Flex Lab

Studio session collab x x me! When Jessie, a wonderful photographer and SALT yogi, was looking to expand her movement captures portfolio, I couldn’t raise my hand fast enough! 🙋🏻‍♀️ (she’s also done a lifestyle shoot of my family, to equally stunning results)

I flowed and she clicked for a full hour and we both felt in our element in the peaceful SALT space. Aren’t synchronicities beautiful? ✨

Long overdue • i n t r o • for my sweet ✨Klara Eliza✨ I’ve been keeping busy as a mom of two since 3/31, and Klara has been busy doubling her birth weight in 4 months! But I want to pause and share my observations of this new level of motherhood:

• Second time around is definitely harder and everything takes longer (shocker, right?) From the pregnancy itself to getting back to optimal fitness to getting out the door! Adjusting to the new rhythms of life requires - and teaches - patience 🙏🏼
• Despite the struggles, I feel more proud of, more at home in my body than ever. That was easy to say with my first baby. I dropped well below my pre-pregnancy weight very quickly and almost without effort (credit breastfeeding 🪄). While it isn’t working out *quite like that this time, I surprisingly don’t really care and don’t feel in a rush to eliminate my softer belly (swipe to 3rd photo). I feel functionally fit, and that’s what matters 💪🏼
• Life is truly a gift. It’s amazing how becoming a mom makes you tear up more often than roll your eyes at such little cliches. I feel so fortunate to have had two relatively easy conceptions, pregnancies, and now two healthy little girls 💕especially as I hold in my heart those who’ve experienced heartbreak and difficult roads to motherhood 🫶🏼

Watch for our little girl gang zooming around town in our double stroller and say hi! 👋🏼

Viparita Virabhadrasana • Uttitha Trikonasana • Chaturanga Dandasana • Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana

AKA reverse warrior, extended triangle, low plank, upward facing dog 🕉
Which is your favorite to flow through?

Snaps from practice on the deck overlooking Lake Superior • Sept 3 2022

Happy Independence Day, yogis! How are you working some m o v e m e n t into your celebrations? We are spending the week at a cabin up north, so it will be mostly dock side yoga and trail runs for me 😁

I am still teaching ✌🏼classes this week at . . .
TUES 5:30pm HOT 26
SAT 10:30am HOT YOGA FUSION

I got you for that post-holiday fix 😉

matching skies in Seattle 🌥

first time visiting the PNW and it did not disappoint. the active wear street style/lifestyle, wellness culture, appreciation for and access to nature - my kind of city 🙌🏼

let’s talk about judgement. as humans we’re programmed to assign value and worth to what we encounter: places, objects, possessions, other people, accomplishments - even ourselves and our own. ⚖️

naturally we want to judge our physical abilities and yoga practice as well. how did I “do” today, in a performative sense. I caught myself judging last night : “I can’t grab my heels anymore,” “I’ve lost flexibility,” “have I practiced this posture postpartum?” “I haven’t practiced it enough…” instead of fully feeling of deep release of the posture, these thoughts clouded my mind. 💭

now I recognize this is a goal posture for many people. but that’s the tricky thing about judgment - it’s subjective. even if your subpar is far better than someone else’s outstanding, you can still feel less than. in the same token, your outstanding is likely not on par with an expert. there’s always someone/something in the world better or worse. so why do we waste mental energy assessing at all? 💭

so…challenge yourself to * let * go * of judgment…at least during time on your mat. reframe it as observation of the physical * feeling * of asana, then let the feeling pass without further thought when you exit the pose. if you still feel the urge to judge, judge your overall experience in the class or session. instead of how you looked or how hard you went, how did it make you feel? start your next practice with a short cogitation on this concept - I’ll do the same - let me know if you notice a shift 🌀

So many photos to review and emotions to unpack from Azores 125k race, but let me begin with the brilliant professional images from 📸

I crossed the finish at 19h 16m 44s holding the hands of two amazing women who stuck with me the entire course: 🫶🏼

2 observations for now:
I could not have done it alone.
I would do it again. ⛰

Sometimes a new space - physical location - is just what you need to unlock new mental space 💭
That’s what S A L T has been for me this past week after leading my first class at the studio last Saturday. I am so excited and honored to join the stellar team of instructors and watch this yoga community flourish 💫

