Health and Balance with Julie Burgers

10/11/2025

🌿✨ Glow From the Outside In: Dry Brushing + Essential Oils ✨🌿

If you're looking for a simple, natural way to boost skin health, circulation, and lymphatic flow — dry brushing is your new best friend! 💚

As we head into summer months this is a great ritual and one to continue throughout the year.

Pairing this ritual with essential oils takes it to the next level — supporting exfoliation, vibrant skin, and giving you that luxe “at-home spa” feeling.

How to Dry Brush (2–3x per week):
✨ Start at your feet and work upward using gentle, sweeping strokes
✨ Always brush toward the heart
✨ Shower afterward to rinse away dead skin
✨ Follow with a nourishing body oil or lotion

Essential Oils I Love for Skin Brushing:
💧 Grapefruit — brightening + supports circulation (use in evening or apply diluted + covered)
🌿 Cypress — tones + supports healthy circulation

Add 1 drop to your palm with a carrier oil and massage into the skin post-shower 💫

Why I love it:
✅ Smooth, soft skin
✅ Supports lymphatic flow
✅ Boosts energy + circulation
✅ A beautiful moment of self-care

Your skin works hard for you — give it a little love back 🤍

Have you tried dry brushing yet? Tell me below 👇✨

15/10/2025

15/10/2025

First week at my new home studio!!

15/10/2025

First week in my new home studio!!

www.healthbalance.studio

10/10/2025

🌿 Today is World Mental Health Day 💛
A reminder to pause, breathe, and care for your inner world.

✨ Did you know? Movement and scent are two powerful ways to support mental health.

• 2 drops Frankincense combining Pilates and essential oils – a beautiful duo for calm, clarity, and emotional release.

🧘‍♀️ Pilates helps you:
• Calm the nervous system
• Improve breath awareness
• Release emotional tension stored in the body
• Increase mental focus and body-mind connection

🌬️ Add a gentle diffuser blend to your session:
✨ Calm Clarity Blend
• 3 drops Lavender
• 2 drops Wild Orange
• 2 drops Frankicense

Diffuse before your Pilates practice, or apply a calming roller blend to your wrists and chest before breathwork or stretching.

Today, take a moment for you.
Move your body. Nourish your mind. Support your soul. 💛

04/10/2025

Frankincense is the King of Oils! Such a powerful essential oil for many things that pop up mentally and physically!

Frankincense has long been considered sacred across cultures and traditions. Today, neuroscience is beginning to affirm what ancient healers have known—this resin holds remarkable potential for the brain.

🧠 Modern studies suggest that Frankincense may support:

Neuroplasticity: Helping the brain form new pathways during healing

Inflammation reduction: Easing the chronic stress response and calming the body

Focus and clarity: Supporting emotional regulation and cognitive performance

In clinical and therapeutic spaces, Frankincense offers a grounded, steady presence. Its aroma is earthy and resinous, and often evokes a sense of calm that anchors clients gently.

🌿 Ways to integrate Frankincense in practice
→ During somatic resourcing or grounding exercises
→ As part of trauma-informed care to support safety and stability
→ Paired with breathwork or guided meditation for integration
→ In self-care rituals for therapists to mark the close of a session or day

Frankincense can be diffused, applied to pulse points with consent, or offered on a scent strip for clients to explore at their own pace.

Quality is imperative, not all Frankincense essential oils are alike. I highly recommend Certified Pure Tested Grade oils because you can see the testing report to ensure your oils are pure. Just because an oil says it is pure, doesn’t mean that it is, you need to be able to request the testing report.

💡 When we pair ancient wisdom with therapeutic intention, we help the brain feel both safe and supported.

03/10/2025

I trained back in 2006 and haven't looked back. Love this post below! Pilates has evolved since I first started teaching and I am always learning. You will find me teaching studio pilates giving a personalised experience now at my home studio in Lower Chittering. www.healthbalance.studio

What is pilates today, in my mind, its pretty clear, but for the general public, I am not so sure…

Joe Pilates signed his clients up for 3 sessions a week for their first month, he wasn’t into “jumping on the popular bandwagon, and making money out of what people wanted, or giving them what was popular”, no, he passionately believed in his system, yes system of exercises that if people committed themselves to his methodology that they would feel the change in their bodies.

Those of us who have spent years training and learning about the “how” and “why” his system works, and are still learning from experienced professionals in the industry with more experience than our own, and passing on the benefits to our clients.

And believe me, no one knows anything after 5 days of training in “pilates” no matter how glossy the cover looks.

So use the pilates name and make your money, whilst the rest of us continue his legacy of pilates, which is not instagram exercises to be interesting, nor just exercises on one piece of his equipment.

