The Sage Practice, LLC: MindBody Empowerment for People in Pain

The Sage Practice, LLC: MindBody Empowerment for People in Pain Lara Birk, PhD, Founder of The Sage Practice. Empowering people in pain to thrive again (regardless of any ongoing “structural” conditions).

Coaching, groups, courses, somatic tracking recordings & more at thesagepractice.com ❤️

08/10/2026

So thrilled to share the full video with you on my YouTube channel.

I’ve been working **tirelessly** for 6 years to challenge the field of mindbody medicine to not only include but learn from those of us with structural issues and to show everyone that “Neuroplastic” vs “Structural” is a false binary!

Do you live with chronic pain or other symptoms?

You’ll be interested in my story of “coming out” to the mind body world as someone with *both* “neuroplastic,” psychological contributors to my chronic pain *and* a serious, disabling “structural” condition — i.e., my pain can be helped but it cannot simply be eradicated using mind body methods. (See also my episode with Christie Uipi on the Like Mind Like Body podcast, which Anna and I are referring to).

My conversation with Anna goes way beyond physical pain and the particularities of that ‘coming out’ story though.

We mine the wisdom that can come from struggling to be visible and authentic at the same time — and realizing that true belonging and connection with others is only possible when you allow yourself to be seen as who you really are.

Does what we talk about here resonate with you?

Please drop a comment if so!

Follow me here, subscribe to my YouTube, & check out thesagepractice.com for more ❤️

Thank you, Anna Holtzman, for having me on your podcast, How to Trust Yourself, and for such an exhilarating conversatio...
08/07/2026

Thank you, Anna Holtzman, for having me on your podcast, How to Trust Yourself, and for such an exhilarating conversation on authenticity, visibility, and connection.

It was incredibly freeing to talk explicitly about my “coming out,” so to speak, in the mind body world as someone who has *both* neuroplastic, psychological contributors to my chronic pain and structural, medical issues that cannot simply be willed away using mind body methods.

Our conversation goes way beyond those particularities though. We mine the wisdom that can come from struggling to be visible and authentic at the same time— and realizing that true belonging and connection with others is *only* possible when you allow yourself to be seen as who you really are.

Tell me, friends, does this resonate? ❤️

Nature is the best medicine ❤️‍🩹 Even if, like me, you use crutches or a wheelchair or are otherwise differently abled, ...
08/05/2026

Nature is the best medicine ❤️‍🩹

Even if, like me, you use crutches or a wheelchair or are otherwise differently abled, see if you can get yourself outside to a green spot. If it’s pretty, all the better.

I used to love hiking and biking and seeing everything I could see, loving where my body could take me. I can’t hike or bike right now, but I *can* go for a little crutch walk. It took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize this, too, is healing.

In nature, I feel I don’t have to carry the heavy world on my shoulders... I can just be.

And what a relief is that?

Any other nature lovers out there?

Follow me and check out thesagepractice.com where you can sign up for my next Sage Group or a schedule a 1-1.

08/04/2026

Is your brain telling you that you are going to fail or that things are going to get worse not better or that you can’t handle what comes?

The amygdala is a terrible fortune teller.

It does not actually know what is going to happen. But it has proven beneficial in human evolution to fill in uncertainty with negative narratives.

The brain not only doesn’t like uncertainty, it often codes it as a threat. What awaits us in the darkness, behind the bushes, around the bend? In the unknown, there *could* be a tiger. The amygdala commands us to prepare as if there *is* a tiger.

Suddenly, whether there is a real tiger or not doesn’t even matter because our bodies have already responded as if there is. The tiger has in this way become real.

When you live with chronic pain or other symptoms, and/or if you have endured significant trauma in your life, your brain is especially likely to respond to a lot of life like it’s a tiger.

The next time your brain tells you the worst case scenario is going to happen, see if you can step back and remind yourself:

*Fear is not a prophecy.*

Sometimes introducing even just a tiny bit of skepticism gives you enough distance from the scary narrative that your body doesn’t have to go into auto-pilot survival mode.

Pause. Breathe. Remember the future is unknown and unknowable.

As uncomfortable as this unknowability is, it also means that negative narrative running around in your head? It can be challenged and rewritten.

Does this resonate with you? What helps you resist the temptation to believe your worst fears?

Follow me or check out thesagepractice.com for more.

08/01/2026

What if your body is not the enemy?

What if it’s actually a guide? A wise, tender force with deep wisdom to share with you that is trying to lead you toward healing?

It is *so* easy to see your body as the enemy. When you live with pain or other chronic symptoms, it can even feel like your body is “betraying” you. You have to “conquer” the symptoms. You “fight” yourself.

I get it.

But what if your body is not the enemy here, and it’s actually just trying to communicate with you out of *love*?

Even for those of us with serious ‘structural’ conditions, symptoms get really loud sometimes so that you will *listen.*. Listen at a deeper level. Sure, it could be your body is saying you did a lot more x y z activity or movement than it’s used to or you didn’t get enough sleep last night. Of course.

But your body also talks with you at a deeper level.

It could be communicating any number of things:

* you have some boundaries that need to be set
* you are being triggered into a fear state by something
* you are putting others first and forgetting to care for yourself
* you are not honoring your own needs
* you are carrying grief, anger, shame or even someone else’s pain
* you are pushing yourself too hard
*you are putting too much pressure on yourself
* you are trying to force something that is not for you
* you are out of alignment with yourself
* you are believing a story that makes you feel small or weak
* you are telling yourself you can’t handle it
* you are hurting and need some tenderness

Learning to *listen* instead of *fight* is a paradigm shift that can be profoundly healing.

