EP #100- We Flow Hard: Building the Y7 Brand with Sarah Larson Levey, Founder of Y7 Studio

[MUSIC] Our mental health is the stepping stone door physical health. Because if you are not in the place mentally to physically get yourself outside to get your body moving, it doesn't really make a difference. And for me, it's not attaching happiness to any sort of expectation. Knowing that you can find little pockets of joy in really small things. And I think you have to look for those, you know, sometimes you have to work harder than not to find those all of us. Welcome back to another episode of Everyday Endorphins. A mental health podcast focused on the importance of finding joy and happiness and daily living. I'm your host, Stella Stafnopoulos. And this week is not just any other episode. It's episode 100, which is such an exciting milestone to reach. I remember last January recording the 50th episode with Jack Carlson, who's the founder of Rowing Blazers. And in the intro, I had mentioned that we're halfway there to episode 100. And now a little over a year later, here we are. It's been such an incredible journey. Meeting people, interviewing founders, entrepreneurs. In the health and wellness community over the past two years. And I couldn't have ever anticipated that this is how Everyday Endorphins would have evolved and developed into since its inception in 2013 when I created the Instagram account. And was blogging about being a rower. So it brings me so much joy to share that not only has the podcast come so far to episode 100, but to be able to celebrate this milestone with interviewing the founder of one of my favorite yoga studios ever. If you scroll to the archives of the Instagram account, you will see me post a lot about Y7. And it brings me the utmost joy to get to say that this week I have the opportunity to interview Sarah Larsen-Levy, who is the founder of Y7 Studios. If you haven't taken class, you probably have seen Y7 on your Instagram account or on social media. What I love about the studio is that it's completely candle lit, dark room, vinyasa, and there's such great music. So we get into all of this in the interview with Sarah about the founding story behind Y7, what really differentiates the studio from other yoga brands, and some of the challenges that she's experienced as an entrepreneur building the Y7 brand. But we also talk about her perspective on yoga, physical health, mental health, how she stays active and healthy, and also her perspective on happiness and what it means to lead a healthy and happy life. I am so excited for you to listen to this interview. Thank you all for showing up and for tuning into everyday endorphins, whether or not you're a first time listener or an every Thursday listener. Before we get into the episode, reminder to like, rate and review this podcast on whichever listening platform you prefer. Hi Sarah, thank you so much for coming on to the podcast. Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here. This is kind of like a pinch me moment. I know we were talking briefly before this recording, but just how much I admire the Y7 brand. And when I first saw kind of like the inception of Y7 in New York City, I don't know, it was like 2014 maybe or 2015 around that time. I was in high school and I remember being so captivated by this idea of hip-hop yoga because for those who are listening out there and know me personally, one of my favorite genres of music is rap and hip-hop and pop. And so bringing those kinds of elements into a yoga class, I hadn't seen be done yet at the time. And so I was just so immediately drawn to really like what Y7 was offering and kind of like the vibe behind the class. And one of my first Instagram posts, which now might be archived because the everyday Instagram has been active for almost a decade now, but one of my first posts was like at the Y7 studio and just loving a tribe called sweat, the mission, everything behind it. It really is truly an honor to get to sit with you today and talk about everything that you've built. Thank you. Yeah, I'm excited. Yeah, a lot of what you said that the brand has had such like a big evolution. And I think I'm just excited that we're still able to be opening studios and expanding what we do as a brand of the company. Yeah, so let's start really from the beginning. How did the idea for starting Y7 come about to you and were you an avid yogi before then like what really got you interested in wanting to open up a yoga studio. Yeah, so I actually back in oh gosh, like late 2012 I actually pinched my sciatic nerve. And as I was kind of recovering getting back to movement, my doctor was really like, you know, a lot of kind of these back problems and things like that stem from a core weakness. So really want you focused on yoga and Pilates as you start to build your strength back. And I was like, okay, like I yeah, great. I can do that. So I put my spin classes on hold and really started trying a bunch of yoga studios in the city. I was 25, 25 at the time going on 26 and just, you know, was trying out every yoga studio you could think of in the city. And there was always just like one or two things that I was not really vibing with in a way that I would leave class a lot of times like there was something missing. I would either leave feeling not so great about myself because I was, you know, the only person the class you couldn't do a headstand or, you know, I was always being compared to myself or I was staring at myself in the mirror the whole time. I