Fifty and Fearless: Reflections on My Life at the Half-Century Mark

This week, I turn fifty.

November 5th to be precise. This year, the full moon rises on my birthday—a glowing invitation to release the old stories, to open wider to possibility, and to dream in color for what’s to come.

I’ll be honest—all of this feels both surreal and sacred.

While with all my training, I've gotten very sciencey in the last ten years, I've also gotten very witchy. In many ways, I feel like this is in preparation and deep appreciation of my future CRONE self, and it feels so RIGHT.

I feel ready!

For years, I coached clients through transitions: new jobs, new habits, new bodies, new ways of nourishing themselves. From a Pilates perspective, I've had the privilege of working with both seasoned practitioners and beginners, athletes, people with MS, Parkinson's, and brain tumors. I've seen a lot. But nothing quite prepares you for the moment you look in the mirror and see both your mother and your younger self staring back at you.

It is a moment of fierce gratitude—for all I’ve been given, all I’ve become—tempered by the knowing that life still unfolds before us in wild abundance and tender unpredictability, even as, with a single breath, we may be torn from this fragile mortal coil.

Turning fifty isn’t about midlife crisis—it’s about midlife clarity—the noise quiets. The striving softens.

You start to realize that health isn’t about the number on the scale, the latest supplement, or the perfect morning routine. It’s about energy, joy, and the freedom to show up fully in your own skin.

I’ve learned that balance is less about doing everything and more about listening deeply—to your body, your intuition, your heart. Less about competing with a younger self, and more about preparing for my future. It’s knowing when to push and when to rest, when to nourish and when to release, when to say “yes” and when to say “no" lovingly.

At 50, I’m less interested in chasing youth and more devoted to cultivating vitality. I’m trading perfection for presence, comparison for curiosity, and busyness for being.

This new chapter is about integration: 🌿 honoring the wisdom of experience, 💪 celebrating the strength of resilience, 🔥 and embracing the spark of possibility that never fades with age.

To everyone walking their own midlife path—whether you’re redefining your health, career, or sense of purpose, I SEE YOU.

And, know this: it’s not too late. You’re not behind. You’re precisely on time.

Here’s to strong hearts, soft edges, and the kind of health that radiates from the inside out.

With gratitude and grit,

♥️Julia