Julie Lusk

What a pleasure to specialize in balancing and strengthening the body-mind-spirit connection through yoga, meditation, positive relaxation, and guided imagery.  I feel so fortunate to have discovered yoga and meditation as a young woman in the 1970’s and to continue to study and practice till now. What a joy it has been to teach all these years and to be the author of the many books and recordings listed below on yoga nidra, meditation, guided imagery and similar practices.

My professional counseling training, certification, and work has been invaluable, providing me with an enriching perspective on mind-body interventions.  Professionally, I have been a regional director for a large hospital-based holistic health and wellness program, director of health management and wellness at a well-known medical clinic, an assistant dean of students for career planning and placement at a college, director of special services at a community college, and an educational awareness counselor.  Thousands have been touched through my volunteer work.

Most of all, I love sharing all this with others.  This has given me a practical sensibility of what works and what doesn’t as well as all the benefits that happen.  It’s a real joy for me to teach others as a teacher and trainer.

Graciously,
Julie Lusk, M.Ed., E-RYT-500

PUBLISHED BOOKS

• Yoga Nidra Meditations: 24 Scripts for True Relaxation, Llewellyn, Woodbury, MN. 2021
• Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation & Stress Relief, New Harbinger, Oakland, CA, 2015
• Yoga Meditations: Timeless Mind-Body Practices for Awakening, Whole Person Associates, Duluth, MN. 2005
• Desktop Yoga, Penguin Group/Perigee Books, New York, NY.  1998.  Translated into Spanish, Dutch and German
• 30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery and Inner Healing, Vol. 2, Whole Person Associates, Duluth, MN—First edition 1993, second edition 2015
• 30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery and Inner Healing, Vol. 1, Whole Person Associates, Duluth, MN—First edition 1992, second edition 2015. Translated into Spanish and Italian

AUDIO RECORDINGS

• Guided Mindfulness Meditations: Practicing Presence & Finding Peace (Health Journeys, Cleveland, OH)
• Yoga Nidra: Guided Meditations for Relaxation & Renewal  (Health Journeys, Cleveland, OH)
• Yoga Nidra:  Inner Strength and Balance (Kunaki Publishers / WR)
• Yoga Nidra: Unshakeable Peace and Joy (Kunaki Publishers / WR)
• Yoga Nidra:  High-Level Living (Kunaki Publishers / WR)
• Real Relaxation: Yoga Nidra (Kunaki Publishers / WR)
• Refreshing Journeys (Whole Person Associates, Duluth, MN)
• Sa Ta Na Ma Meditation (Kunaki Publishers / WR)
• Power of Presence  (Kunaki Publishers / WR) Wholesome Relaxation  (Kunaki Publishers / WR)
• Wholesome Energizers  (Kunaki Publishers / WR)
• Blue Moon Rising (Kunaki Publishers / WR)
• And many other

EDUCATION

• Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia
  • Master of Arts in Education – Counseling and Family Development
• Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia
  • Bachelor of Arts in Education. Cum Laude. Course work in rehabilitation counseling and education

YOGA ALLIANCE

• Registered Yoga Teacher E-500 since 2001
• Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider or YACEP

YOGA CERTIFICATIONS

• White Lotus Foundation – Certified Yoga Teacher, 1994
• White Lotus Foundation – Advanced Teacher Training, 1996
• Yoga of the Heart Certification – Nischala Devi at Satchidananda Ashram, Yogaville, VA 1998
• Atma Yoga – Certified Yoga Teacher & Yoga Teacher Trainer, 2001
• iRest Yoga Nidra Teacher Training with Richard Miller, Level 1, 2011
• Master classes with Lilias Folan, Christopher Baxter, Nischala Joy Devi, Sarah Powers, Michael Reed-Gach, Sam Dworkis, Richard Miller, Donna Farhi, Sally Kempton, Belleruth Naparstek, Joe Panoor and many others

SPECIALIZED TRAINING

• Intensive Training Institute:  Alternative Approaches to Mind/Body Medicine with Christine Page, MD, and C. Normal Shealy, PhD, NICABM.  1996
• Institute Certificate:  Clinical Training Hypnosis Course with Helen Erickson, RN, PhD, and Sandra Sylvester, PhD, NICABM.  1995; Bill O’Hanlon,
• Reiki II Therapist. 1998, 2001, 2005.
• Healing Touch I:  2000
• SoulCollage ® Facilitator: 2015

