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

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

Lara Birk, PhD, Founder, The Sage Practice - helping people in pain empower themselves to thrive again.

A new self-paced course, podcast interviews, somatic tracking recordings & more at thesagepractice.com ❤️

09/05/2026

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! ❤️
😅 🌺 🌳 🌼 🌱 ☀️

03/03/2026

There may be *some* shame in watching Love is Blind, which my cat, Zoe, and I did for a few seasons, as depicted here.

Did I get your attention with this pic? 🤷🏼‍♀️

My point is, life can be hard sometimes, especially these days, and even more so when you live with .

It is okay to not be okay. And it is *imperative* we take care of ourselves and each other.

What does that look like?

❤️ Kindness (empathy embodied)

🫶 Grace (everyone is carrying something heavy)

💕 Connecting with people (true healing happens in community)

and…..

😹 Funny cat videos (no explanation needed)

But if you need something more centering than hilarious cats, check out my recordings at thesagepractice.com or on Insight Timer.

I’m also now taking applicants for my summer Sage Group. (Email me if you’re interested.)

I specialize in working with people with with factors, and all my offerings (including 1-1s) are for those who seek healing *in spite of* persistent symptoms. My work includes the most healing elements of — but is drastically different than — traditional .

This is about you living life, even — especially — in the face of difficult things. (Believe me, I am right here with you.) Learning how to do this is a superpower. 💖

04/02/2026

Does the world feel out of control?

You are not alone if you feel unsettled — or downright terrified — by what’s been going on in the news (or maybe even in your own neighborhoods). If you have chronic pain or other chronic symptoms, you might even be experiencing a flare up — which, of course!, your brain does not feel very safe in this environment.

All the services I offer through my practice, The Sage Practice, to help people who live with pain really live again — they are my way of making a positive contribution to a world that is really hurting. If I can help you so that you can do what you are here to do, then that is good!

A couple new offerings:

1) I am a brand new teacher at Insight Timer, where I’ll be offering free somatic tracking and other guided meditations. Follow me there if you’re interested.

2) I have a few openings for my Spring Sage Group starting in mid-March. Part education, part support, it’s a small group (7-8 people) designed for anyone who has a structural condition in addition to neuroplastic issues. Many of us (self included) have felt excluded, dismissed, or even gaslit in the traditional mindbody space because we do not fit the mold of “100% neuroplastic”. The group is a safe space where you belong, you are believed, and you are not alone — where healing is about building self trust and agency, not about escaping yourself or trying to become something you’re not, but coming home to yourself and finding your own *inner* safety.

If you have structural issues, I understand personally, and I am the only practitioner I know of in the mindbody / neuroplastic space who caters specifically to people with structural issues. (I’ve given lots of talks on this very topic on Curable). If this is you, please reach out!

Details on my website (thesagepractice.com).
Contact me if you’re interested.

25/01/2026

The world feels upside down and inside out. Sometimes there are no words for it.

It’s interesting: My work is all about pain. When you’re in it, you become sensitive to other people’s pain. You can feel it.

But this is societal pain — who doesn’t feel it now?

Please be good to each other. Take care of yourselves and each other out there.

If I’ve learned anything from physical pain, it’s that kindness matters. It feels ridiculous and weak in the face of it all, like ‘what’s the point’ and ‘how can it ever match the hurt?’, but it really does help. And it can be contagious too.

Watching the monks walk for peace made me cry — it’s such a poignant reminder of what’s possible.

16/01/2026

You truly can be happy and hurting at the same time. This week I’m living proof that you can actually have quite a lot of pain while also feeling you might burst with joy!

Joy doesn’t have to be joy with a capital J like getting engaged either. In fact, it’s really the little moments of joy — joy bubbles!* — you can find in each day that shift how you feel. The sun coming in the window. A call with a dear friend. The laughter of a child. A piece of cake. Playing with a dog. Even a cat video on YouTube! 😻 Whatever it is for you, these are the kinds of moments that shift how you feel over time.

Find the joy bubbles, and enjoy them!

