Julie’s Personal Story
Hi, I’m Julie Wix, the founder of Pause & Exhale. I’m so pleased you’re here.
I was born in Belfast, Ireland but have been lucky to call Sydney my home since 1999. Like many women, I spent years juggling full-time work, parenting, and managing constant daily demands. In my mid-30s, I began feeling deeply disconnected, from myself, my body, my husband and kids. I was constantly exhausted and stressed and started experiencing persistent pelvic and back pain, ibs and bladder irritation one of the early signs that something bigger was shifting beneath the surface.
Enter "The Pause"
At the time, I didn’t realise I was entering perimenopause. My focus was solely on solving the exhaustion, stress and pain, unaware that it was part of a broader hormonal and emotional transition.
I navigated the medical system for 10+ years consulting numerous general practitioners, pain specialists, gynaecologists, gastroenterologists, urologists, physiotherapists and psychologists.
This is a picture of my pelvis where a vascular surgeon attempted to coil my ovarian vein to relieve me of my pain, I knew it was an experiment, but I was desperate for pain relief, it didn’t help, my pain remained the same and the coil is still there (I don’t beep while going through security gates though which is a positive!)
Xray of my pelvis showing a coil, a failed attempt to “fix” my pelvic pain.
I tried every therapy diet and supplement imaginable , but nothing truly helped. Eventually, my pain specialist at my local hospital, advised that I was in perimenopause which can cause heighted stress and overwhelm and gently suggested that I try a mind-body approach to manage my stress and pain. That insight flipped my world! And I will be forever grateful for his ability to think outside the box and the mainstream approach to pain and stress management.
That moment marked the beginning of a profound transformation, not just in how I managed my stress and pain, but in how I understood myself. I discovered that my nervous system was completely dysregulated and I was “reverse breathing” (my belly was moving “in” when I inhaled and “out” when I exhaled) which was very detrimental to my overall health. I began exploring breathwork, specifically functional breathing, nervous system regulation, and mind-body practices that connected me to a deeper sense of agency and calm. For the first time in over a decade, I felt like I wasn’t fighting my body, I was working with it. Perimenopause, once an invisible force behind my symptoms, became a lens through which I rediscovered resilience, compassion, and purpose. It changed how I live, how I lead, and how I advocate for others who are told to just endure.
Bsc ( Hons) Behavioural Science (Major in Psychology)
200hrs Breathwork Facilitator
Mind-Body Syndrome (Neuroplastic Pain/TMS) Practitioner
Mindset Coach
Menopause Wellness Coach
Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resource Management
Certificate IV Training and Assessment in the Workplace
Holistic Employee Experience Practitioner