left feeling like I didn't get a workout and I felt like I needed to go to the gym and do all these other things. And so there was always this some element of me that felt unsatisfied with my experiences a whole. So that's for like, you know, nine months a year of that after being, you know, just not feeling like there was anywhere I could call home in the sense of where I wanted to practice and build my over practice. And being newer to the practice that was really something, you know, I wanted to find was a place of consistency. So after quite some time of frustration, why saving him about and it's all the things that I wanted in a yoga experience I wanted to feel like I was getting a workout that I could sweat, but I was still getting the benefit of the poses and getting to them in a correct way, but also wanted a little bit of repetition and didn't want to focus on what I looked like. And so I was more of a rather than what I felt like because as someone who was trying to recover from an injury, it's more about what the post feels like to write as opposed to trying to make yourself look like everybody else or look like the teacher or look like, you know, the example person in the room where that front row. So all of those things combined really led to the experience that why someone is it is a dark candle at room with no mirrors. We flow to the beat and music in a vinyasa style, which is one breath to one movement. And there is a bit of repetitiveness within the sequencing. So you're going through each sequence three times twice. You're being kind of walk through it with the instructor and the third time. The instructor just lets you take it on your own. And that is your, you know, two, three minutes of each sequence to really bring that those movements to a place that feels authentic for your body. So if you're taking a modification, if you're maybe taking a twist or a bind or adding on somewhere. That's all up to you. And we really want you to take that space to connect authentically with the sequence that's being given to you. So, how is it? We started as a pop-up. I really just wanted this space for me. I had no idea that other people were going to like it. We want to come. And, you know, it, I feel very fortunate that a lot of people were feeling the same way really wanting to get into yoga, but not finding that useful starting place. And that's what we really look at why seven is, you know, it's really this gateway to the larger world of yoga yoga is so expansive. There's so many different ways to practice. So many different lineages and, you know, ways you can take the practice that are so beautiful, but, you know, everyone needs an entry point. So we're kind of a really great place to start, you know, come in as you are. And no one's looking at you and no one's asking you to be or act a certain way. We want you to meet us where you are. And that's it. Yeah, I mean, I love all the points that you shared. And especially this idea that there's so many entry points to yoga. And I think there's oftentimes, you know, a lot of myths around what it means to have a consistent yoga practice or what it means to practice yoga even. And I think a lot of people are deterred from wanting to even try yoga because they think that everyone's going to be looking at them in the room or they have to be able to get into the perfect headstand in order to be a yogi. And that's just not it, right? Yeah, no, yeah, there's a lot of being especially in the West. There's a lot of preconceived notions about yoga and, you know, this list of prerequisites. that people have kind of made up that they need to have in order to enter the space, right? Like, "Oh, I'm not flexible enough. It's something I still hear constantly." I'm like, "Well, flexibility is something you gain by practicing. No one's coming in with perfect form." And he's like that. It's all that that's why it's called a practice, right? It's that repetition. It's continuing to come back to it and do it, you know? Day after day or maybe week after week, if you've had taken some time off or whatever it is, you know, there's this idea when we look at others and poses of this perfection in the pose, right? But if we just look at things in a purely, you know, basic, real, like, anatomical way, like you and I are always going to look different in the pose. Just because our bodies are different, we're not the same height. Our bodies aren't structured the same. I may have injuries. You may have injuries. Our bodies are just, you know, they're shaped differently. We're never going to look the same in a pose, may think. That's something that's constantly missed, which is, you know, a lot of people think the no mere aspect is a little counterintuitive because how do you know if you're doing something right? What if you can't see? But what we're really aiming to do is get you to feel the pose. Understand what muscles you're engaging. Understand how that pose feels correct in your body. Because if I try to look like you in a pose, it might not feel right for my body. Just because, you know, I'm an intro to taller, whatever it may be. So I think that's, you know, something that we really try to, you know, change the conversation around what that looks like. Yeah, absolutely. And even if there are mirrors, maybe you're looking at the person to your right and they actually don't have the best alignment and you're trying to replicate that. So that could actually injury. It's, yeah, it's a lot of like, I always found the mirror as the distraction