Upcoming classes at S A L T:
Tues 4/12 6:30pm - 26/2
Fri 4/15 5:30pm - 26/2
Sat 4/16 10:30am - Hot Yoga Fusion
Tues 4/19 6:30pm - 26/2

Follow & check S A L T] page for full schedule week by week. See you on the mat ✨

Starting the week with an update those of you who’ve been around a while & an introduction for you newbies! 👋🏼

▪️I’m Kate, a lawyer turned yoga instructor from southeastern Wisconsin. I’ve lived in Madison, Milwaukee, Ann Arbor and London over the past 15 years, finally settling in Wausau with my husband in 2020 🏡
▪️In addition to practicing yoga, I love to run! I found running in college through workouts for the rowing team, years before picking up yoga. I’ve done 6 marathons and I’m currently training for my first ultra in April 😬
▪️In my 20s I struggled with body image and disordered eating. I’ve done everything from strict calorie counting to binge/over exercise cycles to juice cleanses. I still love to exercise but I’ve learned to better support my activity level with good nutrition - and seen improved performance 😁
▪️I have a one year old daughter named Annika who keeps me busy and entertained (peep my personal page for more of her). I relied on yoga to keep physically & mentally healthy through all 3 trimesters🤰🏻
▪️I currently teach at the Woodson YMCA and am starting 2 weekly classes at . Come for a great workout and get to know me better! 🙂

Do you work out on vacation? 🙋🏻‍♀️ I posted a poll on this when I was in California a few weeks back and was pleasantly surprised to see a slight majority of you do!
Now, I’m not saying I *always make time for exercise when I’m traveling, or that you necessarily should, but I find it always enhances my experience. Yoga and running (both shown here 😜) are travel friendly options - little to no equipment required and good ways to explore like a local. Book yourself a class at a local studio or lace up your trainers and scope restaurants and shopping on a jog!
You could go the hotel gym route, but let’s be honest - it’s much less scenic 😆

Not my typical post, but thought this deserved a permanent place on my feed....
I’ve been sharing weekly bump pics in my story throughout my pregnancy, accompanied by captions of how I’m feeling physically or changes I’ve noticed. Until now I haven’t shared much of how I’ve felt emotionally, and my fears and insecurities surrounding pregnancy.
Let me confess: I was terrified of having a baby. I’d even say I was repulsed by the whole process - like irrationally so, ask my family. Looking back, this stemmed from my need to feel in control of my body and its shape and being threatened by having that control taken away (in addition to all the inherent worries for the health of the fetus!)
These past 9 months I’ve learned SO MUCH, not only about pregnancy and babies but about myself. It’s forced me to grow in ways I never thought possible, besides the obvious belly. I’ve confronted my body confidence and relationship with food and come out with a healthier understanding of both. I’ve conquered the previously daunting prospect of NOT RUNNING for months on end and dialing back my overall workout routine to suit my changing abilities. I’ve adjusted to put someone else first in doing all this.
So...here are my first and last pregnancy pics, at 14 and 38 weeks, and 1 week postpartum - all unfiltered. Clearly my body doesn’t look exactly as it did, but I am already astounded and encouraged by its strength and resilience...and I think finally able to see the beauty of pregnancy, having experienced it ✨

Introducing the newest member of the FlexLab family:
✨ Annika Kristina Tracey ✨ born 3/10/21, 7:36am

From just a twelve week ultrasound to a warm little person held in my arms, I am so proud of this little girl and everything my body has done creating her. The last week has been much less yoga and much more snuggles, naps, and breastfeeding, and I’m admittedly a bit shocked how ok with it I am. Embracing this season of life, knowing I’ll be back to teaching and practicing soon enough. I am excited to get her on the mat with me properly...maybe in a few months 😉
@ Wausau, Wisconsin

This is your friendly reminder to Also a reminder that you don’t have to do a handstand, headstand, or anything fancy at all to enjoy the benefits of inversions.
🔽
Downward dog, dolphin, and any standing forward fold ( ) are prime examples of highly accessible inversions! Even laying on your back with your legs up against a wall gets the circulatory benefits of inversion.
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Besides improving circulation and sending more oxygenated blood to the brain, inversions ✨benefit your immune system by helping lymphatic fluid move around the body ✨help you feel energized ✨activate the parasympathetic nervous system to promote balance and calm ✨increase awareness of core muscle activation ✨flip your physical and mental perspective, and ✨THEY’RE FUN!
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Take a few minutes to play around upside down today, not taking yourself too seriously, and see how you feel when you flip back upright 🙂

