I first started working with @erinwalshstyle (I’ll let her recap how we met ♥️) at four months postpartum through @sotomethod . At the exact same time, I happened to need an outfit for an event and it would be my first time wearing a dress in over seven months. (Towards the end of a twin pregnancy, I relegated myself to offensively low-rise jeans and crop tops because I refused to buy more pregnancy clothes.)
So when I asked Erin, “What should I wear?” I expected a list of designers and silhouettes. Instead, she answered my question with a question:
“How do you want to feel?”
And in that moment, I understood why she occupies such rarified air in her profession.
Because for Erin, clothes are never the hero. Which feels almost contradictory given her profession. But that is precisely what makes her exceptional. She does not dress people for attention. She dresses them for the life they are trying to step into.
Her new book, “The Art of Intentional Dressing”, brings focus to perhaps one of the most habitual parts of being human. Because no matter how you feel about fashion, you still have to get dressed....unless you are 15-month-old Jack Millock, who currently prefers living with his tush out.
And writing about the obvious is extremely hard. It requires abandoning every preconceived notion surrounding the subject. But man, does Erin excel at bringing magic to the mundane.
This book gives you permission to say goodbye to pieces that no longer serve you. But more importantly, it asks you to get specific about the life you are trying to build. Because specificity creates direction. And direction changes behavior.
THAT is what makes Erin’s work evocative. She understands that getting dressed is never really about clothing. It is about identity, intention, and who you believe you are becoming.
Erin, thank you for your friendship, your guidance, your trust, your love, and for introducing our entire team to @lgrworld
I love you endlessly and could not be more proud.
I know I’m guilty of outfit repeating, but I’m okay leaning in if it means I get to wear @bluenilediamond - Their pieces are designed to move with you through every part of your day, so this Mother’s Day, I’m asking for another one I can wear forever ❤️ #bluenilepartner
Sitting down over a glass of Alkalize to talk routines, sustaining energy, and building something that prioritizes both results and efficiency… before diving into a Soto.
Whether you’re getting in your greens or holding a plank, it’s all about creating a system you can rely on ❤️🔥
@sarahwraggewellness ✨ #SWWpartner
SotoStride is here. Meet our 4-week guided progression designed to build real endurance - one week at a time.
The goal: a continuous 30-minute run.
The method: consistency over intensity.
You don’t just run. You progress.
See you on the treadmill ❤️🔥
January, in particular, is riddled with quick hooks designed to nudge you into healthier habits. Just this week I saw two headlines, nearly verbatim:
“5 Simple Ways to Eat Healthier” “10 Easy Changes to Make to Your Diet”
There it is.
Simple vs. Easy.
Two words that get used interchangeably, but mean very different things.
Simple: A clear path forward to achieve a desired result.
Easy: Requires little resistance or effort to execute.
Simple is about clarity.
Easy is about comfort.
They are not the same thing.
When language gets sloppy, the consequences are real.
Because when something is labeled as easy and turns out to be hard, we don’t question the word.
We question ourselves.
We assume we’re undisciplined.
In reality, the task was probably simple, just not easy. To use less words…It was simple & HARD.
So, what we are ultimately after is this: Making simple things easier.
Not pretending they’re effortless. BUT reducing friction so execution becomes more likely.
Soto exists to bring structure to the simple things that matter, so showing up becomes EASIER. You don’t reorganize your life around fitness. You engineer an environment so fitness fits in.
Five-minute classes when that’s all you have. Fifteen to build momentum. Thirty, forty or fifty when energy is there.
When we’re precise with language, we’re kinder to ourselves.
Simple doesn’t mean easy.
Hard doesn’t mean impossible.
When things break down, it’s structural…not personal.
For the last month, I’ve been using my in-person Soto classes to sharpen one distinction: practice vs. conditioning.
Two words that get used interchangeably, but mean very different things.
Practice builds ownership.
It’s how a movement becomes instinct instead of effort.
Conditioning builds trust.
It’s what allows you to keep executing when fatigue starts negotiating with your standards.
Ultimately, practice improves the quality of a decision, while conditioning determines whether you can keep making good ones when you’re tired.
This duality shows up everywhere at Soto.
Sally Jenkins explains this perfectly in The Right Call: the worst decisions tend to show up when someone is depleted. Fatigue exposes the gaps between what you know and what you can reliably execute. You have to experience that state….and learn to perform inside it, if you want real consistency under pressure.
THAT’S the crazy part…you CAN’T enter the conditioning phase without fatigue. It’s the prerequisite, NOT the penalty.
In work, practice lives in the early hours. Conditioning starts after lunch…when the day begins to tax your judgment.
So the next time you’re at your desk, tired AF, treat it like conditioning & reframe the fatigue.
The moment stops being something to fight and becomes something to use. Because if you want to improve…in training, in leadership, in life…this moment has to exist.
Now, who’s ready to crush single arm planks on Thursday?
