Inspirations: How to love yourself and embrace new perspectives with Julie Mallari from Rainbows Are Circles

Today I’m meeting the sparkly Julie Mallari from Rainbows Are Circles.

Julie is the creator and host of the magical podcast Rainbows Are Circles. Long ago, Julie worked in a healthcare job that didn’t fulfill her. She shares with us how wanting to cultivate a truly loving relationship with herself lead her to ditch that career and start exploring many different practices.

Today, Julie is a a yoga and meditation teacher, Reiki practitioner, flight attendant and Polynesian dancer. She brings these together, with curiosity, fun, and more, in her delightful podcast, Rainbows Are Circles.

Her playful words and magical guests empower listeners to let go of expectations. She invites your curiosity to open up and let you to soar to new perspectives.

And, hey, who knows what rainbows you may find up there?

Sophie from Yes Yoga Be Well: Who are you Julie? What is the medicine you bring to the world?

Julie Mallari: I help people develop healthy, loving, authentic relationships with themselves.

The most important relationship we will ever have is the one with ourselves. Yet so many of us, including myself, have a very critical inner voice that can be very unkind.

Over time, I have learned to cultivate a supportive and loving relationship with myself. I experiment with a variety of tools, and I practice daily. I love sharing these tools with others through my workshops and podcast.

And I also bring the magic of curiosity, playfulness, and perspective through my podcast 🙂

Julie Mallari creator and host at Rainbows Are Circles — Julie Mallari, creator and host of Rainbows Are Circles

S/YYBW: What brought you to create Rainbows are Circles, your delightfully magical podcast? Why “Rainbows are Circles” – are they really circles? What is Rainbows are Circles about?

J.M: The name “rainbows are circles” came about on my first trip to the magical island of Kauai, Hawaii. I was on a helicopter tour, viewing the island from above. I saw a rainbow ahead and noticed that it was a circle – not an arc! “Rainbows are circles?!” I exclaimed. We flew through the center of the rainbow. It shimmered as we passed.

I couldn’t believe it. My whole life I thought I knew rainbows. But only when I saw it from a different perspective – high in the sky! – was I able to see that they are full circles. Rainbows didn’t change. My perspective of them did.

That’s what this podcast is about. How can we embrace new perspectives to view life, people, and obstacles in a new way? What happens to our experience when we are habitually curious? When we’re willing to listen to people who have different opinions? When we step out of our limited mindsets and open to change?

Instead of assuming “astrology doesn’t really work” or “witches are evil” what if we said “I wonder how astrology works?” or “Why does the word ‘witch’ have negative connotations?”

What can we learn when we stop judging and assuming, and start getting curious?

S/YYBW: I love that. I often find it is easy to say “let go of assumptions”, but it’s not always as easy right?
Through your guests, we are treated to a wonderful mix of inner work practices (personal empowerment, self-love…), AND other more “outer” practices. I’m thinking “outer” for episodes that share incredible life stories, or talk about casting spells, nurturing relationships… Do you want to share more about this magical mix? How do inner and outer practices come together for you? Is this the key to releasing judgments?

J.M: What an interesting question. I think inner and outer practices are one and the same. Our outer world is a reflection of our inner world. When we work on our inner world – loving ourselves, examining our beliefs – this affects what we create in our reality (the relationships we have, the experiences we manifest).

When we nurture a relationship, we are also nurturing ourselves, and when we cast a spell in the outer world with a candle and intention (to increase self-love for example), we are changing something within ourselves. They reflect each other.

But changing my outer world begins with changing my inner world (my beliefs). It begins on the inside.

Our outer world is a reflection of our inner world. When we work on our inner world – loving ourselves, examining our beliefs – this affects what we create in our reality
Julie Mallari

S/ YYBW: You also are a Polynesian dancer and a yoga teacher. What space do movement practices have – for you? in your podcast?

J.M: Movement helps me to connect to my body. My body is the physical vessel that moves me through life. When I am not moving and exercising regularly, I feel unbalanced. My energy goes into my head, my thoughts, over-analyzing, worrying. When I connect with my body, I connect to my emotions, to the present moment, to my intuition. I feel better and I receive insights and guidance when I connect with my body.

Just today, I was in the park exercising and practicing a beautiful qi-gong sequence that I learned from my friend Nathalie from Bliss Dog School of Consciousness. I was looking at the sky, the leaves blowing in the wind. I felt my body, I breathed deeper. In that moment, I felt joyful, and inspiring thoughts came to me.

Yesterday I woke up late and stayed inside for most of the day. I felt sluggish, tired and “down.” I felt unproductive and it seemed I didn’t have enough time.

When I notice the benefits of movement, I am inspired to do it more. But it takes experimenting and observing.

I haven’t brought many movement practices into my podcast, but this is a great idea. Thanks for the insight!

S/YYBW: I’m excited to hear what you come up with!
How do you meet all the magical guests on your podcast?

J.M: Most of my guests are my teachers! I may have taken their classes, workshops, or read their books, and was transformed by their work in some way.

Other times, people reach out to be a guest on my podcast. When I am inspired by a person and I can feel their passion, I am honored to have them.

S/YYBW: I also love that you are also experimenting with shorter episodes, like your guided tea ritual, where YOU share a practice or insight. What are the invitations for your listeners with these short and sweet offerings?

J.M: These shorter episodes came about partially due to time constraints, and also because I realized that I had my own magic to share with listeners!

Interviewing and editing an hour-long podcast is very time consuming, especially at first when I was obsessed with making everything “perfect”. So I’m trying out some shorter episodes, and editing less. I’m still figuring out the best mix and flow. I do enjoy interviewing, so I’d like to get back into that soon. But I need to streamline my process, or hire an editor, so it’s not so time-consuming.

S/YYBW: And would you like to share a practice with us today?

J.M: I’d love to invite listeners to experience the Guided Relaxation for Self-Care on my recent podcast episode #31 🙂 It’s a lovely way to wind down and connect with our inner knowing.

Rainbows Are Circles Podcast by Julie Mallari

Guided Relaxation for Self-Care by Rainbows Are Circles’ Julie Mallari

S/YYBW: Thank you so much for that.
Is there anything else you want to talk about that is close to your heart?

J.M: First of all, thank you for the interview! It really helped me to reflect on my journey and my beliefs. It also helped me recognize all the progress I’ve made and the beautiful things I’ve co-created with my guests. Sometimes we forget to honor ourselves, don’t we?

Secondly, I’d like to say that the main thing I’m working on right now is honoring where I’m at and cultivating self-compassion and self-love.

So if any readers are interested in attending a workshop on this important topic, please reach out and I will keep you updated! Email me at juliemallari at gmail.com.

S/YYBW: Where can we find you, your podcast and your other offerings?