Breathe and Bloom Gathering Space

09/07/2025

🌸 Important update - introducing... Breathe and Bloom Gathering Space!

With my personal move from the Canadian west to east coast, this comes with a business development from "Press Pause Counselling Services" to "Breathe and Bloom Gathering Space."

As the business works throughout this transition, things you may expect:
🌸 Continued virtual individual sessions for counselling and ISTP™
🌸 Name changes on my social media platforms and Jane App booking system
🌸 Eventual rebrand for the website and email to reflect the new name
🌸 In-person counselling session at ML Family Counselling in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Further things to look forward to include:
🌸 Mindfulness-based classes
🌸 Workshops & Retreats
🌸 Wellness Garden
🌸 Walk & Talk session
🌸 In-person ISTP™ session in Maitland, Nova Scotia

Let's see how this adventure unfolds! Thank you for your continued support and interest as the practice deepens and evolves.

07/30/2025

I'll be leading my final yoga practice as part of the Yoga in the Park series with Moving Forward Family Services today, Wednesday, July 30th, at 6:30pm at Surrey's Hawthorne Park!

Frances will be teaching at the same location on top of the hill and in the shade of the trees for August 13, 20th, and 27th!

07/10/2025

I came across this evening affirmation by Nick Ortner that I incorporated into this week's Yoga in the Park during our final rest.

How often do you give yourself permission to be present, still, breathe, or to rest?

Whether a yoga practice, counselling, or an Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice (ISTP)™ session, it seems that many people have a hard time slowing down let alone exploring feelings of calmness.

In a society that often praises multitasking, fast pace and high speed, and doing it all whilst keeping it all together, no wonder it is hard to let go when that feels far from "normal."

May this be a reminder to allow yourself a moment to breathe, to seek out spaces that feel safe enough to soften and to be still, and to rest.

I am available in-person in BC until the end of July for ISTP, counselling, and Yoga in the Park (Wednesdays at 6:30pm in Hawthorne Park, Surrey), and virtually in BC and Nova Scotia onwards 🐾

07/03/2025

What a gorgeous evening to kickoff this season of Yoga in Park!

The final rest was especially satisfying with the gentle breeze, glimmering of the sunshine through the trees, the vibrant summer colours, and the sensation of the grass along the sides of my mat.

We hope to see more join us for the remaining Wednesdays this summer at Hawthorne Park, Surrey, BC! Free for all, and any donations go to support and all the amazing low-cost & low-barrier mental health services ❤️

🇨🇦 🇨🇦

06/26/2025

As my clients and many in my personal and professional circles are aware - I will be moving from BC to Nova Scotia this August.

It has been a privilege to provide support for folks as a counsellor and yoga teacher in the area.

🌱In-person sessions available until the end of July 2025 in Maple Ridge & New West, BC
🌱Limited availability throughout August
🌱Virtual sessions available for residents of BC & Nova Scotia

06/22/2025

Happy !

I am excited to share that I will be facilitating Yoga in the Park for the third summer in a row at Hawthorne Park in Surrey for all of July. All sessions are free, but folks are welcome to donate to Moving Forward Family Services to support their mission of providing accessible mental health for all who seek it.

I look forward to seeing you there :)

06/22/2025

🪶❤️🖤💛🤍🪶

05/06/2025

Over the past couple of days I had the honour to attend a couple of events to remember losses in our community locally and across the country.

Today, May 5th, marks Red Dress Day to bring voice to the missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and individuals. Yesterday I attended a vigil to mourn the victims of the Lapu-Lapu Day Festival. Both days carried heavy emotions shared by those who spoke and were present. Some themes stuck out to me that spoke to resilience and healing:
🌹 Feel emotions and express them - grief is too heavy for one person to bear. When our grief is witnessed and shared, compassion and love bloom.
🌹 Healing is not linear - honour yours and others’ process with grief and healing.
🌹 Love is powerful and has the potential to mend wounds of individuals and communities. Smile at a stranger, lend a helping hand, say a kind word - spread love in the community and build each other up.
🌹 Let the grief to move through you and inspire change. Dance, sing, drum, pray, create… expand the hurt, the grief, the sorrow, into something healing for the mind, body and soul.

04/30/2025

Sharing this free webinar - please share 🙏

“In wake of the recent tragic events at the Lapu Lapu Festival in Vancouver, the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC) is offering a free public webinar – 'Caring for Ourselves & our Communities after Tragic Loss' to help individuals navigate their emotions and support each other through this difficult time.

The one-hour webinar will explore various approaches - whether individuals are looking for ways to talk to children about what's happened or hoping for ideas to manage feelings of worry or overwhelm.” - BC Association of Clinical Counsellors

LINK TO REGISTER -

ONLINE The BCACC is committed to supporting our communities during this time of profound grief and loss following the Lapu Lapu Festival tragedy. We’ve heard from many individuals, communities, and counsellors seeking ways to help and to heal. In response, we are offering this free, one-hour webin...

11/06/2024

I am grateful to be part of this wonderful team of healing practitioners at the Body Mind Soul Healing Centre in New Westminster.

This centre provides a peaceful space to retreat to for individual, couples, and group healing. Myself and the team work from healing and body-based modalities including Integrative Somatic Therapy (ISTP)™, reiki, sound healing, and more.

What makes the Body Mind Soul Healing Centre unique, is that the it is also home to the ISTP training founded by Ratha Chek, whom is also one of the owners of the centre!

They also have another location in Nanoose Bay, and virtually in Ontario and New Brunswick.






Body, Mind, Soul Healing Centre Inc.

10/28/2024

Re-introducing myself here on social media!

My name is Julia Blackwell, and I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor located in BC's lower mainland.

I provide individual sessions that focus on creating space for teens and adults to pause from the busyness of life.

🍂 Free consultations
🍂 Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice ™
🍂 1-on-1 guided yoga/breathwork
🍂 Talk-based counselling
🍂 Virtual and in-person (Maple Ridge, New West)

Let's connect!
contact.presspausecounselling@gmail.com
www.presspausecounselling.com

08/29/2024

That’s a wrap! Thank you everyone who joined in for the relaxing evenings for yoga in the park. Practicing self-care, slowing down, nature, and building community are some great ways to nurture oneself.

A huge thanks to all those that donated to Moving Forward Family Services! If you have a chance, please visit their website to learn more about the accessible, and often free, mental health services and groups they offer throughout BC and beyond.

https://movingforward.help/