Fighting comes from fear.

Listening comes from love. And love is what we need to heal at a deeper level.

Follow me for more or check out thesagepractice.com.

pain yourbodyisnottheenemy

07/29/2026

There is so much messaging out there that implies YOU are the problem. You need fixing.

Capitalism profits wildly from that messaging. Think of alllll the products that promise to make you gorgeous, uber-healthy, lean and strong, and age-proof!

But it’s out there in the mind body, self help world too. You could “optimize” your health, “regulate” your nervous system, “master” your emotions, “conquer” your illness, “eradicate” your pain and “achieve 100% recovery” if only you:

-worked harder
-read the right books
-did the right homework
-followed the right people
-did more somatic tracking / meditation / journaling
-and *believed* enough. Don’t get me started on that one.

You are not the problem. Do you sometimes unwittingly add to your own suffering? Of course! Join the club! That’s what we humans do best! Do we do it on purpose? No.

We are human, with mortal bodies, fallible brains, and fumbling hearts. Most likely, you are doing the best you can with whatever you are facing right now using the resources available to you at this time. You didn’t choose which circumstances you were born into, what long histories you were dropped into the middle of.
But here you are!

Life is messy. Of course we want to buy (into) things that sound simple and promise us our dreams.

But let’s be honest: Could any of us truly rid ourselves of all pain and struggle now and forevermore?

Spoiler alert: No.

In life, sometimes we are riding high, and sometimes we’re riding the struggle bus 🚌

Life is all of it — joy and pain, love and loss, sunsets and storms, the high and the struggle bus — woven into one big, messy tapestry.

If there is pain and suffering in your life, it doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong.

Don’t believe the hype.

You are not failing.

You are *alive*. And I’m glad. We need you, we need each other. We weren’t mean to do all this alone.

thesagepractice.com

07/27/2026

Have you ever had a gut feeling and cant tell if it is true intuition or coming from a place of fear?

Clients come in with this question all the time.

My trick:

The voice of fear speaks with urgency and intensity. It is loud and wants you to do something *now*! Often, it makes your body contract, tighten, freeze. You breathe shallowly. You feel you need to act, decide, respond, say something not just now, but yesterday!

The voice of true intuition is quieter, calmer, steadier, gentler. There is no rush. It does not demand you act right now. Sometimes you even feel some relief -- your body may feel freer, more expansive, less tense, less pressured.

Especially for those of you who've experienced a lot of trauma, your nervous system can be hair-trigger quick to try to protect you from further harm. If your amygdala senses any kind of threat, your body can go into fight or flight (or freeze or fawn). With the sympathetic nervous system response, the pre-frontal cortex (arguably, the smartest, most reasonable part of our brain!) goes offline. The amygdala’s “thinking” is simplistic, black or white, either/or. It loses all nuance. It prefers simple black or white thinking. It jumps to (worst case scenario) conclusions at the drop of a hat. 0-60 in no time.

So the next time you have a "gut feeling" -- use this little trick to suss out whether it is coming more from intuition or fear.

This happened to me yesterday, so I know it is NOT fun when the voice of fear masquerades as intuition! But you can take your power back.

PS: Top secret update! I'm working on a new self-paced course for people with mixed structural / neuroplastic conditions. Stay tuned!

Sending love ♥️

thesagepractice.com

Did I tell you all​ yet that I'll be ​a​ speaker at the ATNS 2026 Conference?ATNS is the Association for the Treatment o...
07/08/2026

Did I tell you all​ yet that I'll be ​a​ speaker at the ATNS 2026 Conference?

ATNS is the Association for the Treatment of Neuroplastic Symptoms. It is *the* organization in the field of mind body medicine.

I'll be there to represent those of us with 'structural' conditions and to share what we have learned with ​t​his ever-expanding community of practitioners. ​This is the most compassionate group of people I have ever met, and I am honored to ​b​e joining their incredible lineup of experts. ​

It has been my longstanding mission t​o help the field expand its umbrella enough to include us​. (See my interviews on the Like Mind Like Body or Hope for Healing podcasts, for example.) We are different from those who have primarily neuroplastic symptoms​, but we have so much hard-earned wisdom to offer.

Making headway, folks! I will not let our pain go to waste! ❤️

Interested ​in joining us in Dallas?

Early Bird Registration has been extended through July 26, so there's still time to register at the discounted rate. If you're interested in the latest research, practical clinical insights, and connecting with​ a wonderful community ​o​f practitioners, you won’t want to miss this!​

To Register: https://www.symptomatic.me/2026conference

#​N​europlasticity

05/09/2026

Nature is so restorative. Why on earth do I forget that sometimes?! If you live with chronic symptoms, it is sometimes easy to hole yourself up inside. But if you can get outside in nature, it can completely change your state of mind.

Try it! Get out this weekend if you’re able— I hope you enjoy (and savor) the spring. There is nothing like spring after a long long long winter.

Your symptoms don’t define your life, you do. So please don’t be like me and forget the basics of what helps! ❤️
😅 🌺 🌳 🌼 🌱 ☀️

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