COUNSELING CREDENTIALS & CERTIFICATIONS

• National Board for Certified Counselors – National Certified Counselor, 1985 – present 
• Commonwealth of Virginia – Licensed Professional Counselor, 1981 – 2001

TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
     Yoga ~ Meditation ~ Guided Imagery ~ Yoga Nidra

• National and International
  • Satchidananda Ashram / Integral Yoga / Yogaville, VA (7 years)
  • Kripalu Yoga Teachers Association Conference (5 years)
  • Kripalu Center Program (14 years);
  • Sivanada Yoga Ashram in the Bahamas (10 years)
  • Discovery Yoga (4 years)
  • Yoga Educator at the National Wellness Conference for 15 years
  • Yoga Educator at the Health Immunity & Disease NICABM Conference (7 years)
• Regional Yoga Educator (teaching classes consecutively since 1977)    
  • Yoga Slumber Party & Women’s Retreat, Milford, OH: 2001 – present
  • Honey Sweetie Acres Goat Yoga, Goshen, OH: 2017 – present
  • Jesuit Spiritual Center, Milford, OH:  2004 – present
  • Anderson Senior Center & Heritage Church, OH: 2005 to present
  • Miami Township OH; 2000 – present
  • Cincinnati Yoga School, HealthPlex at Anderson, Fairfield: 2000-2005
  • YMCA, Salem, VA:  1996 – 1999
  • Lewis-Gale Medical Foundation, Salem, VA: 1989 – 1996
  • Roanoke College, Salem, VA: 1982 – 1989
  • Roanoke Memorial Hospital; 1983 – 1984
  • Roanoke Athletic Club: 1980 – 1982
  • Virginia Western Community College: 1978 – 1980
  • YWCA: 1977 – 1978

PROGRAM DEVELOPER

• Desktop Yoga ®.  Modified over 100 yoga postures and created sequences to be practiced by “office workers, internet addicts, and stressed out students.”  Author of Desktop Yoga (Penguin/Putnam Group). Blessed with numerous media, medical and work-site demonstrations as well as publications and interviews.
• DARE to Relax.  Developed a stress management-training program that has been used in business, collegiate, medical and community settings.  DARE stands for Diet; Attitude and Awareness; Rest and Relaxation; and Exercise.
• SPICES for Life   Initiated, developed, promoted and implemented wellness programs for collegiate, corporate and community groups.  SPICES stands for Social, Physical, Intellectual, Career, Emotional and Spiritual wellness.  Programs included health fairs, wellness assessments and various activities.
• Wellaware    Designed, implemented, promoted and evaluated employee wellness program for Lewis-Gale Clinic.  Components included ongoing incentive program to encourage and reinforce wellness behaviors.  On-going events were planned and implemented.
• Alive and Well Coalition   Chaired the 1000 member volunteer coalition which developed, promoted and implemented the country’s first community based wellness week (1986).  Quit and Win, a community-based smoking cessation contest (38% quit rate); Project Lean, a community-wide project to promote good nutrition and exercise.  Certificates of Recognition from the Governor of Virginia, the US Secretary of Health, the Virginia Commissioner of Health, the Mayor of Roanoke, and Wellness Councils of America.

by Julie Lusk

30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery and Inner Healing provides

• Reliable ways to relax, get stress relief and boost your energy
• Ways to look inside yourself so you can make valuable, well-informed decisions.
• Uncover a powerful resource – our intuition and instincts
• Safely benefit from your true feelings

PRINT BOOK: 30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery & Inner Healing - Volume 2 - NEW Print Edition

Enjoy and benefit from over 30 scripts for learning and leading guided relaxation and imagery techniques. Volume 2. CLICK on the blue title link above to find out more...

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30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery and Inner Healing is packed full of

• Fresh, easy-to-follow relaxation scripts
  to use personally or with others
• Designed for professionals and semi-professionals
• Includes strategies for stress relief and relaxation training exercises
  • Progressive muscular relaxation
  • Breathing techniques
  • Creative visualization
  • Guided imagery and guided meditation
    

    

Benefit now – Buy now

• Discover answers you’ve been searching for
• Benefit from the power of relaxation to heal
• Manage your feelings smoothly
• Gain personal power and peace

Table of Contents:  30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery & Inner Healing   –  Vol.  2

Julie Lusk
Whole Person Associates Publisher

Becoming Relaxed
The cornerstone of all guided imagery work lies in the ability to relax the body, mind, and emotions. This is true whether you would like to awaken your intuition, communicate with your inner guide, connect with nature, or benefit from the healing visualizations. You will be wasting your time if you don’t relax first.

