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Functional Nature Functional movement and yoga education, functional nutrition, and nature connection

Healthy living is a state of mind… it’s what you eat, how you approach food, what you do to create balance in your life, and what you do that ultimately “feeds” your body. Developing a mindful eating practice can provide a platform that truly supports and nurtures your yoga or wellness routine. To "Fuel Awesome" is about making choices to live in a health conscious manner. This means being intentional, proactive and taking a holistic approach to your health and view on life in general. What you do for your body, and the food you fuel it with, impact you on so many levels. It is Lindsey's mission to provide you with the knowledge and access to ingredients and movement tips that are delicious for mind, body, and soul.

10/20/2026

Being consistent is important. But consistency alone doesn’t guarantee progress.

I see this often with women who are already doing so many things right. They’re active, making time for exercise, eating well, and genuinely trying to support their health.

But there’s a difference between moving your body and training it to adapt.

If your goal is to build strength, improve muscle mass or feel more physically capable, your training needs a few key ingredients:

• Enough challenge to create a meaningful stimulus
• Progression over time, rather than constantly changing exercises
• Adequate recovery and nutrition to support adaptation
• A plan that actually fits your life

And that doesn’t mean yoga, walking or your favourite classes aren’t valuable. They absolutely are. They just don’t all serve the same purpose.

This is one of the reasons I created the TRAIN level of my Aligned Wellness Collective.

Thoughtfully designed strength programming, home and gym options, and supporting yoga and mobility resources. All designed to help you train with more intention, without having to figure everything out yourself.

Because you don’t necessarily need to do more. You need to know that what you’re doing is moving you toward your goals.

🌿 Curious about TRAIN? Explore the Aligned Wellness Collective through the link in my bio.

10/17/2026

When did we decide that feeling stiff, achy, and less capable was just part of getting older? 🤷‍♀️

I hear it all the time. “Well, I guess I’m just getting old.”

And sure, our bodies change as we age. Joint tissues change, muscle mass and strength can decline, and recovery may look different than it did 20 years ago.

But I think we need to be careful about how quickly we attribute everything to age.

Because when we start believing that losing physical capacity is inevitable, we can stop doing the very things that help us maintain it.

And here’s something else worth understanding.

Stiffness is a sensation, not necessarily a measure of how restricted your joints actually are.

It can be influenced by periods of inactivity, muscle function, previous injuries, joint health, and how our nervous system processes sensory information.

Which is why stretching isn’t always the answer.

Instead, think about giving your body a variety of movement experiences:

1. Explore your range. Move your joints through comfortable, varied movements.
2. Build control. Strengthen your ability to actively move through those ranges.
3. Add load. Gradually challenge your muscles and joints so they have a reason to maintain and build capacity.

And yes, sometimes stretching feels wonderful. I teach yoga, after all! But flexibility is only one piece of the picture.

Of course, persistent or worsening stiffness, particularly with swelling, significant pain, or prolonged morning symptoms, deserves further investigation.

My point isn’t that we can prevent every age-related change.

It’s that we shouldn’t confuse getting older with becoming incapable.

We have far more influence over how we move and function as we age than the usual narrative gives us credit for.

What’s one thing you’ve caught yourself blaming on age lately? 👇

10/15/2026

You got stronger. But did you build muscle? 💪

As I explained in the reel, strength gains don’t necessarily mean you’ve increased muscle mass.

So if building muscle is one of your goals, how should you approach your training?

🏋️ STRENGTH: Training to produce more force

The emphasis is on lifting heavier loads and improving your ability to generate force.

• Load: Generally 80–90%+ of your one-rep maximum (1RM).
• Reps: Typically 3–6 per set.
• Rest: 2–4 minutes to maintain performance.
• Exercises: Prioritize compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, presses, and rows.
• Progression: Gradually increase the load you can lift with good technique.

💪 HYPERTROPHY: Training to build muscle

The emphasis shifts toward accumulating enough challenging work to stimulate muscle growth.

• Load: A wide range works, approximately 5–30 reps when sets are sufficiently challenging.
• Reps: I often favour 6–15 for practical programming.
• Rest: 1–3 minutes, or longer when needed.
• Exercises: Combine compound lifts with targeted accessory work.
• Effort: Aim for approximately 1–3 reps in reserve (RIR) on most working sets.
• Progression: Gradually increase load, reps, or appropriate training volume.

Here’s the important part.

These aren’t two completely separate approaches.

Heavy lifting can build muscle, and hypertrophy-focused training can improve strength. The difference is where we place the emphasis.

For most women, particularly through midlife, I favour a blend of heavier compound lifts and moderate-repetition accessory work.

Because we want to build both the ability to produce force AND the muscle tissue that supports our physical capacity as we age.

This is also why I believe in progressive programming rather than simply collecting workouts.

So here’s my question: Are your workouts designed to create a specific adaptation, or are you just hoping that working hard will get you there?

Save this for your next training block.

10/08/2026

Apparently “body recomp” is a fitness class now. 😅

And look, I’m not saying it isn’t a great class. It might be!

But somewhere along the way, I think we’ve started naming fitness classes after the results people want rather than being particularly clear about what the class actually delivers.

And that matters.

Your body doesn’t know what the class is called.

It responds to the stimulus you’re giving it.

Want to build muscle? We need sufficient mechanical tension, effort and progressive challenge.

Want stronger bones? We need to consider the type, magnitude and progression of mechanical loading.

Want to change body composition? Now we’re looking at a much bigger picture that includes training, nutrition, energy balance, recovery and individual circumstances.

None of this means yoga, Pilates, group fitness or any other movement practice isn’t valuable.

Quite the opposite.

I think we do these practices a disservice when we feel the need to promise that they do everything.

And there’s another conversation worth having about why so much fitness marketing still revolves around changing the shape of our bodies.

We can celebrate movement for what it genuinely offers without exaggerating its benefits or selling another body ideal.

That’s part of what I’m unpacking in my latest episode of The Health Filter, my longer-form YouTube series where I get into the nuance behind wellness claims.

🎥 Full episode through the link in my bio.

And now, because I know you’ve seen some good ones…

What’s the wildest wellness or fitness claim you’ve come across? 😂

I’m talking the ones that made you stop scrolling and wonder if you’d read that correctly.

Drop them below. I might just have some material for a future Health Filter episode.

10/01/2026

I almost didn’t post this because it feels a little vulnerable, and maybe a little self-indulgent.

But I think there’s something here that matters beyond me.

We are surrounded by images of what “healthy” is supposed to look like.

Strong, but lean.
Disciplined, but balanced.
Eating perfectly, but effortlessly.
Managing stress. Sleeping well. Getting our steps. Hitting our protein. Taking the right supplements. Optimizing our hormones.

And somehow making it all look easy.

I work in this field. I’ve studied this stuff for years. I’m very consistent with my own health.

And I can still look at social media and occasionally wonder if I’m doing enough or if I should look different.

That’s worth paying attention to.

Because maybe the goal was never to do ALL the things.

Maybe it’s understanding which things actually matter, doing those reasonably consistently, and leaving enough room to live your life.

That’s increasingly the space I want to occupy here.

Less noise.
Less fear.
Less perfection.

More physiology. More context. More nuance.

And practical ways to actually use that information.

It’s also a big part of why I created Aligned Wellness Collective. Not to give women another list of things they should be doing, but to create a place to learn, practice, ask questions, adjust and keep going.

Our October cycle is starting now, so if you’ve been quietly watching and wondering what AWC is really about, maybe this gives you a better sense of it.

Details are through the link in my bio.

And as for social media?

I’m probably never going to be the polished wellness person.

I’d rather be useful anyway.

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