Meet the team
The Body Retreat was founded by Julie Brealy & Juls Abernethy in 2010 and is the only health and wellbeing retreat that is run exclusively by women for women. All our team are handpicked not only for their impressive qualifications and professional experience of women’s health but also because they are real, down to earth women just like us.
After a successful 20 year career as a semi -pro sportswoman, Julie decided to channel her passion for fitness to help others who wanted to achieve but didn’t know how to start.
Julie is a certified Stenght and Conditionng Coach, Level 4 Personal Trainer, Level 4 Master Kettlebell Trainer, Running & Sports coach and Weight Management & Obesity Specialist and premier designer of some of the top weight loss bootcamps in the UK.
Julie has work and studied health and fitness for over 20 years and what sets Julie apart from other trainers is her down to earth attitude and incredible techniques to inspire everyone she works with to reach goals they never thought possible.
Believing in total body fitness Julie’s programmes are not one hit wonders as she believes in working with you to ensure that you see and feel results quickly while at the same time building a strong foundation for your future health.
Julie’s personal passion for fitness has seen her seek out the best national and international coaches and trainers to continually develop her own skills and knowledge and these are passed on to you though her dynamic and creative style of training.
Julie has completed 3 ultra marathons, 10 marathons and over thirty half marathons around the world.
Juls had a varied professional career, from Catering & Hospitality Management to HR and Training Director. It was during her HR career that Juls developed a real interest in self-improvement techniques in particular the relationships between thoughts and behaviours and habit formation and this lead to her studying Neuro Linguistic Programming to Master level. It was then that Juls decided that she wanted to use her behaviour coaching skills in a holistic way and began training as a Hypnotherapist at the London College of Clinical Hypnotherapy and now specialises in women’s well being, weight management, stress and Sleep.
Having suffered from Burnout Juls is passionate about helping other women recognise the signs and symptoms and understand how they can help themselves to better manage stress in their daily lives.
Juls follows the strict codes of ethics of the National Guild of Hypnotists and the British Society of Clinical Hypnosis which includes client confidentiality and ensures that she continues to develop professionally.
As well as managing the behaviour programme for The Body Retreat Juls began to develop her skill and training in food and nutrition and has trained at one of the UK’s leading cookery schools and has participated in the Nutrition Forum at the University of West London and now oversees the kitchens on retreat.
In her free time Juls loves to be outdoors especially cold water swimming.
Kate specialises in working with people who have high levels of stress, She runs clinics in west London focusing on weight loss and sports performance. Kate’s approach is friendly, practical,calm and she provides realistic recommendations. Above all her first priority is to inspire people to make more healthful food choices and be interested in food and the part it plays in health.
Kate enjoys outdoor events including triathlons, running and trekking.
Dr Miranda was introduced to Mindfulness 10 years ago, and her experience of it has been immensely positive, both personally and professionally: It is a powerful life enhancing approach, together with being a safe and effective therapeutic tool. Dr Miranda has been teaching the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course for four years to both groups and individuals.
Her other qualifications include a BSc in Physiology, a Medical Degree (MB BS) from St Bartholomew’s Hospital. While working part-time as a GP, she gained a Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling, and became a BACP accredited counsellor in 2005. In 2001, Dr Miranda gave up medicine to concentrate on counselling, and to further her studies into Yoga, which she has been practicing since 2005. Dr Miranda is also an accredited EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) practitioner.
Devon born and bred, Sharon lives in the South Hams, just outside of Modbury, with husband, Andy, and two dogs, Colin and Bill.
After working for nearly 40 years for a large corporate company, leading on learning and Development, and more recently HR, Sharon was delighted to be able to retire early and spend time doing the things shes loves, like sewing ( Sharon makes our gift bags) and walking – although obviously not at the same time !
Sharon helps Julie with client correspondence and Juls with social media admin, Sharon alsos supports our Body Breakthrough clients on and off retreat, inspiring them with her own weight loss journey.
