Sarah Gaines
The Creator of JoyFlow
Sarah Gaines is a true light. Sitting down with her on the esplanade on a beautiful fall day, had me leaving the conversation with a new appreciation for everything that happens to us, and the power we have to change it. She is a true teacher in helping women step into their power, and taking control of their lives in a mindful way.
I can’t really corner Sarah into one specific career category. While she falls under the umbrella of wellness, she’s so much more. She is a writer, speaker, guide and creator with a focus on love, positivity, awareness, and confidence. Her mission is to help others build the life they crave, and her technique to help you do it lies in movement and mindfulness. She’s had the opportunity to teach and lead all over the world, and featured in publications like USA Today, People, and INSIDER. What is really amazing about Sarah is she lives life on her own terms from college professor, to creator of JoyFlow, to life coach she does it all.
Sarah used to be a group fitness junkie, and pushed her body to the limits with bikini competitions. Sarah says she had body dysmorphia issues for as long as she can remember. Sarah recalled a time at 8-years-old when she wrote in her journal that she needed to lose weight. Her evolution out of that toxic space was a tool she discovered over time: mindfulness. While she still truly believes in group fitness, and taking care of our bodies with movement, she wants to change the verbal and physical abuse that women bring upon their bodies trying to look perfect. At one point in her life, she herself thought once she had the perfect body everything in her life would fall perfectly in place, and once she achieved that perfect physique she learned the opposite was true. Now it’s been her mission to love herself, and teach others to love themselves at all stages of their life.
Now let’s jump into her creation called JoyFlow. She describes it as a “slow, juicy flow that builds to intuitive movement, and ends with a sound meditation to fully drop in.” It is definitely beyond most peoples’ comfort zones because you aren’t just following her movement you are making up your own movement as you go, moving your body in whatever way it feels. For me, this likened to coloring outside the lines, which I rarely do. I am a color inside the lines, get me from point A to point B type gal. So when we did JoyFlow on the esplanade in front of strangers, it took me a couple minutes to get over the thought of other people looking at me while I swiveled my hips, shook out my arms, and wobbled my knees. This really clicked as a huge metaphor for how I live life. Very rarely will I do things that other people think are silly or stupid. I try to always achieve, strive for more, and grab as many accolades as I can. I have always been one to seek out a direct path I can follow to get to the end prize. It feels so good to do something that may look stupid, but FEELS amazing to me. It’s a small sense of rebellion and relief all at the same time. It feels so freeing to be able to accept you look silly, and embrace it. Even more than feeling silly, I felt rejuvenated and happy. Movement is so spiritual, and Sarah is reminding us of that one JoyFlow class at a time.
