Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Bach-Bergs.
Hi Sarah, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Let me start at the beginning…
When I was a little girl, I loved to run through a big, open prairie next to my house to feel the tall grass brush against my skin.
I loved music, and the way that dancing and moving my body intuitively brought me joy and freedom.
I loved playing sports, riding my bike, climbing the tall poplar trees behind my house, and digging in the mud.
While these and many other sensory, body-based memories might seem unrelated to the explanation of how I got to where I am today, they are actually at the core of my journey. For as long as I can remember, I have been led by the desire to move and take in the world around me in a way that’s unstructured and free—all while inviting others to do the same.
Throughout high school and college, and even into my early adult life, my connection to movement was met primarily through athletics and strength training. At that age, my identity as an athlete largely defined who I believed myself to be, solidifying that movement remained at the core of who I was. Despite this continuous pull toward movement, I also believed in the importance of balance and rest.
As I entered into motherhood, my journey was not without awakenings and challenges. When I had my first child, I found the transition to be incredibly difficult. Frankly, it knocked me off my feet. I struggled with postpartum depression and anxiety. Looking back, being disconnected from the movement activities that had always sustained me had a negative effect on my mental health. And while both rest and healing were vitally important during this postpartum time, I didn’t yet have the tools in my toolbox to access other ways—besides movement—of maintaining my mental health. While I was supported and held by my loved ones, I still felt isolated and disconnected from my body and myself in a way I had never experienced before.
While this was a very hard time to navigate, it was also the impetus that launched me into where I am today. It was during this time that I started to explore functional, gentle ways in which my body wanted to move. For the first time in my life, I also began to more fully explore meditation and mindfulness as a supplement to movement. This is the point when yoga began to creep more consistently and organically into my life.
By the time I became pregnant with my second child, I was regularly showing up on my mat. I understood and felt the benefits yoga had brought into my life and embraced it as more than just a series of poses. Yoga is what prepared me—both physically and emotionally—to navigate the waves of motherhood that once paralyzed and derailed me. It became a practice I explored not only on the mat but off the mat as well. I practiced breath work in the early morning hours of feeding my baby. I explored organic, unstructured movement in ways I hadn’t since I was a young child. I found that yoga was a way for me to bring self-reflection and mindfulness into my life—bringing me closer to myself and others and grounding me in acceptance.
Experiencing the impact and wholeness this path had created—and continues to create—in my being, I decided to embark on the journey of becoming, first, a birth and postpartum doula, then a prenatal/postnatal yoga teacher, and later a trauma-conscious yoga teacher, as a way to continue sharing the gifts that had been given to me by so many along the way. I also felt deeply inspired to support others in their life transitions. We all need support as we navigate the changing waves life presents. Normalizing that—and even embracing it—became my focus.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My journey has been anything but smooth or predictable—that’s the nature of any journey, is it not? But I wouldn’t have it any other way. The bumps in the road brought me to where I am today and helped me grow, learn, and expand in ways I couldn’t have planned for.
Ironically, one of my biggest challenges was my own self-doubt. I had taken hundreds of yoga classes over the years and encountered so many incredible instructors—many of whom encouraged me to pursue teacher training myself. And while I fully embraced the beauty of somatic movement and what it brought into my life, I doubted my ability to guide others. I constantly compared myself to the skilled teachers I admired and found myself thinking, “How could I possibly be like them?”
It’s a perfect example of how comparison can kill the very dreams we’re meant to pursue. When I finally set that self-deprecating narrative aside and embraced the truth that I didn’t need to be anyone but me, my path began to unfold.
Fast forward through nearly a decade of teaching yoga in studios—and I hit another unexpected but obvious challenge: the 2020 pandemic. Like so many others, I suddenly felt unsure of how to continue sharing my work. My classes had always centered around small, enclosed studio spaces, with intentional (and often heavy) breath work and movement in community. That model no longer worked in the middle of a global health crisis.
I’d been teaching in studios throughout the Twin Cities and Northfield for years—and suddenly, that access disappeared. Studios shut down or closed altogether. People physically distanced and stayed home. I realized quickly that if I wanted to keep going, I’d have to get creative. I had to pivot.
And that’s when Yoga with Sarah BB—my virtual platform—was born.
