meet Julie Schneider

“Be careful what you say after ‘I Am’. Those two tiny words contain powerful magic.” -- Jeff Foster 

I have worn many different hats throughout my lifetime. I’ve been a daughter, a sister, a cousin, a friend, an aunt, a wife, and now a mother. I’ve been a student, a worker, a manual laborer, a professional, and now a psychologist. I’ve worked in therapeutic day programs, residential programs, hospitals, clinics, both public and private schools, crisis services, and even a men’s prison. I now work at home, raising two young daughters. I write a blog and manage an online business that I truly hope reaches and helps a lot of people. I pursue joy, peace, presence, prosperity, abundance, and fulfillment. I think too much, worry often, allow myself to dwell in the past and anticipate the future. I often fall short of who I want to be, both personally and as a parent, and I engage in the practice necessary to evolve. I am human, and I suspect a lot like many of you who have found this site.

I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s. This was a time when seatbelts and sunscreen were evolving, and if present were considered a sign of weakness. Cigarettes were becoming bad, but still cool, and we smoked them until we figured out we really were harming ourselves. Helmets for cycling and skiing? I never saw one. And discipline— that was pretty much all fear-based. We feared our parents and we behaved, or at least didn't get caught, because we were afraid of what our parents would do to us. Wooden spoons, belts, and soap for profane mouths were commonplace. Our parents, having been raised “by the hand" themselves, were simply using the wisdom of the time and doing what they actually believed was best practice. Back then the awareness and knowledge we now have today simply did not exist.

When I “grew up” and went off to college, I started to question the wisdom of the day. I studied psychology, identified myself as a feminist, and pursued an advanced degree. I earned a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at UMASS Boston, a training program that emphasized cross cultural psychology and serving underprivileged communities. I was intensely interested in learning about different ways to do things, different ways to approach health and wellness, different ways to approach medicine, different ways to heal, different ways to care for children. I was also intensely interested in providing access to helpful interventions and services to all people, not just those with plenty of resources.

While all of this was happening a friend of mine, who had traveled to India, introduced me to both meditation and to some basic yoga sequences. In my 20’s I completed two Vipassana meditation courses. These are intense 10-day courses during which I took a vow of complete, silent, non-communication and practiced a particular form of meditation for about 10 hours per day, every day. I also started to take a yoga class here and there.

While none of these experiences led to any sustained mindfulness or yoga practice at the time, the seeds had been planted. Throughout my life I have come back to these practices again and again. I’ve practiced meditation to help me through difficult emotional times, and I’ve enjoyed yoga both for the fitness and mental/emotional benefits. It’s only in the past couple of years, however, that I’ve developed consistent and sustained practices, and can say that I actually “get” how these mindfulness practices can change our beings and our lives. 

After graduate school I became quite engaged in my career and worked for many years. I managed to find work that allowed me lengthy vacations and I used that time to travel extensively around the world, often in developing countries. I spent months traveling through Europe, Nepal and India, Central and South America, and Australia. I experienced different cultures, explored jungles and deserts, trekked through the tallest mountains and most remote villages of the world, went diving on some of the most beautiful coral reefs, met incredible people and learned about their lives, and learned a lot about myself. Through these experiences I learned an incredible amount about different cultures, religious beliefs and traditions, health and wellbeing practices, philosophies and lifestyles, poverty, social hierarchy, and views on humanity. 

What I probably experienced most, however, is our common humanity. Regardless of any of the myriad of ways we find differences and create hierarchy between us, we all have the ability to connect, to treat each other with dignity and kindness, to learn from one another, and to share a common human bond. We truly are all more alike than different.

After practicing as a psychologist for over 15 years, working generally within a model that focuses primarily on pathology and symptom management, I left to care for my two young daughters, who have been my greatest teachers. They teach me about unconditional love, about joy, about being in the moment, about virtues such as kindness, compassion, and patience, about our common bond, and so much more. 

During this time I also went back to my meditation and yoga practices. I have maintained my practices over time and have found not only how beneficial they are to human health and spirit, but also how guiding they can be as principles for life. It is my dissatisfaction with a working model that all too often views human experience through a lens of pathology and limits growth, combined with my own healing experiences and belief in the philosophies, traditions, and methods of different cultures throughout the world that bring me to Roots First. With my dear friend and colleague Phoebe I’ve developed a model based on principles, not only from yoga and mindfulness practices, but also from philosophies and traditions throughout the world. 

Together we can learn to cultivate our roots and ground down into our own strength and truth. From this foundation, we can rise up into the greatest of possibilities. As we do so, our selves and our lives can benefit greatly. Let us, together, heal our bodies, our minds, and our spirits so that we may cultivate our roots and rise up into infinite possibility.