The Middle

Samuel S. Lewis State Park | York County, PA

We talk a lot about 'all or nothing' thinking in health and wellness spaces, but usually, the focus is on avoiding the nothing. The giving up. The letting go. The shame spiral. But what if the 'all' is just as harmful? What if the middle (the place we’re often so quick to overlook) is exactly where growth and the real work happens?

This post is a reflection I wrote after a quiet morning run that shifted something deep in me.

If you’ve been following along, you know that I’ve been thinking a lot about all-or-nothing thinking lately as it relates to one's struggle in a practice of any kind, especially those of us who Practice Health.

Usually, the focus is on the “nothing” end of the spectrum-the giving up, the starting over, the shame spiral. But today, something hit me:The “all” can be just as dangerous.

“All” can be fueled by perfectionism, control, urgency.“All” can look impressive on the outside, but be completely unsustainable on the inside.

I used to think the answer was to find a middle ground, but truthfully, even I misunderstood what that meant. To me, the middle felt like… nothing. Like it was empty. Like it lacked effort. It seemed like coasting. A lack of ambition. A watered-down version of commitment.

But this morning, something shifted.

While running I began to struggle a bit. I came back to my breathing, back to what I have practiced for so many years and I realized this is an example of the middle. And maybe the middle is where the real work happens (not on the extremes of intensity or disengagement), but right in the heart of being present. It’s where all the practice, all the modeling we’ve absorbed from our guides, finally has space to be applied. It’s not about figuring things out anymore. This is where we trust what we’ve learned, and choose to show up in alignment with it.

It’s like holding a yoga pose and being invited back to your breath. Or pushing through that one final hill on a run, not because you’re chasing perfection or fear failure if you aren’t faster than you were yesterday, but because you’ve chosen to stay with the discomfort just a little longer.That’s not nothing.That’s the practice.

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Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the role of guides. For me, it’s been my yoga teacher, Megan, who doesn’t just instruct-but embodies what it means to practice. Her presence is calm. Her encouragement is simple. She teaches not just by what she says, but by how she exists in the room. She’s not a guru or a savior, rather someone who shows up as a mirror, reminding me of what’s already inside.

Your guide might be different. It could be a friend, a coach, a therapist, or even a book. But it’s not really about the physical person or thing. It’s about the principles they live by. The ones you start to live by, too, just by being in their presence. Their energy is contagious.

And the beauty is, that kind of change doesn’t live in the extremes. It lives in the ordinary, daily moments. The breath. The pause. The choice to return or continue.

So yes, maybe Practice Health is about this very thing.

Not reaching for the “all.” Not collapsing into the “nothing.” But learning to stay in the middle, not because it’s easy, but because it’s where the practice lives.

Where the growth happens.Where the breath meets the body.Where you keep showing up, even when (especially when) no one is watching.

If this resonates with you, I invite you to take a moment today to come back to the middle. Back to your breath. Back to your body. Back to your practice.

And if you're on your own health journey and want support finding what your middle looks like, please reach out. That’s what I’m here for.

XoXo,Sarah