Embodied Soul

03/12/2025

I have created a group for everyone who comes to classes with me. It’s to share things like protein powder recommendations, recipes for post workout meals, to ask questions and follow up on discussions we have in class. And generally create community. I’ve invited the people that fb would allow me to invite. Just request to join if you didn’t get an invite.

Send a message to learn more

02/12/2025

💯 There's no need to chase weight loss or even fat loss. Focus on getting strong and building your lean mass. If you're still focused on being skinny, that's due to past conditioning. Because skinny is not healthy or strong. Doing some inner work on body acceptance and clearing away the past conditioning from diet culture (which we were all affected by) is the best thing to do. I can help with that.

02/12/2025

If I still cared about people pleasing, I’d be writing content that kept everyone happy.

Almost every post I put out lately results in at least one “unfollow.” Maybe I should be worried… but I’m not.

If I have to pretend to be a watered-down, mediocre version of myself for my business to succeed, then it’s not a business I want to continue. If I can’t speak authentically on my own page, something is wrong.

I didn’t create this space to make people comfortable. I created it so it would nourish me. And it does. I love my studio, the work I’m doing, and the people who show up.

If people unfollow me because I talk about energy, self-sourcing love, showing up for yourself, diet culture being boring, my neurodivergence, spirituality, Human Design, the Gene Keys, or because I make fun of the National Party… they were in the wrong place.

I know I’m in the right place.

The right people will only find me if I show up as myself.

Nobody has to agree with me. I’m not judging anyone — I’m sharing a perspective that evolves as I learn and grow. I actually love it when someone offers nuance or a different angle. Being authentic about your experience helps me grow too.

I am trauma-informed, but that doesn’t mean I won’t trigger people. I can be blunt (it’s a neurodivergent trait). I push when it’s needed. Sometimes I say the thing that makes you look deeper. Sometimes I say the wrong thing and feel awkward. I’ve even deleted posts out of concern that I might hurt someone’s feelings.

And I know I can come across as overly proud or egocentric to some people. I have an ego definition in Human Design (only about 1/3 of people do), which gives me willpower, energy, and confidence to take action. I often accomplish more in a day than most people do in a month (and then I rest deeply). But it’s not fashionable in our culture to feel good about yourself. We’re taught to play ourselves down and not be “too much.”

So while I’m honest about my strengths, I’m also honest about what I struggle with — which has been a lot. Being neurodivergent and highly sensitive in a world not created for us is a difficult life.

My main strength is that I care about people. Deeply. I have deep empathy that I have never learned how to turn off (I have 7 out of 9 centres undefined in my human design chart). But I’ve learned to use this empathy as a superpower. When you come to me for a 1:1 experience, I can understand exactly how you feel (viscerally) and work through it gently with you.

And I know what it’s like to feel invisible. To feel like it doesn’t matter that you showed up at all. That’s been my experience for much of my life.

In my space, I want people to feel included, valued, and that they are meant to be here — not because I dilute myself to make everyone comfortable, but because I don’t. And that means you don’t have to dilute yourself either.

01/12/2025

If you're trying to get more daily movement in your life, Katy Bowman's exercise advent is always great. You'll need an exercise ball for these ones. If you don't have one, don't worry, I will be learning all of these and introducing them to my classes over the next month.

My Exercise Advent—24 BALL Exercises to BALANCE Tech Stress—begins today.

Day 1: "Work-Life Balance" - core, hamstring, butt, and balance action all in one!

Find all exercise instructions and a video on my Substack, Movement-Colored Glasses: https://katybowmanmovement.substack.com/p/ball-exercise-work-life-balance-core

How'd it go???

01/12/2025

I talk a lot about consistency and commitment (as do most personal trainers), but the deeper transmission I’m here to share is actually about ending self-abandonment.

Self-abandonment has been my biggest wound.

I abandoned myself to stay in a relationship I didn’t even want to be in.
I compromised my dreams to live a life someone else wanted.
I stayed because it was convenient and because I was afraid to be alone.
And even after I left, I kept abandoning myself. I outsourced my happiness to the idea of finding a soulmate. I over-gave. I people-pleased. I put myself last. I made myself small.

What healed that was consistency.
Committing to myself and actually following through is what rewired the pattern.

Walking Te Araroa was me honouring that commitment to myself, even on the days that felt impossible. It was one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life. 5 months of non-stop walking.
Since then I’ve chosen to do hard things to remind myself that I will not leave myself behind again.

I walked 100 km in one day for Oxfam Trailwalker.
I ran a 54 km ultra marathon.
I built a heavy lifting practice that strengthens my body, supports my future, and protects my independence.
And I will continue to do these kinds of things for the rest of my life.

