Ep 134 Expanding Hope & Healing with Lara Birk, PhD: Speaking Truth, Navigating Fear, and Leading with Nuance

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 interviewWhy 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 anywayThe 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 worldRelief, vulnerability, pride, activation — and the tender mix that comes when you’ve put your truth somewhere public.• What she’s learning from the emotional aftermathHow 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 truthHer 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