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Release & Empower is designed for women who are often attending to other people’s needs. We are all helpers in some way, whether that happens as mental health professionals, healthcare providers, wellness practitioners, organizational leaders, mothers, elder caregivers, teachers, or friends. Everyone is used to giving a lot of themselves, and most really crave some space to receive. If this sounds like you, maybe you’re also wanting to:
- Release negative emotions and other people’s “stuff” so you’re not carrying them around
- Consistently be able to shift into a more relaxed, centered way of being regardless of what’s going on around you
- Feel clear about your next steps and strong enough to make courageous choices
- Be able to set healthy boundaries and feel heart-centered and balanced in your relationships and responsibilities
- Appreciate your life and know you are not only good enough, but really worth it
The Release & Empower program is not therapy or interpersonal processing work. It is women caring for their own hearts and finding their own strength, together. Part teaching, part ceremony, all experiential practice, we gather each week, releasing from the mind and body and renewing the spirit in a nourishing rhythm of simple practices (click on the little triangles to learn more):
Writing
Use expressive writing to release and compost the thoughts and feelings that have been held in, and gain surprisingly easy access to your own clarity.
Movement
Explore somatic release, intuitive movement, voice, and music to unwind emotions stored in the body. There is no one watching, and no experience is necessary!
Sharing
Speak the truth of your experience without other people’s advice, opinions, or judgments. This no cross-talk sharing gives you space to find your own answers inside.
Self-Compassion, Healthy Boundaries, and Deep Permission To Do Things Your Own Way
A theme throughout our season, you’ll be encouraged not to follow the leader but to slow down, hear and listen to your own intuition. The practice of self-kindness and healthy boundaries is always woven into our time together.
Themes for our circle sessions synchronize with the moon cycles and with the rhythms of our emotional and physical bodies, returning us all to the simple but profound truths available to every living being. Having a practice community like this can be foundational for those going through life transitions, struggling with burnout and people pleasing, or looking to support a new phase of balance, authenticity, and ease. If you care for other people professionally or in your personal life, and you’re craving space to find your own voice again, this program was created for you. Learn more with this brief introductory video and see below for details:
HOW IT WORKS
Twice a year, a new cycle of the group begins. We are currently registering for the New Year season. Space is limited, and spots are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. You can register now, or if you’re not ready, you can add your name to an interest list. You can also watch an introductory video or ask questions to learn more.
TIME AND DATES
All sessions are held on Zoom for an hour and fifteen minutes on Thursdays at 9:30am CST (10:30am EST / 7:30am PST)
Currently registering for the New Year Season: January 15th-May 28th, 2026
Can’t make this time? Try a private session or sign up for my future interest mailing list.
COMMITMENT & PRIVACY
Once you register, your space is saved in the group for the entire series. You can join us every session or skip weeks whenever you need to. Showing up a little late is fine too, once you get the hang of our rhythm. Sessions are not recorded, to protect the privacy of the women who are present.
FEES
You’ll pay five payments of $210/month for the series. There are twenty sessions in the New Year Season, so it comes out to a little over $50 per session.
QUESTIONS?
Just ask your questions here. I will get back to you as soon as possible, usually within 1-2 business days. If you don’t have specific questions but want to know more, you can still use this link to watch a brief video where I talk in more detail about what to expect. Otherwise, use the button below if you’re ready to sign up!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is this program right for me?
Release & Empower is designed for those who “hold space” and give a lot of emotional care to others. It’s a great fit if you’re a mental health or healthcare professional, mom, or natural caregiver going through your own life transition, wanting to be healthier and kinder to yourself, finding a new path after a loss, struggling with low-level anxiety, living as an empath or highly sensitive person, or just trying to avoid burnout and maintain equilibrium in crazy times. It won’t be the right fit if you’re struggling with major mental health issues, PTSD, an abusive partner, or active addictions. If you’re unsure, just ask me your questions, and we’ll figure it out together!
What if I have to miss some sessions?
Of course, this will happen sometimes (hopefully because you’re doing something else for your self-care!). There is no obligation to attend every session, though you are always welcome.
I get tired of screens and talking/listening all day. How will this be any different?
I’m glad you asked! At the start of every session, I set the tone that we will be connecting with each other on a heart level rather than trying to reach through the screen. To that effect, we are only actually sitting in front of the screen (or looking at it) for the ending share component. The rest of the time, you’ll be writing, moving, and meditating in whatever positions feel good to your body, without the self-consciousness of people watching you. When we do share, the speaking times are brief and contained, so we get to the essence rather than the story. People are welcome to close their eyes and are encouraged to be centered in their bodies while speaking and listening. I’ve been told by many participants that the no cross-talk sharing is a real relief and a reminder of how powerful just bearing witness can be.
Who is welcome here? What are you doing to make this space safe for BIPOC?
Release & Empower welcomes emotionally mature, self-reflective humans who identify as women from every race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, culture, and life stage. Our participants have ranged from twenty-five to seventy-five years old, though most tend to be in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. I am continually looking for ways to create safety for personal healing work within diverse community. This includes screening all registrants before welcoming them to the group, privacy and silence for the writing, movement, and meditation practices, and no cross-talk during the speaking component. This group is about doing inner work supported by the power of a collective. We’re not getting feedback from anyone, and we’re not sharing our reactions to others. We do that processing for ourselves, with encouragement around boundaries and self-care. Our time together is about women restoring themselves to their own essence; it’s more about the intrapersonal rather than the interpersonal. If a microaggression does occur, and I don’t see it, I welcome feedback and will take action to course correct ASAP. Also, while this particular program is designed for women, or anyone who identifies as such in a significant way, I have led this work with humans of all gender identities and expressions and continue to offer private Release & Empower workshops for professional teams and group therapy practices. If you are interested in this kind of community self-healing and a women’s group doesn’t feel welcoming to you, please do contact me to discuss other offerings. I would be happy to design something to fit your needs.
