Hello there!

Meet Julia

Thank you for being here! I’m Julia Toronczak, and I’m proud to be a life coach and yoga instructor.

I consider myself to be a solar-powered human, and am blessed to be born and raised in sunny San Diego and call this place home.

You may be here because you want to start living life on your terms. You crave the confidence to let go of what other people think, and do whatever you want whenever you want.

Maybe you’re here to overcome that pesky voice in your head that tells you you’re not good enough, keeps you from taking action in your life, and floods you with shame.

I’m here to support you with your healing and personal/professional development journey so you can achieve the success you desire and create the life you’ve always dreamed of.

I believe you are worthy to feel amazing, love yourself unconditionally, excel in your career, and cultivate thriving relationships.

Are you ready to reclaim control of your life and silence that inner critic that holds you back from experiencing true joy?

My Purpose:

To empower you to heal and grow so that you can start doing the things that make your heart sing.

How it all started.

My passion for personal development began at an early age, because of Michael.

My twin brother may not speak to me in words, but he communicates through love better than anyone else that I know. Michael has Down Syndrome, and has been my inspiration behind everything that I do. He’s been one of my best teachers, teaching me the importance of:

  • unconditionally loving others (and especially yourself)

  • shifting your perspective and understanding other points of view

  • how to practice patience (especially during your own growth journey)

  • living in the presence moment, and admiring the beauty that surrounds you

Because of growing up with Michael, I’ve always been passionate about helping people and becoming the best version of myself.

Back then, I thought the best way to do that was to become a doctor. (Also didn’t help that my parents were immigrants… you either become a doctor or an engineer to be successful in their eyes)

With that dream in mind, I went to study Biology at UC San Diego and competed as a NCAA swimmer all 4 years. I learned then how important it was to prioritize my mental health, so that I could perform my best in the pool and in my studies.

Where it all shifted.

As I graduated college, I felt incredibly lost. When I pushed back my MCAT exam for the 3rd time, I realized my “dream” of becoming a doctor was not really my dream at all.

I wasn’t sure where I was supposed to go next.

Throughout my time in school and away from home, I started realizing how f*cked up my childhood really was. When I started sharing about my childhood trauma with other girls on my swim team, I felt so incredibly alone. No one else could relate to the chaos I’d been through.

After diving into various self-help books, I realized that I had a long road of healing ahead of me. My trauma was showing up as hyper-vigilance, chronic anxiety, unhealthy relationship attachments, and deep loathing for my own self. Deep down, I really didn’t even like myself. (ouch)

After being burnt out from swimming, I found yoga. There was something so beautiful about the mind-body connection in yoga. For the first time in my life, my anxiety started melting away. I started my first yoga teacher training in the fall of 2018.

When I first started teaching yoga, I loved it. It was so empowering, and made my heart sing. It got me through one of my hardest breakups with someone who I thought was the love of my life. It gave me the courage to continue my healing journey and go on a solo trip to Bali, and to finally do something for myself.

But a few months into teaching, my inner critic came back stronger than ever. There was a constant critical dialogue running non-stop in my mind:

“Why did you say that? That person who’s looking at you weird hates your class. They’re never going to come back. No one likes you. Why are you even doing this?”

And it didn’t stop there.

In 2020 I pivoted in my career after working in a research laboratory, and dove into the world of sales as an insurance broker. I loved getting to support HR leaders with their employee health and benefits packages, and getting to work with various mental health vendors. I found a way to help people in a way that aligned with me. (or so I thought at the time)

I was doing well in my career, but my inner critic came back stronger than ever. I was constantly presenting to business owners and HR Directors/CPO’s, and all I could hear was the voice in my head criticizing me and reminding me why I wasn’t good enough.

I experienced so much inner turmoil. I was so high-achieving in the past, but didn’t feel so confident anymore.

And things just kept getting worse. In early 2021, my inner critic was through the roof. My anxiety worsened and I fell into a deep depression. I felt empty and numb. It was time to go see a therapist.

I was preparing myself to be told that I have anxiety and need medication. But instead, I was told:

“You have complex PTSD.”

I was stunned. “No I don’t” I responded back. “I don’t think you were really listening to me.” (lol at me gaslighting my own self)

But she was right. Complex PTSD can be hard to identify, and I really struggled with my inner critic, nightmares every night, low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, hyper-vigilance, and excess guilt.

Turns out, the real healing journey was just getting started.

The breakthrough.

I was so heartbroken, because I felt like I had taken 50 steps forward and 100 steps back in my healing journey.

But my partner reminded me: “You’re not starting from rock bottom. It’s like you’re about to hike Mt. Everest, and you’re starting at base camp, not from sea level.” And he was right.

Healing is really, really f*cking hard. You’re facing the parts of yourself that you may be the most ashamed of, and it can feel so isolating and dark at times.

But I never gave up. Thanks to the amazing people that I had surrounded myself with, I kept doing the work. I kept educating myself about trauma and learned how to tame my inner critic, and practice compassion with myself.

My drive for excellence continued, and later that year I found a new job that more than doubled my salary, bought my dream car, and am in a thriving relationship with the man of my dreams.

From all of the healing work that I’ve done, I’ve had the courage to leave my corporate job early in 2023, and start building the life of my dreams, empowering others along their healing journey.

Because your trauma does not define you. You get to be a badass and live the life that you deserve on your terms.