for me. So it was like, let's take that away. Like let's take away everything possible that could distract you and just leave you in this kind of place of, it's just me and my body and music and movement and see where it takes you. Yeah. And I want to go back to, you know, you mentioned earlier that your entry point into yoga was from an injury. So when you started to actually build your own practice, how did you see yoga benefit your mind and your body and your physical and mental health? Yeah, I think it's really interesting because when I was practicing, you know, in studios that were, you know, brightly lit and all these things, I found myself getting really into my head being super focused on what I looked like and it ended up taking me out of my practice a lot. So when, you know, we started by sub and I started, you know, I was there all the time. So I was doing, you know, a class every day and really getting into it. And I saw slowly was that through the music and the constant movement of that breath, you know, that vinyasa practice, what was really happening was I was truly able to empty my mind because I was still focused on moving that I couldn't think about anything else. And that gave me the space to have the clear had as opposed to, you know, having this idea that, okay, I have to clear my mind. I have to clear my mind. It just naturally happened as you're not so focused on what like this idea of like being present, like I have to be present. So I have to clear my mind. And it's letting yourself kind of wander with those thoughts and in and out of movements that for me, I was really able to use that hour to deepen press and come out feeling just like a little bit lighter. Totally. I mean, that's a feeling that I can also say that I've experienced coming out of a Y7 class, just feeling refreshed and like kind of like almost even an out of body experience. If you can describe it that way because you're not so hyper focused on something. You're allowing yourself to really be in the pose, be in the environment. And I think that comes from a few different things like one, we're talking about no mirrors, candlelit, also the heat, like opening up your muscles easier to kind of get in and out of poses. But then also the music. And I think the music is a really intentional choice around really like the ethos and the vibe of Y7. Maybe that you can articulate this better, but for me, like I love rap music because the beat is something I can anchor to. And it's for a lack of a better phrase, like it's just a vibe. Like it's something that you can just like, groove along to, like you can kind of get in the rhythm, feel really connected to the music. And it's just something I've always gravitated towards. I also did crew in high school. So and that was a really rhythmic sport. And then when I would train indoors on the rowing machine, our team would blast like regatone and rap. And so, you know, those were genres of music that we could just kind of row along to and that would like get us going. And then you would think like maybe that isn't fitting for the yoga room, which is supposed to be serene and like a tranquil environment. But for me, it kind of hips me up and gets me more into my flow. And that's why I love like the music choice. But can you talk a bit more about like the intentionality behind that and how it affects someone's practice? Yeah. I, you know, I'm not someone who loves working out. I'm not like, oh, I can't wait to go to the gym and just like run or whatever. I really need like music. And for me, that music is a motivator. Like I have a play, I have a playlist for everything. Or when I'm getting ready for when I'm cleaning my house for when I'm cooking for when we have people over like, if there's a playlist for everything, I really do think that music has a way of shifting our moods. And when I was practicing, you know, previous to I7, the music always felt like a little bit of an afterthought to me. And either there was music and it was like kind of background stuff or there was a music at all. And that for me left me in a space of like, and you know, again, like I hope this was just me, but you know, I'm glad to be in good company of all of our wonderful clients. But I was left in that silence, feeling the need to fill it. And yes, that's not the most yogic thing to say. But you have to remember I was at the beginning of my practice and I'm still learning how to not try to fill every void with noise and things like that. So when I was forced to be in that silence, it was to do lists. It was worrying about emails, works. You know, what if scenarios and what time is it? What time do I need to get out of here? Is it is class running over all these little things that a guy and took me out of my practice? So by having music is kind of a forefront and the driver of the speed that you're moving and the driver of the cadence you should be moving at, I think really makes a different way to become this methodical movement practice. And it's something that I really love. And it's joyful. I think that's the biggest thing where a lot of yoga classes that I had taken in the past felt very serious to me. Now that I, you know, I have a much wider practice than I did previously. But you know, what I was looking for was really somewhere that I could just have fun in a class. And was allowed to move how I wanted to without feeling like I was being confined to this rigid structure. Totally. Because sometimes it can feel that way in certain yoga classes. There's