My Story

A true believer in the power of transformation, I was once a city-girl, spawned from an adolescence rivaling the storyline of a 1990s soap opera. Alcoholism and addiction gripped me at a very young age and by sixteen I had dropped out of high-school and ran 1600 miles across the country. After spending my teenage years swirling in the despair of juvenile delinquency, a divine intervention motivated me to be fulfilled, sober, and healthy.

Having lived on the streets, I was eager to understand intersectionality and inequality. That curiosity led me to Chicago where I studied Multicultural and Organizational Communication at DePaul University. Throughout my time at DePaul, I independently traveled Europe, studied and volunteered in South Africa, and conducted empirical, ethnographic research in Kenya.

In 2012, I received my 200HR Yoga Alliance certification and I began teaching public yoga classes shortly thereafter. On my mat, I transformed. A few months after graduating with my M.A. in 2013, my insatiable desire to teach yoga and be outdoors led me to the West Coast. Today, I live on the traditional territory of Kumeyaay, currently referred to as San Diego, CA, with my family.

Prior to moving on to full-time motherhood, I was a content marketing professional and I managed multiple yoga studios, taught over 4000+ public classes, and facilitated in 12 Yoga Teacher Training programs. In 2018, I had the pleasure of creating the 200 HR Yoga Teacher Training Program for Trilogy Sanctuary in La Jolla, California. And two of my all-time favorite projects were creating and hosting A Podcast for Moms and The Move Into Truth Podcast.

These days, I am guide of Dynamic Flow at Pier to Point Wellness (Mondays 5:3oPM + Wednesdays 7AM). And, I am the author of Deeper Than Shallow on Substacks.

Using the darkness of my past and the gifts of my present, I live a deep life that I love to share with others.

I am Julia Jane Sparkman and the person I am today will continue to change and evolve, so I’m certain you’ll meet a newly metamorphized version of me in the near future.