Sage Movement

After a much needed vacation to Hawai'i, I'm back and ready for the new work fall brings us.

Finding moments of stillness doesn't need to be challenging. Slowing down is a skill, and it can be learned.

Most of us are moving a lot and recovering very little. We exercise, train, we work, we carry things and our minds are buzzing. When something in our body feels tight or worn down, the usual answer is to stretch harder or just push through it.

Yin Yoga practices ask for the opposite of what our culture seems to demand all too often. It's an open-hearted practice that asks you to slow down and receive.

In October, I'm offering a special Yin Yoga class at studio - but you can practice with us live online too.

Sunday, October 11
5:30 to 6:45pm
Aham Yoga in Redmond, or join the livestream from home
$35

No yin yoga experience needed. If you practice yoga regularly, are an athlete, if you're active, or if you're simply tired and want to know what a resilient body feels like, come and join me in October.

Sign up here: https://tinyurl.com/yinoctober

Link also in bio.

Life changes means how you move can change too.

An injury, a surgery, thirty years at a desk finally catching up, a pregnancy, a season that ate every spare hour.

However it happens, you're suddenly paying attention to how you move again, maybe for the first time.

New post on the blog on what that first phase actually looks like, and how to work with the body you have today. Link in bio. 🌿

Ah yes... yoga outdoors in the summertime is the absolute best.

I get clouds overhead instead of a ceiling, and birdsong instead of four walls. I have to notice more than indoors before I move.

The day is still becoming.

And meditation outdoors in the morning is my favorite — nothing quite compares.

Come find some of this with me on Sunday, July 19th at Farrel-McWhirter Park. A mixed-levels morning yoga flow with room for both a challenge and a rest. Bring a mat, a towel, and a hat for the sun.

This is a FREE class, hosted by Aham Yoga.

Link in bio to reserve your spot.

Registration link: https://www.wellnessliving.com/rs/event/ahamyoga?k_class=989743&k_class_tab=15465

Which one are you?

If you're of a certain season (*wink*), you might remember taking quizzes in YM or Seventeen to figure out your type. Entertaining? I suppose. Useful? No not really.

I made a quiz, and it's nothing like that — I promise.

Because I've been thinking about the people who find their way to Sage Movement. The ones who've stepped away from exercise or their yoga practice and aren't sure how to come back. The ones showing up but are spinning their wheels. The ones holding everything together but running on fumes. The ones who've found their rhythm and but really ready to dive deeper.

We've all been one of these at some point.

Wherever you land — you're not behind. You're not "out." You're just figuring it out. Same as everyone else.

OK so the quiz is 6 questions. About 2 minutes. A result that tells you exactly what your body needs right now — and what to do about it.

→ Link in bio to take the quiz
(This won't end up in a medical journal, nor in Seventeen magazine — but it might just help.)

If you've ever tried to "figure out fitness" and ended up doing a bit of everything — and still felt like something was missing — you're not alone.

After 13 years of teaching both strength training and yoga, I've noticed a pattern.

People who only strength train build real physical resilience — but often end up tight, tired, and running on empty.

People who only do yoga have tremendous body awareness — but a stretch-focused practice doesn't always build the strength their body needs to stay resilient long term.

The potential is there. Both practices are valuable.

But most programs ask you to choose one or the other — and that's exactly where the gap lives.

Imagine feeling strong in your workouts AND knowing how to recover well.
Confident in your movement AND able to listen to what your body actually needs.

That's not two separate programs.

That's one intelligent approach for one body and mind... yours.

That's what Sage Movement in Real Life small group training is built on — strength and recovery working together, not against each other.

Link in bio to learn more.

Movement isn’t a performance.
And your body isn’t on trial.

I used to love competition in high school and college.
But over time, I realized my exercise didn’t need to look like that anymore. What actually mattered was learning how to listen, adapt, and build strength in a way that supported my life — not dominate it.

Somewhere along the way, exercise and even yoga (unfortunately) picked up a layer of pressure — to look a certain way, to keep up, to prove something. To ourselves. To others. To an invisible standard we never actually agreed to.

But unless your livelihood depends on performance or competition, your movement practice doesn’t need an audience.

There are no points for pushing through pain. No prize for overriding signals. No finish line where your body finally earns approval.