I think something to be said about bringing creativity into the flow. But then also through this still structured three different flow, regimen where you're doing each flow three times. So there's I think a really nice balance of creativity, but also structure within the Y7 traditional flow. Yeah. And we let, you know, we have, we want all of our teachers to be creating their own sequence, to be creating their own playlist. You know, they're the ones who are teaching and have to connect with what they're teaching. So within that like structure in the sense there is, like you said, a lot of freedom to play with movement, to play with your transitions, to match those transitions and movements to music that you love and you want to move to. And I think that's what makes it really, really special. You know, it's this piece of connectivity between the music, the breath and the movement. Yeah. And from what we've also been talking about, like when you think about looking back on, I don't know, the past decade or so of just the evolution of Y7, what do you think were some of like the key differentiators that allowed you to scale in such an incredible way and really evolve the company and the platform to be, I think, even beyond just a yoga studio. Like I see why seven is more of like this lifestyle, brand that's more rooted through the practice of yoga. Yeah. When I look back and think about what, you know, if you're looking at more traditional studios or what the traditional yogi say, like whatever image pops up in your mind, I at least get this very specific image that has been fed to us. And you know, it's someone who's wearing the mollabies and their tank top and a tree pose and like a retreat kind of setting and it almost seems like that's who you have to be in order to practice yoga. And well, that's certainly some people and I think that's incredible. If that can be your life, I think a lot of us are looking more pro-way for us to fit yoga into our lives as opposed to vice versa. So, you know, wherever you are in your life, if you're busy, that's why our classes are always 60 minutes, always the same format because as, you know, young 20 something and even, you know, now into my 30s, where I spent my time and my money. is really precious and having that kind of reliable consistent format is something that's really important to me. So we are really meeting our clients where they are. Oh, you need to flow before work fine. You know you're going to get the same flow. It's happening on that you are at noon or at 4 p.m. It's going to be the same kind of quality. You know you're going to get an hour. You know you're going to sweat. You know there's going to be great music. That's it. And I think that that's why we've always kind of skewed a little bit more lifestyle because people are able to now bring yoga into their lives where their life already is as opposed to make this huge shift in order to make yoga you know their life fit into yoga. Yeah that's a great way that's a really great way to put it actually. Yeah it's not that you know there are some forms of yoga where it's like you must practice every day. At this time you must master like this sequence before you can move on to this sequence and a mom of now too I can't imagine being able to keep that kind of structure in my life because things come up. And if I don't adhere to that structure am I like not a yogi anymore am I not able to practice like no that's not the case. And I think you know the biggest thing is that I always try and vocalize is that really like yogis for everybody. There is no one who should feel excluded from this practice and there shouldn't be a single person who feels like they can't do it or it's not for them. And I think that's really important because you know we always hear all the barriers of why I don't do this. And I think that's really a shame. I think it's such a beautiful you know beautiful movement for your mind and your body. I couldn't agree more especially as a yoga instructor these are things that I try to also share with other people who are looking to enter into the practice or have a different type of perspective on like what it looks like to practice yoga. And I know obviously COVID was very difficult for so many people and so many businesses but specifically those that thrived on in-person community activations specifically yoga studios. So can you talk a little bit about the challenge of COVID in 2020 and just kind of adapting to having to turn everything virtual? That was really a struggle for us. You know we had going into 2020 you know digital was starting to become a bigger player within the fitness space and you know with Peloton on the rise and obey was getting a lot of traction which was incredible and a lot of people were adding a digital component and when I thought about it I was like well it doesn't really make sense for us because what am I supposed to do? Ship people a heated room. I can't control the at-home environment you know of the two out of the three really important aspects of our experience which is the darkness and the heat. That was a big thing. It's like so you know music and syncing the music was always going to be a challenge and I knew that we could never recreate our in-person experience. So prior to the pandemic digital was something I was not super interested in in in touching. I think there were a lot of other incredible you know yoga platforms in the space and who did a great job and you know I just I was very very skeptical on it. The pandemic