In this episode, Anna sits down with Lara Birk, PDH, founder of The Sage Practice and one of the most thoughtful, compassionate, and courageous voices in mind-body healing today.
Lara’s work is rooted in lived experience: her own journey through a rare medical condition as a teenager, 17 surgeries, structural complications, chronic pain, and decades of navigating a system that often has no place for complexity. Her mission is to expand the field of mind-body medicine so that more people see themselves represented — and more people can access hope.
In this episode, we talk about:
• The behind-the-scenes of her recent Curable interview
Why speaking publicly felt both empowering and terrifying — and what it took emotionally to step onto a platform where her perspective diverged from the status quo.
• Navigating fear before doing something that might “rock the boat”
The internal dialogue, the nervous-system responses, the questions of belonging, and the ways Lara grounded herself through the lead-up to that conversation.
• Why she chose to speak up anyway
The deeper calling beneath the personal fear — including representation, inclusion, integrity, and service to the people whose experiences mirror her own.
• How it feels now that the interview is out in the world
Relief, vulnerability, pride, activation — and the tender mix that comes when you’ve put your truth somewhere public.
• What she’s learning from the emotional aftermath
How this moment is shaping her personal journey, her self-trust, and her evolving voice as a leader inside her field.
• Her message to anyone considering sharing their own truth
Her advice on pacing, nervous-system safety, self-attunement, community support, and the reality that you don’t have to be fearless — just resourced enough to take the next step.
This is a beautiful conversation about courage, nuance, authenticity, and what it means to become visible in a way that honors who you really are.
Connect with Lara
• Website: https://www.thesagepractice.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesagepractice/
Find Lara’s courses, 1:1 and group coaching, somatic tracking recordings, and extensive free resources on her website.
Connect with Anna
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anna_holtzman/
• Website: https://www.annaholtzman.com/
• Free workshop — Let Yourself Be Seen: https://www.annaholtzman.com/beseen