GLAMOUR POSES ✨ heard of ‘em?
Yoga poses that are aesthetically stunning and usually difficult to execute. My ( ) here is just one example. Others are crow/side crow, handstand, headstand, wheel, etc.
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Do you see doing poses like this and find yourself thinking “well that looks impossible, I could never get into yoga...” or the classic “I’m not flexible enough for yoga” ?? This type of thinking is SO common and unfortunately such a deterrent for many people to start a yoga practice.
✨
Let’s flip that reasoning on its head for a moment. Does being able to do glamour poses make someone a “better” yogi? Does not being able to disqualify you from calling yourself a yogi? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Traditional yoga is actually founded in mental & spiritual practice more than physical, and many of the first, most foundational asanas (bhadrasana, virasana, padmasana) are more seated meditation postures - frankly quite boring to look at.
✨
At its roots, yoga is a practice of CONNECTING the body, mind & breath. The poses used to cultivate that connection (or how flashy they look) are irrelevant. If you’re moving your body, noticing your breathing, and calming your mind, CONGRATS, you’re already awesome at yoga 👏🏼
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I realize the irony of using a glamour pose pic to draw attention to their relative insignificance, but hey, this is still Instagram 😉 Hope this post makes you think and maybe even try some connected body & breath movement (a.k.a. yoga) today ✨

INTRO time! 🙋🏻‍♀️ Been a while since I’ve said “hey hi hello” with some about me, so here goes:

▪️My name is Kate (you can also find me ) and I live in a small town in north central Wisconsin. I’ve lived here my whole life apart from 5 years in Michigan and 1 year in London (AKA best. year. ever!) 🇺🇸🇬🇧
▪️Before becoming a yoga instructor, I went to law school and was a practicing attorney for 6 years. ⚖️
▪️I’m the oldest of four girls and will be adding another to our family with my first baby in March! 💕
▪️I started practicing yoga about 8 years ago, but I also grew up dancing, so much about yoga came fairly naturally to me. 🩰
▪️I love to bake! Making healthier versions of treats is one of my hobbies, but I go all out with decadent creations for special occasions. 🎂
▪️My favorite thing about teaching yoga is seeing students have a “break through,” when a pose finally clicks or they learn something new about how to work with their body. 🧘🏻‍♀️

Sharing the evolution of my teaching and practice on this platform and staying connected with friends abroad has truly helped get me through 2020, and I always enjoy connecting with more of YOU! Leave a comment below with a fact about yourself or a way that yoga and being active has helped you cope this year!👇🏼💬

Looking toward the weekend like ✨🍂🌤
It’s going to be a gorgeous one in central Wisconsin: sunshine, temps in the 60s, and leaves in full color 🍁 I for one am planning to get out there and enjoy it while it lasts! Some of my favorite ways to get active outdoors are trail running and hiking (with pauses for picturesque yoga poses, ofc 😉) The trails around are👌🏼for both! I’m lucky to have them right in my hometown.
Who else has plans to soak up the beautiful fall weather this weekend? Name your favorite activities and locations! Whatever you’ve got lined up, I challenge you to at least once this weekend - whether that be starting your morning sitting quietly and breathing, a mid-run tree pose, participating in my yoga challenge, or 60 min LAB 101 class with me on Zoom, Saturday 10am. So many options 🙃 Ask me for details to join!

We’re BACK with a new challenge, theme in keeping with the change of season: 🍂
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The ability to smoothly transition between poses is so important to finessing your practice, especially in vinyasa style yoga. In this week-long challenge we will learn 7 transitions between common postures, developing control and balance ⚖️
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You may recognize the pose pictured 🦅 from our May Yoga Challenge - it’s also the starting pose for the first transition! Pop into stories to see the sequence for Day 1 of our . To play along, film yourself executing the transition and post it to your story tagging . Let’s welcome fall and challenge our bodies together!
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