forced us to really to really look at it in a serious way and you know we like a lot of studios you know we put up a digital platform pretty quickly. I know it's set up our own little recording space and all of that and then you know once people started to go you know back to work in back in office and we were able to open the studios again it it became pretty apparent to me that digital was going to have to become a part of our DNA and if we were going to do that what was it going to look like since I knew we couldn't recreate the exact experience. I didn't want to try and replace what you're going to get in studio. I think people tried and they're like it's just as good nothing's going to be I'm an in-person like I don't particularly love working on at home I will for out of convenience sake it's not my first choice. I would rather be in person 10,000 percent I get more motivation I work harder I just I enjoy it more that's just what I prefer so you know why seven online is never it's not intended to replace the in-studio experience it's intended to complement it and add on to it in studio we have you know the 60 minute we flow hard it's pretty much all we do in studio 98 percent of our schedule is that class with why seven online what we did is we still have we flow we have we flow hard options but what we did was have a lot more sort of on-the-go options so we have like 30 minute power of in-yasses we have 15 to 20 minute kind of focus flows which are going to be you know in arms and abs class or glutes class that are just really you know they're there to really just add on to maybe another workout we're just to get something in really really quickly depending on what your schedule looks like that day we've been very fortunate to have a partner in universal music group so we're actually the first yoga forward platform to have synth license music which we are very very proud of and so excited about to see how that evolves with artist partnerships and collaborations so stay tuned for a lot of that but that was you know that was challenging for us in the pandemic it was you know when it took it's the beginning of 2023 and it took us till the end of 2022 to really get that figured out it was a big investment and you know huge learnings considering that you know our business had been a hundred percent brick and mortar focused we were forced to close about half the studios and you know really just rethink the business as a whole and what it means yeah and this also being a mental health podcast I feel like I have to ask you a question on you know as an entrepreneur especially during COVID how did you navigate that uncertainty and having to pivot and having to have you know adopt a new approach and deal with those challenges yeah I mean it was scary and honestly if I let myself think about it too much the scarier it got and so it was more of a okay day by day like how are what what are we doing now what is what is the latest in the news or what's the latest on reopening what can we do in the meantime and really when I look back on it's really all the decisions we made were centered around how are we continuing to engage with our community right and that's kind of what kept us going throughout and kept me motivated was you know slow we slowly reopened each studio to make sure that you know we had the right protocols and process in place and you know we're able to serve our clients and I think everyone was you know and and still is a little bit in a place of like worry a little bit and a little bit of fear of like is it okay for me to go back out everyone's getting sick again like you know so I think it's just it's all in kind of communication and community and really using that as a focus in the how to drive the business and also going back to just this new trend of bringing in digital into the business I can't remember exactly when but recently I was looking on Instagram and reading about the you know the partnership with also the mirror which Lulu lemon had acquired can you talk a little bit more about that sure yeah that was um you know we've been working with Lulu lemon in a retail capacity for quite some time and this opportunity came up and it was it was really incredible I think the mirror brings together such a wonderful group of partners that you know it really gave us the ability to reach a lot more clients than we would have um you know just kind of launching our own first because the mirror is such an established piece of equipment already um it's beautiful um it's well done it has every type of workout you can imagine again incredible partners that we're so lucky to sit um to sit next to and it's allowed us to play into a different space you know I don't think we'll ever we're not going to go into hardware so it's super fun to be part of such an incredible brand it's still surreal to kind of partner with such a huge name yeah totally probably like a pinch me moment yeah it was like you want us to what um it's it's been a really wonderful experience and they have such an incredible team and and again I mean you know as far as yoga goes um you know there's no one more established in space than Lou levin and um I'm excited to see where they're able to take you know all the amazing things that they have planned with the mirror yeah and I mean it was very exciting for me to see also because being a yoga fanatic and obviously Lou levin is like like the mother of all things yoga um like I was just kind of cheering on the sidelines because um I can imagine like how