How many people will be in the group?
Most groups will be between 6-10 participants. In general, I make sure we are small enough to share and be intimate but large enough to feel the power of a group. I have a deep sense of trust in the process including who comes and when. Somehow it always works out!
What kind of experience do you have facilitating groups like this?
I’ve been leading groups, workshops, retreats, and classes similar to the Release & Empower Women’s Group Program for more than twenty-five years now. My offerings have incorporated ritual, writing, meditation, movement, sharing and witnessing, and other forms of creative expression in programs designed for helpers. I started leading women’s circles in 1999, some of which were time-limited and some which continued for years. Examples of day-long retreats and cyclical workshops I’ve led include Remembering Ourselves: A Retreat for Helping Professionals, The Soul of Service: Being Present To What Is, Learning Our Lives: An Exploration of Self and Purpose, Loving Presence: Rediscovering Compassion for Self and Others, Motherself: A Mindfulness-Based Support Group, Contemplative Writing Workshops, Dance It Out: Therapeutic Movement Workshops, and Intergenerational Women’s Retreats. Community healing and honoring the divine feminine is a big part of my life’s work. I began facilitating online healing work in the summer of 2019 and have welcomed some surprising and unique opportunities available through this virtual format. Please note that while I am also a psychotherapist, Release & Empower is not a therapy group. It is a mix of teaching and ceremony, a weekly refuge for healing and personal empowerment.
Are any groups in person?
Our weekly women’s circles are always held virtually, so that people can join from anywhere and for a variety of other reasons. However, we do have occasional, optional in-person intensives for current and former women’s circle participants and their friends. Information on our next intensive can be found here. Those interested in future virtual circles and in-person retreats can sign up to be added to an interest list.
What if I want to try it out for just the fall, but then want to continue for winter and spring? Can I do that?
Absolutely! As long as spots are available, you’re very welcome. We often have Fall Season participants later sign up for the next season that starts in January. The Fall to Spring Cycle registration is discounted for those who know in advance that they want a longer consistent space held for them, but there is no pressure to make that choice. I always recommend people sign up for the option that feels good to them! This page is updated regularly with registration links for the upcoming series, so you’ll know when spots are open.
I’m interested in the group, but unsure and a little nervous. How do I know if I’ll like it?
I understand! You might like to listen to this podcast interview where I talk about the group and the practices in more detail. If you have hesitation about groups in general, you might also check out this blog post. If you need more help discerning, we can email or even schedule a brief inquiry call and talk further. Just fill out this inquiry form to share your questions or concerns. You can also receive a short video of me describing the circle process and what to expect.
TESTIMONIALS
“As someone that struggles to slow down, it has been incredibly valuable to have a designated day/time where space is held for me and I’m guided through self-reflection and self-expression. Julia really gets the need we have as caregivers and sensitive folks for SPACE- to show up as we are and be 100% with our own experience, rather than tending to the needs of anyone else.”
“Julia leads by example; she truly embodies the teaching. I didn’t realize how much I needed this until I got here. I realize how I have tried to be someone I thought I should be, and now I am actually feeling like myself.”
“For the first time in a LONG time I am excited about getting older and wiser and looking forward rather than looking back. The group has definitely helped me learn how to create more space for myself. I am so grateful; it has helped me IMMENSELY.”
“Julia is magic, and a master at holding space. Having this carved out, intentional time has made such a difference to me. I am setting clear boundaries and protecting my emotional resources in a way I had not been doing before.”
“I’ve spent a lot of time feeling like something is wrong with me, and as a result of this group I actually feel content with myself and centered in the present moment. I have arrived at a feeling of security that I haven’t ever known before.”
“Julia skillfully and lovingly provided one of the most powerful group formats that I have ever experienced, both professionally and personally. I didn’t anticipate the change I experienced– Freedom! I first began to experience freedom to be myself within the group meetings and it wasn’t long at all until I began to experience freedom to be me outside of the group. This has been one of the most powerful experiences of my life.”
“The bodywork we did was remarkable–an instinctual, beautiful process I didn’t know was even possible. I have a new relationship with my body now. It has been such a hard time in my life, and this circle has helped me get through it in such a beautiful way.”
“Julia is a masterful facilitator, one of the best I’ve ever worked with. People have been telling me I seem much more clear and grounded, and I have to attribute that to this group. Though I hadn’t known what I was looking for when I found this, it’s exactly what I needed.”
“I love this group. It’s liberating, a breath of fresh air. The writing, the movement, the breathing — it’s all what I’ve been needing to do more of for myself and now I feel like I’m making room for it again. I feel so thankful for the women here, and know that as I am going through some changes in my life, this is just where I need to be.”
“I could not have predicted how connected I have felt to this group of women. As the weeks have gone on, I’ve found myself much better able to get in touch with that wise place inside myself that remains steady and grounded in the midst of life’s challenges. The whole process is cathartic and sacred.”
“This is an amazing experience. I don’t think anyone could come away from this unchanged.“
Julia Aziz, LCSW-S, OIM 