The work is internal.
It’s about learning how to listen.
How to respond.
How to build strength, capacity, and confidence in a way that supports your life — not competes with it.

A lot of people lose trust in their bodies not because they’re undisciplined, but because they’ve been taught to ignore information in favor of effort. Over time, that disconnect shows up as frustration, fear, or inconsistency.

Rebuilding trust means letting go of comparison. Letting go of rigid rules. Letting go of the idea that “harder” is always better.

That’s the approach behind Sage Movement In Real Life — Foundations.
Not performance. Not perfection.
But sustainable strength, thoughtful movement, and consistency that actually lasts.

How would your relationship with movement change if you stopped trying to perform it?

If your body feels like it’s raised its hand for help — quietly, persistently, or in that “this is probably fine” way — it doesn’t mean you’re dramatic or weak. It means your nervous system is speaking truth.

Your body isn’t untrustworthy.
It’s a truth-teller — giving you information, not obstacles.

Learning to notice that takes skill.
Responding kindly takes courage.

And when training adapts to you — your structure, your systems, your life — strength stops feeling punishing and starts feeling supportive. Consistency becomes possible. Progress builds you up instead of wearing you down. That’s what training that works in real life looks like.

This is exactly why I created Sage Movement In Real Life — Foundations:
small-group strength, exercise, and recovery that fits real bodies and real schedules — not cycles of burnout and fizzle.

Doors are open today.
Early-bird enrollment rate ends Sunday night, then returns to full price

Link in bio for details + to join. DM for questions.

(And yes — I may be in Seahawks colors today… go Hawks 🟢💙 😄)

Life is a highway full of missed exits. [Thank you Mr. Ross for teaching me the value of "happy accidents."]

Missing one exit doesn’t mean the trip is ruined or your bad at traveling.

It just means the route has changed.

But when it comes to training programs, many people assume a missed workout, a low-energy week, or a schedule shift means they “fell off.”

Most people don’t stop exercising because they don’t care.
They stop because the plan didn’t know how to adapt when life decided to move around. And you missed an exit .

Real life isn’t linear.
Your training doesn’t need to be either.

Where missing an exit is no big deal.
To where you know how to shift depending on your context. You'll get really skilled at this.

I’m opening something new soon — a small group training program built for your real life.

Those on my email list will receive the invitation first later this week. (So head to my bio links to join!)

You didn’t miss your chance.
You’re just adjusting the route.

DM me for more!

This is what real-life success with movement often looks like.

Not a dramatic before-and-after.

Not perfect weeks stacked back to back.

But learning how to stay connected to your body through changing seasons — physically, mentally, and logistically.

So many people believe they’re inconsistent when, in reality, they’ve just been given plans that weren’t built for real life.

When movement adapts to your energy, your schedule, and your body, something shifts.

You stop starting over.

You stop forcing.

You begin to trust the process — and yourself.

This is the direction my work has been moving.

A more responsive, integrated way of building strength, clarity, and resilience — one that honors the life you’re actually living.

More to share soon.

You likely aren't a flake if you're reading this. And no, you’re not failing at exercise and yoga practices.

Most plans are built for an ideal version of life:
predictable schedules, steady energy, uninterrupted time, and bodies that always feel the same from week to week.

Real life doesn’t work like that.

You know this, but why is it that all that's out there are cookie-cutter classes or programs?

Life shifts. Stress shows up. Sleep changes. Bodies respond differently depending on the season you’re in — physically, mentally, and emotionally.

When a plan doesn’t know how to adapt to those changes, you may feel that you're left with two options: push through at all costs, or stop altogether.

Neither one builds long-term strength, confidence, or trust in your body.

What actually works is learning how to move inside YOUR real life — not waiting for life to calm down first.

That means developing the skills to adjust intensity, shift focus, choose recovery on purpose, and keep moving forward without forcing or starting over. It means understanding how your body responds so you can make informed decisions instead of guessing.

This is what allows movement to become sustainable.
Not perfect. Not rigid. Not dependent on motivation — but responsive, supportive, and resilient.

This lens is the foundation of everything I teach: movement that honors real bodies living real lives, through changing seasons.

You’re not behind.
You just needed a system that knows how to move with you.

More soon.