amazing that must have felt to you know have that partnership yeah it was a big moment of you know I think something interesting about being you know and I hate using this word to describe myself because I still don't feel it rigging through necessarily but being an entrepreneur you know it's a lot of times you don't stop to take a minute because because my, especially through the pandemic, my focus has really been on my team and the studios and keeping the business alive. And we went 18 months with zero revenue, not a single dollar into the company. And that's a hard place to reopen from, especially when we were on such a, we were on an incredible growth trajectory, March 2020. So it was a tough place to restart from. So you know, this, the initial conversations about this partnership and started in late 2021. And so we were still just getting our final studio open. We were still finishing opening up the studios and it was such a surreal moment for me to be recognized and, you know, seen by such a powerhouse, you know, for everything that we were continuing to do in space, even when we had such a small physical footprint at the time. Yeah, it's, it's also crazy too to think about how, like you mentioned, you were on a really great growth trajectory right before COVID hit. Over the past two years, like living through that, experiencing it, do you think that, you know, the way COVID impacted things has informed, like your decision-making as an entrepreneur, like moving forward now at the business, knowing that in an instant, things could be completely different. Like, how do you progress for it now? Yeah, I think, you know, like I mentioned before, like we were solely focused, 100% brick and mortar. And never in my wildest dreams, if you had asked me, like, what would you, my never would have said this? I never would have been like, oh, we'll have to close for over a year and a half, like what? So I think it's about really diversifying kind of, you know, your, your streams of business and, you know, what you have to offer and also being really flexible in how you operate and operating from a place, you know, what you have and not, you know, overextending, you know, your resources and working, working smarter in a sense, you know, like I don't think I will ever go back to working, you know, with the mindset of when we had, you know, 10, 12, 14 studios, I will always keep the mentality of, you know, the six and how we can do things in the most efficient cost-effective way, not necessarily the quickest, right? So I think that's where the money piles in. So, you know, longevity is kind of the goal now, right? And sustainability. What are you most excited for moving forward in the next few years with Y7? Oh gosh. I am still excited about scaling the business, I think, you know, we were pretty focused on New York, LA, Chicago, pre-pandemic is kind of our major markets. And now I think we've seen that, you know, a lot of people are flocking to be smaller cities. A lot of people have more flexibility in their kind of work-life balance and what that looks like. So really looking forward to, you know, expanding in places that maybe when I'm on the list, I had the pandemic not happen. So we're starting to dive into that. And again, just really seeing where this digital platform can take us. I think it's a really incredible opportunity to see, you know, the appetite that people have for not only at home workouts, but for yoga in general. I think, you know, when people work out at home, they want to do something quick and intense. And that's, you know, really kind of the go-to. But with knowing that, how can Y7 serve those people as well? Totally. Well, I'm excited to see, you know, what is going to come in the next few years. I have no doubt that there are going to be more incredible partnerships on the horizon. And I want to shift gears a little bit to talking a bit more about really more broadly, just health and well-being and mental health. So something that I'm very curious to hear from you, Sarah, is how your perspective of health and wellness has shifted and evolved throughout the course of your life with, you know, having an injury and now being a mom of two, how that's been impacted, or how your wellness strategies and routine have had to adapt, given this new-- the entrance of your new child into the world. So can you talk a little bit about the evolution of your own perspective and take on health and staying healthy? What I've learned first and foremost, especially having now having two kids and going through postpartum twice and actually at ACL surgery last year or two, like a lot of things happen. And knowing that, I think, our mental health is the stepping stone or physical health, because if you are not in the place mentally to physically get yourself outside to get your body moving, it doesn't really make a difference. You can be the most physically fit looking person in the world. And if your mental health is not-- if you're not taking care of that part of you, you almost are unable to enjoy that physical part. And I think that's what I learned, too. Like, I used to think, no matter what, drag yourself out of bed, no matter what, get your workout and work your hardest. Like, if you're not giving it 110%, like, why are you even here? And there's something to be said about, we always say, making it to your mass the hardest part. And once you're there, the rest is easy. You're there, you might as well do the yoga, right? The hardest part is getting yourself there in