I am so tired of my industry of nearly 30 years being downgraded to just fitness on pilates equipment. This is not “pilates” and people should seek out the difference.

06/09/2025

The Pilates Association that I am member of posted this great information this week from Asthma Australia. Sharing this information below for those that might find it helpful.
Really good video link below. One of my clients I shared with said it was really helpful.

Asthma Australia advises: “The information provided on breath re-training is of a general nature. You should be guided by your treating doctor’s advice and treatment” (Asthma Australia, 2025).
For instructors, integrating these techniques can make your sessions safer, more effective, and inclusive for clients with asthma or other breathing difficulties.
💡 Tip: Encourage slow, nasal, and abdominal breathing during exercises to enhance performance and comfort.
📹 Explore the Breathe Better webinars and breath training videos via Asthma Australia.
🔗 https://asthma.org.au/medicines-treatment/alternative-therapies-and-asthma/would-you-like-to-breathe-better/

04/09/2025

This landed in my inbox from Tiffany Peterson. Tiffany Peterson () this morning and just love the wisdom. Rings very true for me these days!

I have to admit I struggle with this some days if I don't wake up early enough but I do make a point of every day doing pilates and some strength training and listening to a podcast or something that lifts my spirits and using my essential oils !

From Tiffany
Some wise advice I heard years ago was this —
“Meet with yourself before you meet with the world”.

Call it a morning ritual, power hour, or daily devotional, the way we start our day shapes our day.

You likely already know this to be true —

And can feel a difference between an intentional morning or a rushed or world filled morning.

Do you have an intentional morning ritual?

Perhaps it’s time to commit or recommit to one.

Sometimes we get out of routine (helloooo summer) or distracted so if this is for you, recommit to starting your day with investing in you.

Ask yourself, what nourishes me?

Prayer, meditation, walking, working out, a good book or podcast, watching the sunrise — whatever nourishes you, be intentional to do this for you.

Will you start tomorrow? Or keep going if you’re already in the groove?

You deserve to feel good more often.

04/09/2025

Lavender is my go to so often!

18/08/2025

✨ Clear the Energy in Your Space ✨

Just like we dust and vacuum, our homes can also hold on to energy—from daily stress, visitors, or just the busyness of life. Space clearing helps release the old and invite in fresh, uplifting vibes. 🌿💫

My favourite ritual:

1️⃣ Choose your oils & botanicals – I love Sage essential oil for its cleansing properties, along with Lemon for freshness and Frankincense for grounding. Add in a little touch of nature—dried sage leaves, or even fresh/dried eucalyptus leaves (a beautiful nod to our Aussie bush!).

2️⃣ Diffuse – Add 4–6 drops of Sage + Lemon (or Frankincense) to your diffuser.

3️⃣ Spritz – Mix 10 drops of your chosen oils with water in a spray bottle. Lightly mist curtains, cushions, doorways, and around your botanicals.

4️⃣ Open up – Crack open windows or doors to let stale energy flow out and fresh air in.

5️⃣ Set your intention – As you clear, say: "I welcome peace, joy, and light into my home."

🌸 Tip: Perfect after guests leave, before a new week, or when the energy feels a little heavy.

💛 Which oil or leaf would you choose for your space-clearing ritual?

07/08/2025

Yes to this! 🙌
Just because osteoporosis runs in your family doesn’t mean it has to run your future.

One of the most powerful things you can do is move your body with purpose. Through a combination of Pilates and weight training, we can help build strength, improve posture, boost stability, and support bone health at any age.

It’s not about “slowing down” — it’s about moving smarter.
Your genes might increase your risk, but your daily habits and movement choices make all the difference. Let’s keep those bones strong, mobile and supported 💪

Genetics aren’t your destiny. While your genes may increase your risk for developing osteoporosis, they don’t completely determine your future. You have more influence over your bone health than you might think.

Heritability studies estimate that 50-85% of bone mineral density is determined by genetic factors. While that sounds like a lot, it also means that anywhere from 15-50% of your bone mineral density is dependent on what YOU do and the habits YOU create.

How does this play out in our favor?

You can promote healthy bones by:

🧬 Consistently engaging in resistance training with progressive overload along with impact training

🧬 Adding in balance training, working on speed, explosiveness, and agility to integrate more of your nervous system and help prevent falls

🧬 Getting enough calcium, vitamin D, and protein among other nutrients

🧬 Managing/reducing stress and improving quality of sleep

Your daily choices (how you move, what you eat, how you support your body) can make a real difference. You can acquire tools and knowledge to take control of your bone health, no matter your starting point. Your future is up to you. You are not powerless. You’re just getting started.