Prana Teacher Spotlight: Sarah Lindgren
On Healing, Edge, Motherhood, and the Middle Way of Yoga
There are teachers who guide you through poses—and then there are teachers who quietly guide you back to yourself. Sarah Lindgren is the latter.
If you’ve taken Sarah’s class, you’ve likely felt it: the sense that you are being invited into something deeper than just movement. Her teaching holds steadiness and curiosity, strength and softness, challenge and care. She brings the wisdom of decades of practice, the grounded presence of a mother, and the calm resolve of someone who has truly met fear—and learned how to breathe through it.
In this Teacher Spotlight, we asked Sarah about healing, adventure, philosophy, motherhood, breath, and what her “dream class” would look like if time and space were no object. Her answers reveal not only how she teaches, but why.
Healing Begins with a Pause: Meditation, Mental Well-Being & Daily Ritual
Yoga has been a healing path for Sarah in many ways—physically, yes, but even more so in how it has reshaped her relationship with herself and the world around her. When asked what small, everyday ritual she would gift to every student for mental well-being (not a pose!), her answer was clear: meditation.
But not the picture-perfect version many of us imagine.
“I used to think that meditation had to be a serene, perfect practice,” Sarah shares. What she’s learned instead—by returning to her cushion again and again—is that meditation is not about quieting life, but about meeting it honestly.
No matter what is happening personally or globally, that pause becomes a space to check in. To ask: How am I, really? What do I need today to feel supported and steady?
Some days the mind is busy and distracted. Some days it’s overwhelmed. And still—she sits.
In the beginning, Sarah leaned on more active practices, focusing solely on deep breathing. Over time, those intentional breaths naturally guided her into a quieter, more curious space she now deeply cherishes. Even just a few minutes in the morning helps her set the tone for the day, communicate her needs with greater clarity and kindness, and respond rather than react when things get hard.
“I do still have days where I am completely overwhelmed,” she says honestly. “But I still sit.”
Sometimes she anchors to the breath. Sometimes she uses the Insight Timer app, appreciating the simplicity of setting a container—seconds, minutes, or longer—and knowing she can simply be until the chime rings.
What matters most isn’t the length or the perfection of the practice. It’s the act of choosing yourself before you go out into the world to serve others.
That choice, repeated daily, is healing.
Finding the Edge—and Staying with It: Fear, Mindfulness & Inner Strength
Sarah’s love of adventure didn’t appear out of nowhere. She grew up in an outdoorsy, Girl Scout family with a deeply empowering foundation: an “awesome girl dad” who told her she was just as strong and capable as the boys, and a mother who shattered glass ceilings in a male-dominated industry.
With those influences, Sarah learned early that she could trust herself. With a little research, courage, and curiosity, she could figure things out.
By elementary school, she was already rappelling, bungee jumping, and heading into the backcountry on supported adventures. Those experiences taught her how to tap into inner strength long before she ever stepped onto a yoga mat.
Later, yoga and mindfulness gave her something new—not adrenaline, but the ability to work skillfully with fear.
Of all the edge moments she’s experienced—canyoneering in Zion, hiking Machu Picchu, surviving an Icelandic blizzard—the one that challenged her most wasn’t about physical danger.
It was a quiet night alone in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota.
Leading a small group on a successful paddle trip, Sarah found herself camping solo, deep in the woods, away from the group. Bears were active in the area, and she had seen one just the day before. Though she followed all safety protocols—proper food storage, distance, preparation—her mind spiraled.
The challenge wasn’t the wilderness. It was her thoughts.
Lying in her hammock, fear took over, robbing her of the quiet beauty surrounding her. And so she did what yoga had taught her to do: she came back to the present moment.
“I am here, in my body, with this breath.”
She repeated the mantra again and again until sleep arrived.
That night showed her the power of the mind—how easily it can create suffering, and how mindfulness can soften it. Since then, she’s learned to seek solitude in the backcountry rather than avoid it. And she’s never once encountered a bear while sleeping.