a lot of that is the mental block that you have. I'm tired or my to-do list is so long today. Or I just don't feel like it. Why should I go if I can't get-- if I don't have enough energy to give it everything? And so I think there's a lot of conversations we have with ourselves in that space as it relates to our physical health. And so I think, first and foremost, what I learned is that your mental health is the base, right? That's really informed how I've looked at my fitness routine or whatever that looks like. I don't have much of a routine. But as we're recording this, I have an 11-week old. As of today, I'm a 2 1/2-year-old. And I am still up twice a night, beating her. There's that. And then there's my son who is incredibly active. And there's keeping up with him. And there's a lot of days where I would love to just lay down. And some days I do. But it is knowing that if I move my body in some sense, I will feel better mentally. And it's this interesting little feedback loop that we get from what the physical activity does for our mental health and how we need our mental health to be in a good place to do physical stuff. So it's super interesting. I think just having the goal of just movement as opposed to something super specific or like a calorie burn goal has is a new kind of perspective. I used to think that I used to do be like 30 minutes on the treadmill. I need to hit 400 calories or it's not worth it. That's when you start to burn fat, this whole idea. And that was such a silly and very small minded version of what I think fitness and physical wellbeing is. It's being able to move your body, which so many of us pay for granted. And after I had knee surgery last year, I couldn't believe what an effort it took in the first four weeks just to lift my leg and bend my knee. Like a fraction I was like, will I ever bend my knee again? Will it ever happen? And yes, I bend my knee and I can run and all the things but I think prioritizing that movement is super, super important in something to add on to that is something I did continuously throughout both my pregnancy is was I think I worked out more while I was pregnant than I ever have pre or post. Because I know that like I'm a tired person. I like to sleep and having a young, let you this tiny light be responsible for is exhausting. And birth is a marathon and I knew that if I wanted to have as smoother recovery as possible, you know, hoping that everything goes the way it's supposed to and the way I wanted to, I need to prep my body for that. So I was fortunate enough to have my over practice and I was able to continue with my over practice throughout both my pregnancy is and see I worked with the trainer twice a week, just to get my body moving and to keep it strong and to make sure I was strengthening the right muscles and I needed for childbirth and to prepare for early motherhood, which is a lot of lifting, picking up, putting down, picking up, putting down, a lot of holding here, a lot of bending over to change diapers, things like that. So all kind of, you know, moves that were, you know, thoughtful and designed to really help those specific muscles as I kind of transitioned to a new role. So it can always help folks to look at, you know, what your goals are for what your lifestyle is and how you can kind of tailor your workouts to that. Yeah, that's a really great way I think to think about how physical fit and like certain types of exercises can serve us in our day-to-day life. Also what I heard you saying earlier was like, easing out of this perfectionism mindset. Movement and working out does not have to be, I go to the gym for 30 minutes on the treadmill, then I do a 20 minute wait, segment, and then I do my core. Like I used to think the same way as well. - Yeah, also like, who do I, like what am I training for? Who do I think I am? Like what is like deadlifting, like, oh, 150 pounds gonna do for me? Like does it make more sense for me to do functional movement? Like probably. - Right, and also shifting your mindset to that, coming out of playing a sport, I think is really difficult, like for athletes in particular, because you're conditioned to have this one mindset, you know, you put your trust in a coach who designs the workouts for you, you're pushing yourself to more extremes, higher limits than you would if you're not on a team's port. So just figuring out how to stay healthy, but not in a competitive environment as an athlete. It's also kind of part of it. - Yeah, I'm like, listen, I learned the hard way when I stepped on a tennis court at 34, and was like, yeah, I play tennis and tore my ACL because I dove for a backhand, like, no, I don't play tennis. Like I haven't actually played tennis, like at a regular cadence since I was in high school. Like Sarah, you don't play tennis, you played. Once again, competitively in high school. Like you were 34 years old. And I just turned 36, but like at the time, I would like about turn 35, and I remember when I went in and I got like, my MRI or whatever it was, and some sort of scan. And my doctor was like, so what happened? I was like, well, I was playing tennis, and he was like, yeah, here's the thing at your age. And I was like, that one stings. He's like, at your age, when these things happen and you're not a professional athlete, he was like, most of the time they happen because you're not warmed up properly. And you mentally think like, you are in the same place as you last played this sport. And I was like, cool. So that was a big lesson to my