DailyOM: Would you share a little about your personal story? We would love for our readers to understand your background and how you found your path.
Sadie: The most pivotal thing that literally knocked me onto the healing and empowerment path was the large man who accidentally jumped onto my head when he cannonballed from the side of the pool when I was 13. The impact broke my neck and spine in three places, and I was partially paralyzed for two years.
It took my mom, a dusty old yoga book, and then 10 years of painstaking therapeutic meditation, conscious breathing, and yoga to get me strong enough to miraculously — as far as doctors were concerned — walk, then teach, then share my knowledge with the world. It's been quite a ride to say the least.
DailyOM: We are so glad you are back to good health and helping others now. Tell us how HIIT Yoga Fusion is different from your other DailyOM courses?
Sadie: A few years back, after 20 years of doing yoga, I noticed something disturbing. I was strong enough to hold a handstand for what seemed like forever, but I wasn't able to run up hills, join my brother for his morning run, or sprint to catch a plane (a skill that is needed more often than one might think). All of these activities showed me that somehow — even after a near daily and strong yoga practice — I was terribly out of cardiovascular shape. How could this be? As a movement expert, I knew this was a bad sign. Cardio, or how well we intake and process oxygen, is the foundation of all health — not how many minutes I could hold a plank pose or how straight my Warrior II was. Also, I work hard, and I have little time in my busy schedule to add more workouts. I began to research the best and fastest possible way to optimize cardio.
HIIT, or high-intensity interval training, was the clear winner. This is going to sound like I just met a unicorn, but four minutes of HIIT sparks the same fitness changes in the body — more muscle tone, cardio health, fat and calorie burn, and deep DNA repair — as if you had worked out for one to two hours in the gym. My scientific mind understood how this works, and I was sold.
But many of the existing HIIT moves were too hard on the joints. I designed brand-new HIIT moves or modified common ones to make students stronger and keep joints safer. I am a yogini, after all. And I love my practice, but it will never be enough to give us whole-benefit, fast, and slow-twitch muscle-activating holistic fitness. So, I fused the two into a yoga-HIIT-yoga experience that flows together quite seamlessly.
DailyOM: You are naturally funny and love rock music. Have you always been this way, and do you incorporate your personality into your workouts?
Sadie: Why, thank you! I think I'm absolutely hilarious. I'm glad someone agrees. I grew up hanging out in the back of a van (way less creepy than it sounds) and sleeping behind speakers at my mother's rock band shows and rehearsals. She would let me onstage with her once in a while.
I'm from Iowa, so there was little to do but drive around listening to Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, and the like. As soon as I could, I also joined a classic rock-style band, and I have one even now. I always thought of music as my birthright, and what you see in my style and language today is a true and authentic expression of my deepest nature. This is why I always encourage all my clients to rock who they are, too — anytime, anywhere.
DailyOM: Tell us about the phrase you coined — Yoga Shreds™.
Sadie: I knew my HIIT moves were different enough from what's out there now that they needed a name — a cool, rockin' name. Hence, Yoga Shreds. The moves do "shred," which to me is more a description of the yang — fierce, empowering energy of the movements. Plus, these movements create more muscle tone and tighten all those parts of our body that gravity is having a grand old time trying to pull closer to the ground.
DailyOM: Do you offer modifications for people who are newer to yoga or have injuries?
Sadie: Because I've had so much physical limitation in my life, in any course I have or will ever make, I constantly include variations, so no one gets left behind. It's one of the most nonnegotiable aspects of my teaching. I want every student to have the choice to fully rock it with me, wherever they are today.
DailyOM: Your course also has tips for eating a healthy diet along with some recipes. What is your No. 1 tip?
Sadie: I love food. As a woman with strong Italian French heritage, you'll have to pry the pasta, butter, and red wine out of my cold, dead hands. So, when it comes to looking and feeling our best, my No. 1 tip is always keep your favorite foods, just eat clean. It sounds simple. Not so much! This doesn't mean to obsess over how "healthy" your food is, which can consume people's happiness. It means that whatever you love and choose to eat or drink, more often than not, choose organic, biodynamic, eco-friendly, and from small local farms that don't use pesticides, hormones, and other destructive chemicals.
Even my beloved wine can be full of herbicides, so I always drink biodynamic or organic wines. It's also important to me that everyone knows that even though we are "shredding," we are not aiming to be fat-free or even to necessarily lose weight. Yoga Shreds creates an amazing metabolic boost, so we have to nourish ourselves because, as I always say, "healthy is the new skinny." When your body is running well, and you are strong, mobile, passionate, and vital inside and out, then whatever weight or shape you are is the right one for you.
DailyOM: What do you say to people who are just having a hard time getting it together and starting a program?
Sadie: I'd say, welcome to the club. I don't think I've ever wanted to exercise once in my life, yet I've done it thousands of times. I'd say, learn the power of discomfort. A few minutes of intensity can give you all the body-mind transformation you want. It's worth it. And finally, I'd say, choose which voice to listen to: the one giving you 500 reasons to not get on the yoga mat, to not pick the nourishing organic thing over the quick fix full of sugar and chemicals, or to skip your 15-minute workout again?
Or the voice who says, "I hear you, limiting voice, and I see you — the me who wants to rise and shine. I refuse to abandon you today. I want to live my health and fun and confidence and strength over everything else. Today, I choose me." I'm here to be that voice, the whole way through, as my students strengthen their own.
DailyOM: Thank you, Sadie! She really is an amazing teacher with a heart of gold. If you need to boost your cardio and strengthen your body, let Sadie be your guide. This quick and effective workout will change your life. Until next time, be well.
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