Practice the following exercises until you become comfortable doing them. The method used for relaxing isn’t important; being able to relax is. Relaxation opens the door to your inner resources. Try out each exercise several times and choose the ones that work best for you.

After you’ve mastered the relaxation exercises, explore the different types of guided visualizations in the other sections of this book, or of those from volume 1.

• Relaxing while Lying Down
  Learn to  lie down and relax by alternately tensing and relaxing all muscle groups and by mentally releasing tension. (10 minutes)
• Expanding and Contracting
  This short relaxation exercise, performed while lying down, combines progressive relaxation with breathing and body scanning techniques. (4 minutes)
• Magic Carpet Ride
  This deep breathing exercise works well for people who have difficulty with relaxed breathing. (15 minutes)
• Threshold Relaxation
  In this exercise, you will slightly tense a specific part of their body until it begins to feel tense. Once tension is felt, it is held a moment and then relaxed. Threshold Relaxation teaches participants to be sensitive to small changes in the body. Through practice (several times a day at first) the body learns what relaxation feels like in each muscle and how to regulate itself in automatic and unconscious ways. (12 minutes)
• Heavy
  This script helps you experience the freshness of spirit and calmness of mind that results from passive attention to the rhythm of their breathing and the relaxed heaviness in their hands and feet. (15 minutes)
• Warm
  This autogenic relaxation routine asks participants to gently focus on warmth spreading through their bodies, bringing complete relaxation and a sense of personal peace and renewal. (15 minutes)
• Relaxation Training for Children
  This entertaining relaxation script is perfect for children (and adults) because it teaches them how to tense and relax their muscles while utilizing their fantasy and imagination skills. (12 minutes)

Nature and the Environment
This section contains a variety of guided meditations that will help deepen your ability to relax and sharpen your ability to visualize, whether you visualize by using your imagination to see, feel, smell, or hear the scenes described. When you practice using all your senses, your experience will be enriched.

Getting in touch with nature is soothing, inspiring, and healing. To get the most out of these visualizations, first take the time to thoroughly relax. Remember to briefly describe the content of the guided visualization to the people you are working with. If a particular setting makes anyone uncomfortable, select a different script.

• Finding Your Own Sacred Place
  Participants are gently guided into a relaxed state of being and then given instructions for discovering and exploring a comfortable, personal sacred place. (20 minutes)
• Mountain Tops
  A mountain top is the setting for this relaxing journey to relaxation and renewal. (8 minutes)
• Caribbean Vacation
  This guided meditation promotes inner peace, beauty, renewal, and release of negativity. Participants are encouraged to feel connected and grounded to the universe. (10 minutes)
• Mighty Pine
  Participants take an imaginary walk into a grove of trees to find a mighty pine tree from which they draw strength and energy. (10 minutes)
• Listening to Mother Earth
  This script can help participants experience their connection to Mother Earth and learn from her wisdom. (5 minutes)
• Flying
  This script begins with a relaxation exercise that emphasizes the feelings of heaviness and lightness to help participants more fully experience the imagery of flying. (20 minutes)
• Hot Tubbing
  Participants experience feelings of peace and understanding by imagining they are lounging in an outdoor hot tub. (5 minutes)

Inner Answers
Using the guided imagery exercises in this section will help you listen to what you already know. In other words, you will awaken your intuition to help you be consistent and in alignment with your own inner, individual truth.

These scripts are written to unlock your creative potential, provide you with insights, help you see patterns and possibilities, and understand yourself better. In order for this to happen, it is crucial to relax your body and quiet your mind first. So be sure to use a relaxation exercise whenever you are instructed to do so.

Read Awakening Intuition by Frances E. Vaughan for more information about accessing your intuitive self.