body that like not only shouldn't you work out, and you know, compete like you are 18 because you are not 18. You need to meet your body where it's at. And that was such an aha moment for me where it's like, that doesn't necessarily mean to say that like, you shouldn't like give all your effort and things like that. And like, I'll play to, I still like, we'll go play tennis, but do I need to dive for a backhand? Like, you know, the state championship is relying on my point. No, what am I doing? That's crazy. Yeah, exactly. And it's a good reminder too that, you know, our bodies change so things aren't always going to be the same. And so our workouts should change. Our mentality needs to change and the kinds of things that we're doing also have to shift with that. And it's something we don't necessarily think about. Exactly. As we wrap up Sarah, I have a few final questions for you. So we just talked about your perspective of health and wellness and mental wellbeing. What about your thoughts on happiness? How has your idea of happiness and seeking out joy and life transformed over the course of your life? Maybe it hasn't. I'd love to hear your thoughts on how you find happiness in day to day. Oh, that's hard because I think, you know, that I think it changes day to day also, right? You know, you wake up in a different mood or in a different set of circumstances. For me, it's not attaching happiness to any sort of expectation, knowing that you can find little pockets of joy and really small things. And I think you have to look for those. You know, sometimes you have to work harder than not to find those little moments. You know, I love my children more than anything. But sometimes do I want them to go away so I can have a moment to myself? Yeah. And in those moments, are they bringing me the utmost joy? No, they're not. So, you know, in those, like, in tough moments, you think you have to work a little harder to find that joy and, you know, the upside and things. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I think we have to understand that life is going to be a series of peaks and valleys and ups and downs. And sometimes you're going to be happier than others. And also that's okay. I think a lot of times, you know, we're told this kind of rhetoric and essentially now we're in such an era of, you know, self-care and all this stuff and mental wellness and that. And, you know, happiness is a choice. Like, yeah, but sometimes the choice is harder to make on, you know, some days than others. Like, you don't have to be happy all the time. You're going to have to have to be, and that's okay. And your expectation, like, just has to shift with wherever you're at that day. And as long as you can continually try to find the most joyful moments you can in that moment, then I think you're set up for happiness. - And having compassion for yourself too when you're not in those states of the utmost joy. Speaking of happiness, my final question to you, Sarah, is something that I ask every guest that comes onto the podcast. It is very integral to everyday endorphins because my question to you here is, what is something that brings you a bit of endorphins every day? - Oh, I, and this is going to sound like it's so, of course she's going to say this, but for me, it's really like I have to, I have to do some sort of physical movement or workout. Like I have to. I am a happier person. I have to. I have to do it. It just really makes such a difference in my mood. I am someone who needs that. I need somewhere for my body to go. If I am tired, if I choose to go to a workout, I will have more energy. I like literally the last night, I, I've been up today since 4 a.m. My daughter was not cooperating overnight. She was very restless. And she's still in my room. So I hear everything going on. I had a quality class this morning at 9 a.m. and I was like, I thought about dancing at my husband's, like you should maybe dance with. You want to get some sleep and I was like, you know what? I'm going to go. And I'm so glad I did. And, you know, I think it did make a more positive impact on my day. So that's, it's the movement piece for me. And I know of course that sounds like, she just saying that. You know, some, most days I get it. You know, there are some days that I skip, but I'm always better for it when I, when I move. It's science-backed. An exercise absolutely brings endorphins. So I love that answer and I feel very similarly. I need to get in some sort of movement or physical activity in the day. You know, some days it won't be as perfect as I want it to be, but that's okay. Kind of back to what we were just talking about. Sarah, it was such a pleasure having you as a guest. Where can my listeners, well, they can Google Y7 and find a studio near them. But where can they follow along and connect with you? Yeah, you can follow the studio at Y7 Studio on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok. We don't really take talk, but maybe one day. Thank you so much. It was such a pleasure having you as a guest. Thank you. Thanks for listening to this episode of Everyday Endorphins. If you liked what you heard, make sure to like, rate, and review this podcast on whichever platform you prefer. You can also follow along the Everyday Endorphins Instagram account to stay up to date with episodes, future events, and all things related to mental health, well-being, and happiness. Don't forget to keep spreading endorphins and find things in life that bring you joy every day. Until next time.