Meet Our Founder, Sarah John
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Sarah John is a pioneer and thought leader in caregiving wellness. A former corporate lawyer and executive, she is a Pilates trained, whole body wellness teacher, specializing in training women from prenatal through all stages of motherhood. She has spent the last five years working with and researching parental caregivers of children fighting cancer and other long-term diseases. Sarah came to this work indirectly. A lifelong runner and wellness enthusiast, Sarah turned to yoga and Pilates to balance out her running and gym training. She loved them both instantly and sought certifications in Pilates to understand more about how to move her body, how to apply the science of Pilates to running and other forms of exercise and movement and how to expand her own practice. However, it was not until she had her first daughter and she left her corporate life as a lawyer that teaching became her focus. A friend who owned a baby product store asked if she could create some programs for moms to-be. With that entry into the field, Sarah launched Body Baby Fitness (tm), a studio which allowed moms to workout with their children in the same open space, eliminating the need for child care. Sarah's methodology was informed by her years teaching self-esteem and confidence development to girls based on extensive research she had conducted as an undergraduate.
In the span of less than 2 years, four friends from different parts of Sarah's life had children diagnosed with cancer b. Sarah witnessed the toll it took on her friend who was also her neighbor after her two year old child was diagnosed. In response to her wellness posts, these moms would talk about how far they were from the fit, well person they were pre-diagnosis. Moved again for her husband's work, Sarah continued to explore ways to support her friends through their child’s journey. Reflecting on her current teaching approach, she had the idea to provide these moms and their circle of friends the virtual wellness training she did for free, giving them an opportunity to give themselves self care wherever they were residing. Although the concept did have a physical purpose, Sarah knew scientific and observed evidence showed a deep connection between physical exercise and emotional improvement, particularly in regards to anxiety, PTSD, exhaustion, and depression, all of which her friends were experiencing in response to their children's fight. Fit Like A CK Mother was born. Rapidly, what she expected would be for about 30-35 moms has grown to over 2000 globally, solely by word of mouth, one CK mama to another. Fit Like A CK Mother is the first in the field of pediatric cancer to provide targeted, globally accessible exercise for the moms of cancer patients and it continues to grow and gain interest from the field. It comes authentically from her and is purely a gift from her heart for these mamas.
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Outside of her work here, Sarah is grounded and motivated by her husband and children, enjoying time with them in the great outdoors or snuggled up playing or doing homework. She privately teaches fitness and wellness classes, runs regularly, meditates daily, consults on legal projects of interest here and there, and loves a good sunset and a glass of vino at the end of the week.