• Cruise Meditation
  This script helps participants receive special messages from their own personal inner guide. (8 minutes)
• Imagery for Nurturing Your Inner Child
  In this guided imagery, each participant is invited to meet and lovingly nurture his or her inner child. (10 minutes)
• Your Private Space
  This visualization works well with individuals in weight classes and in other classes dealing with the need for boundaries, protection, positive body image, healing, and unconditional love. (15 minutes)
• Body, Mind, Soul
  Help your clients get in touch with their body, mind, and soul while they increase personal awareness and create personal strength and well-being. (8 minutes)
• Visiting Your Heart’s House
  In this script, participants equip themselves to meet lifeís challenges by receiving insightful and helpful gifts from an ancient chest located in their heart’s house. (18 minutes)

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Healing
The mind and body are one, and what you believe and feel are reflected in your body. Sometimes your thoughts may lead to illness, aches, and pains; and other times, they can lead to exhilarating feelings of joy, pleasure, and peacefulness. Likewise, the condition of your body and the way it is feeling affect your thoughts. This is why it is impossible to worry when you feel relaxed.

Much of the benefits derived from the following healing imageries come from the necessary first step of calming and centering the body and mind. Therefore, it is important to perform a relaxation exercise whenever a script calls for one. Read the works of Bernie Siegel, Jeanne Achterberg, Joan Borysenko, Patrick Fanning, and Deepak Chopra for an in-depth look at how and why healing imageries work.

• Healing Firemen
  This visualization was developed for aiding in the healing process for any illness. It is particularly well-suited for cancer patients who are receiving radiation treatment or taking drugs. (12 minutes)
• At Peace with Pain
  This visualization is designed to help meet the challenge of severe and persistent pain. It relies on the paradox of acceptance and surrender as a way of gaining power, not of giving up. (20 minutes)
• Pond of Love
  In this script, participants sit beside an imaginary pond that radiates love. Endless variations can be created by substituting different characteristics and virtues radiating from the pond. For instance, the pond may be full of peace, understanding, or forgiveness. You may also want to let participants choose the characteristics on their own. (8 minutes)
• Inner Smile
  This gentle relaxation exercise has its roots in Zen meditation and will leave participants feeling inner harmony and happiness. (10 minutes)
• Thoughts Library
  This script can help participants control wandering, stressful, distracting thoughts by having them exchange these thoughts for relaxing ones. Participants visualize putting away unwanted thoughts in a book with vinyl see-through pages and then opening up another imaginary book to experience a relaxing and beautiful ocean scene. (15 minutes)

Personal Growth
Many people find it hard to make decisions, and many others find it difficult to make positive lifestyle changes. If this is true for you or your clients, try out these guided visualizations. Give your body and mind the chance to work for you instead of against you.

Read Creative Visualization and Living in the Light by Shakti Gawain for a description of the principles used in these scripts.

As always, be certain to use a relaxation script whenever advised to do so, and feel free to modify these scripts to fit your situation.

• Visualizing Change
  In this script, participants spend time exploring and visualizing a desired behavioral change to enhance the change process. (10 minutes)
• Stop Smoking Relaxation Exercise
  This script is intended to be used in conjunction with a smoking cessation program or a strategies for quitting program. It begins with a passive progressive muscle relaxation exercise to put participants at ease then offers positive suggestions on becoming smoke-free. (18 minutes)
• Imagery to Increase Basal Metabolic Rate (Learning Script)
  This and the following imagery script focus on weight control by having participants imagine increasing their basal metabolic rates (BMR), which stands for the number of calories burned at rest. (12 minutes)
• Imagery to Increase Basal Metabolic Rate (Shorter Script)
  This script should be used after participants have gone through the preceding script several times. (8 minutes)
• Peace for People Experiencing Grief
  This gentle and loving script helps people deal with their grief by guiding them to a special place full of beauty and healing energy. In this place, the grief and pain surrounding loss begins to be soothed and relieved. (25 minutes)
• On Being a Wellness Professional
  This guided visualization helps participants discover a career path to follow that is in keeping with their inner talents and interests. Although it is written with a focus on professionals in the field of wellness, it can be adapted for almost any profession. (15 minutes)

PRINT BOOK: 30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery & Inner Healing - Volume 2 - NEW Print Edition

Enjoy and benefit from over 30 scripts for learning and leading guided relaxation and imagery techniques. Volume 2. CLICK on the blue title link above to find out more...

EBOOK Edition: 30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery & Inner Healing - Volume 2 -EBOOK Edition

Enjoy and benefit from over 30 scripts for learning and leading guided relaxation and imagery techniques. Volume 2. CLICK the green title link to find out more...