None of this was about achievement. It was about staying loyal to myself. It was proof that I will remain with myself, even when it’s uncomfortable.

My biggest learning is that nobody outside of me can give me fulfilment. I had to go through unfulfilling relationships to understand that nobody can complete you. Not a partner. Not romance. Not validation. Not attention.

If you’re single, a partner won’t make you happy.

If you’re in a relationship, your partner cannot be responsible for your self-love, your wholeness, or your worthiness.

You cannot live for validation from someone else.
You are responsible for sourcing all of that within yourself.
You are responsible for becoming a whole person.

And it starts with commitment. It starts with showing up for yourself, consistently.

Every time you skip your workout, which is your strength, your power, your future health and independence, you hand some of that responsibility to something outside of you.

Every time you show up, you take it back.

01/12/2025

The most consistent person this month goes to Anna Lovell. You’ll get a free class added to your account.

Anna’s consistency really shows up in her results. She started training with me in May, and she’s now deadlifting more than 85kg every session.

She shows up even when she’s not feeling 100% and tells me often that she feels better for coming.

Well done also to Fran and Paula (who were also the most consistent in October & September).

It’s not surprising that these are the people who have shown the most improvement in their lifts over the past few months.

Keep it up!

01/12/2025

How many times a week should I come to classes?

This is one of the most common questions I get.

The minimum recommendation for resistance training is twice a week, but most people do best when they start smaller.

Start with once a week.

Begin with a single class and commit fully to it.
Build confidence, refine your technique, and let your body adapt.

After 1–3 months, when you’re feeling solid and recovering well, you can add a second class.
This is exactly how strength training works: progressive overload through small, slow, consistent increases over time.

Is two classes enough?

Yes, it can be, depending on your lifestyle, goals, stress levels, and the other movement you do.

Most people also need time for:
• Cardio (walking, running, tramping, cycling, swimming)
• General movement (yoga, mobility, stretching, housework)
• The things you do for fun (gardening, dancing, sports)

The minimum movement recommendation is 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity per week — on top of your resistance training.

And on top of that, you need recovery.

Recovery matters more than people think.

Muscle grows between workouts, not during them.

If you lift heavy and then run, garden, dance, parent, and do everything else… you may not fully recover for the next session.

To get the most out of your classes, aim to lift after a full day of rest. Resting does not mean you stop moving, active recovery like yoga or walking fits well on rest days. Come back to your next heavy lifting session well rested.

(I will make another post on recovery soon, because it’s so important.)

What a good weekly resistance training balance can look like:

• Two heavy lifting classes plus 2 mobility or core-focused sessions (such as yoga or Pilates-style movement)
• Two heavy lifting classes plus 1-2 lighter weights/bodyweight days at home
• Three heavy lifting days if your goal is to prioritise strength

All of these can work well.

What I personally do:

Right now I lift five days a week, because I love it, I teach these lifts and want to keep my own practice strong (I’m also considering competitive powerlifting).

My weekly structure looks like this:

Monday: Deadlift + lower body
Tuesday: Bench press + upper body
Wednesday: Back squat + lower body
Thursday: Overhead press + upper body
Friday: Hex deadlift + lower body

Monday is my heaviest day after a full rest on Sunday.
Bench and overhead press days are a little more chilled.
Leg days are where I push myself more.

I also include plyometrics three days a week, sprint intervals twice a week, a run three days a week, walk daily, tramping on weekends, and yoga & mobility every day.

I’m only able to maintain five days of heavy lifting because I’ve slowly worked my way there and I really prioritise recovery.

If recovery drops, I take an extra rest day instead of my Thursday session.

Most people need at least one day between heavy lifts for recovery. And just because I do more, doesn’t mean it’s optimal for you (remember, my life revolves around strength training).

Personally, I would recommend three days a week as the optimal amount to work towards, for most people.

In general:

Start with one class.
Let your body adapt.
Add more when you’re ready.

Strength builds over months and years.
There’s no rush, the most important thing is consistency.

27/11/2025

Holiday Schedule Update 🎄✨

A few people have been asking what’s happening over the holiday period, so here’s the plan:

I’ll be taking a two week break from all classes except Mondays.

My last full week of classes will end on 23rd December, and I’ll start back on January 5th.

Monday classes will still run on 29th December 💪 for anyone who wants to keep lifting through the break.

The 11:30 am class is already full, but there’s still space at 10:00 am and 5:00 pm. If you’d like to come, please book early.

If you’re on a monthly automatic payment for once a week, attending on the 29th means you won’t need to adjust anything.

