Empowerment practitioner Jules Paxton has a massive following, with celebrities such as Sting, Courtney Cox and Geri Halliwell flocking to bask in his inspiration. He talked to Maire Bonheim about Conscious Movement and finding your inner power.

Jules Paxton had his moment of inspiration a decade ago in an ashram in India, when his son fell ill with Polio. “We were out in a little rural village about two hours away from Mumbai,” he says. “I was shattered. When I think about it now I can feel my heart grip me again.”

Walking back from the clinic with his son, Gabriel, paralysed from the waist down in his arms, Jules was struck by the enormity of the news he had to break to his wife.

“I didn’t know which way to turn. I set Gabriel down and started to pace back and forth, thinking about how I was going to tell her and how this was going to affect the rest of our lives,” he recalls. “Suddenly, I took a deep breath and felt my hands rising up at my side – they just floated up – and I pushed them down, pushing myself upright – like wings. And this wave of peace and tranquillity and self assurance opened up for me. It really was like a miracle. I was centred.”

Even now, he sounds astonished.

“I had been training in yoga for 15 years and what most surprised me was that it wasn’t conscious – I didn’t say to myself, okay you’ve got to gather yourself together. Because only through years of training can you learn to do that in such a panicked state,” explains Jules. “At that moment, it was automatic. That was my divinely inspired moment – the moment that it was given to me. So I gathered myself; I picked up my son Gabriel and walked back to my wife, and I was ready to be as loving and patient and courageous as I could.”

It may seem like an unlikely moment for inspiration, but Jules believes that a crisis often prompts creativity. He went back to New York to fine-tune his Conscious Movement techniques, based on breathing and mind-body alignment.

“Inside your breath, there is a lightness, an enjoyment, bliss. It simply feels good to breath. That is the focal point of conscious movement,” says Jules. “You feel lightness of being, expansion, freedom, peace and excitement, all at the same time. You find your power. That’s what it means to be fully alive.”

Jules believes that most people don’t live their lives fully alive. “We judge ourselves and keep ourselves down,” he says. “Conscious movement is about creating a loving, conscious relationship with yourself by becoming aware of how you think and use your thoughts.”

He says that your thoughts are so powerful, you can feel their effects in your body – and they can be used to positively affect all aspects of your life.

“It’s something that has to be worked at, and it’s something that has to be taught,” he says. “We don’t come into the world with an operator’s manual for how to live a happy life. But I know you can learn it, because that’s what I teach people on a daily basis.”

His advice to someone looking for their inner power? Look inside. Listen to your breath. Be willing to listen to your heart and believe that your feelings are valuable.

“You have to practice and you have to keep on acknowledging your connection to this amazing power that breathes inside of you, which is ultimately who you really are,” says Jules. “You are everything you can imagine yourself to be. And that’s a lot. The basic practise here is to cultivate a deep sense of trust in yourself.”

And the result? “Everything in the world is going to remain the same,” he says. “But your state of mind will transform, and therefore your capacity to deal with situations will change. The world will look and feel different.”

Jules’ message is that everyone has inner power, but many are not conscious of it or are too scared to trust it.

And it seems that his clients agree – Conscious Movement is a hit, with celebs like William Hurt, Barbara Streisand, Courtney Cox, Kimora Lee Simmons, Donna Karan, Trudie Styler and Sting all falling in line. He helps them get in shape, but also deals with injuries, back pain, and the stresses of life and performing. Now he’s working with Geri Halliwell to help her get pre-world tour gorgeous.

“I travelled once with Natalie Cole on tour – before she went on stage I would do some alignment work with her to get her feeling relaxed,” he says. “I did the same with Sting. He’s a hard worker, very methodical. I worked with him for 3 months daily and I was really impressed by his discipline.”

Conscious Movement has worked for Jules too, pulling him through several rough patches. “I weather my storms now with a lot more grace and ease than I used to,” he says. “Ultimately, you have to decide that your state of mind is the most important thing that you have. Because if you’re sick, and your state of mind is healthy, you will do a lot better. But if you’re a millionaire and your state of mind is bad, you might as well be as poor as anybody.”

And Jules would know. He’s worked with billionaires.

“Knowing that, you learn to cultivate your happiness in such a way that you become your best friend,” he says.

Jules will be hosting two workshops at Triyoga, Primrose Hill, London this Saturday 22 September at £20 per person. Visit www.julespaxton.net