesparkinyoga.
You are also a Licensed Psychotherapist! Do you still practice and what was your focus as a psychotherapist?
I am a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT) in private practice for 10 years in The Woodlands. I work with individuals and couples who are experiencing fertility challenges or who are considering building their family using third-party reproduction such as a gestational carrier or donor. Work that is very near and dear to my heart. My private practice is part-time as my Yoga for Emotional Wellness business is expanding. I will be offering Fertility Yoga classes in the New Year, which I am very excited about!
What has been the most rewarding thing about what you do?
I feel honored and deeply grateful to be a part of my clients’ fertility or life journey. It is rewarding to see clients discover that it is possible to find moments of peace or joy or reconnect with themselves during challenging times-to find that they have the inner resources and tools to manage the challenges that life presents. I am grateful to teach a practice that I am passionate about. Work that allows me to be authentic to who I am and that feels close to my heart. To me, life is about sharing and expressing love. Yoga provides an avenue for me to do this.
What are your future plans and dreams for Jules Parkin Yoga?
I will be offering Fertility Yoga classes in the New Year. Whether someone is trying to conceive naturally or preparing for an assisted reproductive cycle, these classes are designed to provide support in all cycles of a fertility journey. Practicing alongside others who may be on a similar family building journey can help decrease isolation and provide a sense of community and support.
Any events North Houston moms can be on the lookout for?
I am offering several Candlelight Restorative Yoga events before and after the holidays. These classes are designed to calm the nervous system and ease tension we may be carrying during the holidays. I will also be offering Fertility Yoga classes in the New Year.
To learn more about Jules Parkin Yoga:
Website: https://www.julesparkinyoga.com/
Instagram: @julesparkinyoga
Facebook: @Julesparkinyoga