If you’re taking time off, coming twice a week or not attending on the 29th, you’ll just need to adjust your payment based on your holiday dates. Let me know if you need help to calculate when your next payment is due.

New people are welcome to join from 5th January 🌟

For those on monthly payments who are going away, please let me know your return date so I can keep a space for you, classes may start to fill with new people.

27/11/2025

When the idea of heavy lifting first came to me, it seemed to come out of nowhere.

There was a spark to it, a lightness, like something was drawing me to it.

I hadn’t been researching it. I wasn’t following any of the science around the benefits.

If you’d told me five years ago that this is what I’d be into, I would have thought you were crazy. I was the yoga teacher telling students that yoga and mobility were enough and that they didn’t need a gym.

The only connection I had to heavy lifting was one woman from the yoga world whose podcast “Mindful Strength” I had been listening to for years. I’d followed her journey from yoga teacher to competitive power lifter and beyond.

And when I came across her 6 month teacher’s program and mentorship to upgrade my teaching to heavy lifting, it was an immediate YES. No hesitation at all.

Since then, every workout has felt light.
I’ve never dreaded it. I’ve never skipped it.
It has been easy to be consistent.
It has been easy to show up.
I look forward to it and it feels joyful every single time.

This is what it feels like when something is truly for you.
And this is the energetic transmission I want to share.

Not everyone will feel the same spark for heavy lifting.
Many will come to it because they’ve heard it’s what they should do, and that’s ok.

But I hope that my lightness, my enthusiasm, and the joy I feel around heavy lifting is contagious.

Because lifting heavy should feel light.
It should feel joyful.
I don’t know why, but I just want it to feel that way for everyone.

Because when we learn that we have the power to make the heavy things in the world light, we unlock alchemy.

25/11/2025

When you start following fitness content, you will be shown so many diet culture influenced before and after photos that promote unrealistic body standards. It’s a really toxic, regressive aspect of the fitness industry. And it’s boring.

If someone is obsessed with getting to a certain body image it shows me that they don’t have much else going on in their lives.

Often, the before photo looks perfectly healthy and their after looks ridiculous (how much did they starve themselves to get to that?).

I mark all content like that as “not interested” and then I get shown more body positive content, from far more interesting people, like this.

If you’re healthy, fit and strong, having a belly as a women, is completely normal.

25/11/2025

Most people wait for January to make changes.
They tell themselves they’ll start when the calendar resets… when life is calmer… when they’re “ready.”

But I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions.

I believe in responding the moment you feel the need for change.
I believe in starting now, while the spark is alive.
Because waiting only makes the first step harder.

Start now and the habit will already be woven into your life by January.
Start now and you’ll enter the new year stronger and more in your body than if you waited.
Start now and you’ll enjoy your summer break even more, knowing you’ve already made real progress.

Prices for my memberships will increase for all new clients in January 2026.

But if you join before the summer break and commit to 4 weeks of classes, you’ll lock in this year’s pricing with no increase next year.

$75/month for one class per week
$140/month for two classes per week

Spaces are available only for those committing to the full 4 weeks.

There are no casual/drop ins, strength training requires consistency.

Mondays are full, but I have space for a few more people in the following sessions:

Tuesday
• Strength Training for Trampers — 5:15 pm (soon shifting to 5:45 pm)

Wednesday
• Mindful Mobility & Heavy Lifting — 11:30 am & 4:00 pm

Thursday
• Mindful Mobility & Heavy Lifting — 11:30 am & 5:45 pm

Friday
• Mindful Mobility & Heavy Lifting — 10:00 am
• Accessible Strength — 11:30 am

If you feel the nudge, come now.

Your future self will thank you for not waiting.

21/11/2025

One of my favourite things about my classes is the energy people arrive with.
I look forward to each session because I find myself thinking, “Oh, I get to see that person today.”

By being authentic in how I speak, teach, and share, I naturally filter in the people who are meant to be here.
When I talk about energy, intuition, and go deeper than most personal trainers might, I attract people who want more than just exercise.
People who enjoy meaningful conversations, who like expanding themselves while they train, and who contribute something to the energy of the group.

That’s how community forms, not by trying to please everyone, but by standing clearly in what you value.

And the result is perfect:
I don’t attract the people I have to tolerate.
I attract the ones who genuinely resonate with my approach and who add something to the space simply by being themselves.
Every class has a unique energy based on the combination of individuals that arrive.

I don’t know anywhere in society now, where you can go and connect with others like this.
Where you can just show up and be welcomed into a group of people and feel like your presence matters.

It’s a privilege to build a community like this. It feels aligned and alive.