Sometimes the edge isn’t about what’s happening around us. It’s about how willing we are to stay with ourselves when fear arises.
Yoga Philosophy for Real Life: Strength, Stress Relief & Longevity
When asked what modern-day slogan actually fits real yoga philosophy, Sarah didn’t hesitate to bring humor into the mix.
“Want to get off the toilet when you’re 90 all by yourself? Try yoga.”
Or maybe this one, bumper-sticker style:
“Stressed? Try yoga—it’s much better than arguing with people on the internet.”
It’s funny because it’s true. Yoga isn’t about lofty ideals—it’s about functional strength, mental clarity, and choosing practices that genuinely support your life.
Motherhood as a Practice of Witnessing: Presence, Growth & Letting Go
Motherhood is central to how Sarah identifies and moves through the world, and it deeply informs both her teaching and her own ongoing practice as a student of life.
If there’s one thing motherhood has taught her, it’s the power of witnessing.
Watching her daughters become themselves is a constant reminder that life is not about racing toward an end goal. There is no final destination where everything suddenly makes sense. There is only progression—moment by moment, day by day.
In a world obsessed with productivity, to-do lists, and “shoulds,” motherhood invites Sarah to slow down and remember that growth happens naturally when we allow it.
Life, like yoga, is not something to conquer. It’s something to participate in.
The Dream Class: The Middle Way of Mindful Vinyasa Yoga
With over 20 years of personal practice and 10 years of teaching, Sarah’s path has been intentionally broad. She began in an Iyengar studio, where an hour-long class might include only five poses, each explored deeply with props and precision. Later, she trained in an Ashtanga-based vinyasa program—vigorous, flowing, and propless.
Rather than choosing one camp, Sarah chose the middle way.
Safety is always her top priority, followed closely by energetic experience. Her dream class—often realized during the two-hour retreat sessions she’s led—reflects that balance beautifully.
The class begins with centering and check-in, followed by breathwork tailored to the moment: either releasing the residue of the day or building CO₂ tolerance for more vigorous movement.
From there, students move into somatic warm-ups, gently awakening joints and cultivating mindful awareness. Preparatory actions lead toward a peak pose—often something less commonly explored, like inverted staff pose or Koundinyasana II—offering students a glimpse of what’s possible without pressure or force.
Accessibility is key. Sarah intentionally reduces high-risk movements like repeated chaturangas, replacing them with kneeling salutes or baby chaturangas that offer more benefit than harm for most bodies.
After the active work comes a generous cooldown—nearly as long as the warm-up—to prepare the nervous system for stillness. Savasana is non-negotiable. This is where the practice is truly assimilated, where muscle fibers rehydrate and healing occurs.
Only then does the class move into pranayama and meditation, often lasting 10–20 minutes.
Slow attention. Thoughtful challenge. Spacious peace.
It’s the fullness of practice—and it’s why Sarah feels so aligned with the community at Prana.
Breath, Energy, and Daily Life: Tonglen Meditation & Compassion Practice
While breathwork in general has been life-changing for Sarah, one practice stands out above the rest: Tonglen meditation.
Tonglen works with breath and intention, allowing the practitioner to engage with both inner experience and the wider world. With a simple mantra—one for the inhale, one for the exhale—you breathe in something that needs care and breathe out something healing.
Patience in, stress out.
Suffering in, peace out.
For Sarah, Tonglen offers a way to support herself when she’s dysregulated, and also a way to care for others through intention alone. It’s a practice that dissolves the false boundary between self-care and service.
And maybe that’s the thread running through everything Sarah teaches: presence, responsibility, compassion—and the willingness to meet life exactly as it is.
If Sarah’s approach to breath, presence, and thoughtful challenge resonates with you, you’re warmly invited to practice with her.
→ View the class schedule and filter by teacher to find Sarah’s classes
Where in your own life are you being asked to pause, stay present, or meet an edge with breath and care? You’re welcome to share in the comments below.
Sarah Lindgren is a yoga teacher at Prana Yoga Center, where she offers mindful, breath-centered practices that balance strength, safety, and self-inquiry.