If people couldn’t come to me, I would come to them, guiding classes from the comfort of their own homes. The transition was far from easy. I became not only a yoga teacher, but also a financial planner, web developer, customer service rep, content creator, editor, business strategist—you name it.
Launching this platform meant stepping into a steep learning curve that felt scary and unpredictable. There were so many unknowns, and so much I had to learn quickly—but I took the leap. And since then, I’ve built a strong, supportive virtual community that continues to grow.
Despite the challenges, I believe growth means stretching your comfort zone in ways that are unexpected, but necessary. Isn’t that true of anything worth doing?
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Yoga with Sarah BB?
I completed my Prenatal/Postnatal Yoga Teacher Training through Blooma, Minneapolis, while simultaneously earning my birth and postpartum doula certification through DONA International (Doulas of North America). I served women and families as a birth and postpartum doula for over a decade. While I’m no longer actively practicing in that role, the connections I formed—and the strength and surrender I witnessed—profoundly shaped the yoga instructor I am today. I carry with me so much wisdom from those I had the honor of supporting through that transformative time.
I’m also trained in Bring Your Own Baby (BYOB) Yoga, based on Lisa Bergley’s Yoga Bonding sequence, which encourages caregivers and babies to connect through loving touch, sound, sight, and movement. Being invited into that tender space is a gift—one that continues to teach me.
Additionally, I completed my 250-hour yoga teacher training through House of the Gathering Yoga School (now Svalja Yoga) in Duluth, MN. This program granted me a dual certificate: a 200-hour RYT with Yoga Alliance, plus 50 hours of supplemental training in depth psychology and sustainable practices. That expanded focus deepened my understanding of the body’s role in both mental and physical well-being—and reinforced how essential yoga and conscious movement are for healing and embodiment.
I believe approaching yoga through a trauma-informed lens is crucial. It creates a practice that is inclusive, accessible, and rooted in empathy. This approach honors each person’s autonomy and whole self in the process of reconnecting with their body.
I also hold additional certifications in yin yoga, yoga therapy, yoga business, and more.
Over the years, my teaching has evolved into a whole-being, embodied approach to yoga. While I’ve taught in studios and led trainings for over a decade, I now focus my energy on building community and offering classes through my own platform both virtually and in person. Through my ‘Yoga with Sarah BB’ virtual platform, I offer two affordable Monthly Membership opportunities as well as Drop-In ClassPasses. I have long-time members who are not only located in Minnesota but also in various other parts of the country. Regardless of where my members are from, I deeply care about developing relationship with them as much or as little as they desire in order to best support them on their yoga wellness and embodiment journeys.
I also lead wellness retreats, facilitate classes and workshops at gatherings and events, and offer yoga programming through local businesses, breweries, cideries, employee wellness programs, one-on-one guidance, and more. Partnering with small businesses and community organizations to support collective well-being is a major focus of my work.
I believe yoga is the practice of unity—a path back to our inherent wholeness. My intention is always to help people connect to their inner resources and unlock their potential for healing, growth, and transformation. That journey looks different for everyone, but to walk alongside others as a supportive guide, resource, and friend is a true honor.
Yoga isn’t about achievement. It’s about remembering. Coming home to ourselves. Embodying our beautiful, innate wholeness.
How do you define success?
To me, success is being brave enough to step into the shadows and sit with the discomfort it brings—to unpack the boxes of darkness you’ve unintentionally created, as well as the ones handed to you. Success is doing the work of embodiment and collective healing, even when it’s hard.
Success is having the courage to live fully, to feel deeply, to listen intently, to speak honestly, to move authentically, to pause wildly, to reflect often, to observe keenly, to love abundantly, to grieve unapologetically, and to take in the human experience expansively.
Success is awakening your senses with intention each day—staying open to whatever the universe has in store, and welcoming it with curiosity and invitation.
Success is finding tiny nuggets of ease in the smallest of pauses.
Success means different things to different people. But maybe the most powerful version of it is this: defining it for yourself, and living it with honor. Breaking down expectations that don’t feel true to you—and being brave enough to live your version, fully and without apology.
Pricing:
- Warrior All-Access Monthly Membership: $35/mo
- On-Demand Monthly Membership: $25/mo
Contact Info:
- Website: https://yogawithsarahbb.heymarvelous.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yogawithsarahbb/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yogawithsarahbb/
- Other: https://yogawithsarahbb.threadless.com