Fleur is a baker and chef and you will see her in the retreat kitchen prepping and testing recipes. She ran her own wood-fired bakery producing sourdough breads and vienoisserie and now continues to teach baking courses at Tracebridge Sourdough in Somerset. Fleur is passionate about creating better relationships between food producers and consumers. She believes eating seasonally, using organic where possible and building relationships with small local producers can help us work towards a more sustainable future. Fleur enjoys testing and developing recipes balancing nutrition and flavour and experimenting with the seasons.
As well as spending her days off cooking and eating with family and friends, Fleur loves to be in nature and enjoys walks, foraging and swimming outdoors when the weather is nice.
Wendy is a Retreat success story after many years of trying every diet under the sun Wendy turn to Julie for help, nearly 2 years later she as lost over 3 stone and has maintained her new fitter weight for over 4 years by following the behaviour, nutrition and exercise principals learn’t at The Body Retreat.
Wendy will inspire young and old to take the approach believe in you and you will succeed. Wendy is a Level 2 Gym instructor and along with other members of the retreat team has a keen interest in running for mental and physical strength. Wendy ran her first marathon in April 2012 and plans to run one marathon a year.
Having practised many different types, she has returned to an all-round, gentle hatha yoga approach, incorporating “chi gung” and “kum nye”, as she enjoys introducing others to these energy exercises which she has found to be so useful herself.
Jo holds a British Wheel of Yoga diploma and her teaching is informed by the postgraduate Pranayama, Philosophy, Yoga Nidra and Meditation modules that she has completed with the BWY.
She has taken part in weeklong silent retreats several times a year for over ten years and is interested in how we can incorporate a short, simple meditation practice in our daily life to enhance wellbeing of body, heart and mind.
Shalini has been teaching Bollywood dancing to adults for over ten years and her Just Jhoom! classes are inspired by her training in Indian classical and folk dancing. She has an MA in South Asian Dance and is also a qualified ETM Instructor and is currently undergoing her Pilates training.
Shalini is the founder of Just Jhoom! a brand new form of dancercise that is inspired by the glitz and the glamour of Bollywood. Drawing on a range of dance styles from classical Indian to salsa with dashes of hip-hop, jive and jazz, Just Jhoom! is energetic, sexy, tongue-in-cheek….and a fun way to keep fit!
So, don’t just sit there…Just Jhoom!
Emma is a juggler of many things but at the heart of it loves cooking, exploring with new recipes, particularly baking with vegetables and spending time with her ever evolving family and friends. She is passionate in using local produce and trying to lower food miles, using British produce and working part time as a shepherd in the beautiful Bride Valley on the Jurassic coastline.
In her spare moments she enjoys walking with her bouncy Cocker Spaniel “Bruno” or snuggling up with a good book.
You will find Emma in our Dorset Retreat House
KettleBella “Bootcamp” Brealy or Bella for short.
My main role at The Body Retreat is motivation and distraction. It is true that I do spend an awful lot of time sleeping under the Retreat desk, but I also earn my keep and work at the retreats. Mostly you will see me on walks, where anyone struggling to make it to the top of a hill is welcome to hang on to my lead and Im sure to get you there.
Despite being named after the Kettlebell… I’m not yet taken with them. In my spare time I like playing catch, eating socks, chasing birds, running in puddles, and eating the cats biscuits. The simple pleasures in life.
KettleBella “Bootcamp” Brealy or Bella for short.
My main role at The Body Retreat is motivation and distraction. It is true that I do spend an awful lot of time sleeping under the Retreat desk, but I also earn my keep and work at the retreats. Mostly you will see me on walks, where anyone struggling to make it to the top of a hill is welcome to hang on to my lead and Im sure to get you there.
Despite being named after the Kettlebell… I’m not yet taken with them. In my spare time I like playing catch, eating socks, chasing birds, running in puddles, and eating the cats biscuits. The simple pleasures in life.