Joy and Pain. Light and darkness. Life is full of both. It helps me personally to keep turning my head toward the joy. Whether it’s joy with a capital J or not, I promise, it helps! 💖

With this world we live in, couldn’t we all could use a little more joy in our days?

* thanks to Mickey R. for this term!

13/01/2026

Free trial to the Curable app: https://www.curablehealth.com/connect-qr/larabirk

09/01/2026

You’ve noticed it too, I am sure: The world is on fire. People are hurting — there is pain in the air.

You know how it feels when you’ve been having a seriously rough day and a stranger is really nice to you— if you’re anything like me, it can make you cry!

There is something about the kindness of others that can break us open, in a good way. We are at our best when we take care of each other. And man, do we need each other now.

Let’s just make the assumption that *everyone* is carrying something heavy right now, even if it doesn’t look like it. Kindness softens pain and doesn’t cost a thing. It can even be contagious. One person’s small act of grace can inspire the next person to pass it forward.

What if we could make kindness viral?

17/12/2025

I am sharing a little bit from my personal life here today so that I can pass on to you something that’s been helpful for me, especially this period when pain is very intense and “recovery” very remote. And that is, focusing on the good stuff. After feeling whatever feelings you have with whatever difficult situation you’re in — hot tip: do this first! — look around where you are (even if you’re confined to bed at the moment— especially then!). Look around where you are right now, both physically and metaphorically, and ask yourself, “What’s good?” There is always something to turn your focus toward that feels lighter, warmer, calmer, funnier, more beautiful, or more alive than the suffering that comes from striving to be somewhere (or someone) other than you are. So maybe settle in… and lean into what’s good. 🌼 This is what’s buoying me up after hearing a very hard-to-hear prognosis. (PS. Maybe to my point: I’m not fond of the prednisone puffiness in my face today, but it’s okay — I’m still here able to share what I’m learning with you with the hope it can help you too….) ❤️

25/11/2025

We humans make things so complicated, don’t we? Healing is often seen as a task we need to achieve and only then can we move on and live life again.

But what if that’s our medicalized culture that benefits when we believe we need an external fix (like a pill, doctor, treatment, etc.)?

What if it’s our capitalist society that turns even healing into a healing industrial complex that feeds the machine?

What if it’s the early conditioning we got that made us think we're not good enough as is, that only our achievements make us worthy of acceptance?

What if it’s the internalized gaslighting we picked up along the way that makes us abandon ourselves in search of some holy grail, instead of trusting our own inner wisdom?

Forget the “homework”.

Let go of the “shoulds”.

Try the simple stuff!

*You* are your own best guide.

18/11/2025

I just did a talk on this very thing on the Curable app actually. Redefining Healing in this way has been a game changer for me. It's why I am so passionate about this work and want to help others benefit too.

It took me 34 years of living with chronic pain after 17 surgeries, disability, etc. So I want to save you some time and grief if I can and teach you all I've learned.

Life is here right now. Your life wants you to live it as fully as you can, no matter what. It is so liberating to let go of old ideas that can feel, within the context of daily reality, oppressive and painful.

Try one thing, even tiny, that you can do today that makes you feel like you're living, that makes you feel like you, that makes your heart feel fuller. Just one small act of kindness, for example, not only helps the other person, but it buoys you up with feel good chemicals too. We are all in this together.

If you need extra guidance, I offer a self-paced course & audio recordings kind of like a river guide 😊
@ thesagepractice.com ❤️

12/11/2025

My partner’s daughter captured this moment. I’m sure for her it was part cute part oh my god you guys ew. I found this guy just months after my 17th surgery (and I’ve been on crutches most of the 3 years since). Friends asked then why not just wait until I was “better” to start dating again. But I was So.Done.Waiting. Please don’t put your life on hold until you’re “better.” What you will find when you start living fully again - in spite of any symptoms - will amaze you. And you can start giving yourself that gift today ❤️

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Monday	09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday	09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday	09:00 - 17:00
Thursday	09:00 - 17:00

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+16174688480

Website

https://www.thesagepractice.com/, https://insighttimer.com/thesagepractice, https://www.thesagepractice.com/recordings,

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