We were lucky to catch up with Sari recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sari, appreciate you joining us today. Over the course of your career, have you seen or experienced your field completely flip-flop or change course on something?

There was a time in my career when I stood at the front of the room teaching food rules, calorie burns, and the next best diet—believing I was helping women feel their best. As a fitness professional and certified health coach, I truly thought that control and discipline were the keys to achieving a healthy body. But over time, I came to see that my strict food rules and intense workouts weren’t making me healthier—they were leaving me drained, unhappy, and disconnected from what true health means: feeling whole in mind, body, and spirit. My restrictive eating led me into an exhausting cycle of dieting, binge eating, and never feeling at peace with food or my body. I began to recognize the harm—shame, obsession, and the relentless feeling of never being enough. I also saw that so many girls and women were struggling with the same pressures—never feeling thin enough, beautiful enough, or perfect enough. The very strategies I once taught were disconnecting women from their bodies instead of empowering them.

So I made a U-turn! I traded in restriction for compassion, and perfection for presence. Today, I teach body love and acceptance, intuitive eating, and moving your body for the joy of it. I guide others to honor their hunger, trust their inner wisdom, and live fully—in the bodies they have right now. This isn’t just a new chapter in my career—it’s a revolution of the heart!And I’m deeply honored to walk this path with anyone ready to break free and reclaim their power.

Sari, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi! I’m Sari Dana—and for over three decades, I’ve worked at the intersection of wellness and empowerment. My journey began in the world of fitness and health coaching. I was a dedicated instructor who believed in the power of discipline, food rules, and over exercising to be “healthy.” But beneath the surface, I was struggling, and so was so many of the women I was leading! The pressure to fit in a narrow standard of beauty, to be smaller, “perfect” and to follow restrictive eating patterns left all of us exhausted, disconnected, and never truly at peace.

The struggle I had, became my wake-up call—and my turning point.

Today, I’m proud to call myself a Body Positive Expert, Advocate, Author, and the founder of the Body Positive Program. I help women break free from diet culture, redefine what health and beauty truly mean, and learn to trust and love their bodies—just as they are.

My work weaves together years of experience of working with people, hearing their stories, struggles and successes. I love people!!! I’m also a passionate, energetic, intenSati leader – a workout blending high-energy embodied movement with positive affirmations. There is so much magic and transformation in this class! Positive self-talk is something everyone needs and can use more of. I truly hope you come to one of my classes!! (Btw- it’s come prepared to sweat!)

I also help you embrace intuitive eating. If you’ve ever dieted, you know how exhausting it is! A cyclone of always on a diet, loose weight/gain weight/ binge eat! Intuitive eating is the opposite! It’s food peace, freedom, and health all in one. A game changer to help break the generational cycle of food rules and guilt.
Through my Body Positive Program, school workshops, speaking engagements, and intenSati classes, I create safe, powerful spaces where you can unlearn shame and reconnect with your body’s wisdom. My Body Positive Program is where deep dive and explore self-worth, how to end binge eating, create positive mindset shifts, and upgrade to a more confident body image. I support my members with inspiration, motivation and practical skills, for individual self-care. One of my favorites is teaching my members to create a daily journal practice using the prompts I offer. (This is a deeply personal practice that I encourage everyone to do!)

What sets me apart is the heart behind my work. This isn’t just professional—it’s personal too! I know what it feels like to be stuck in a cycle of not-enoughness, and I’ve built my programs to be everything I wish I had back then: compassionate, honest, and deeply empowering. I meet my clients where they are—with no judgment and no pressure to “fix” their bodies—just a pathway back to self-love.

What I’m most proud of? Watching women and girls unlearn the normalized behaviors of diet mentality and begin to feel confident in their bodies. I live for those aha moments—when they finally recognize the lies of diet culture and the damage caused by impossible beauty standards. That’s the real transformation. And it’s what fuels me every single day.

I also get butterflies every single time someone reads my book, Body Positive – The Journey. Knowing it’s sparking healing, hope, and self-love in others is one of the greatest honors of my life.

If there’s one thing I want you to know about my work, it’s this: you are not broken. You do not need to be smaller to be worthy. You are allowed to feel good—right now. And I’m here to walk that journey with you.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

Beyond training and knowledge, I believe the most powerful tools for success in this field are vulnerability, honesty, and the willingness to keep showing up. You don’t have to know everything—you just have to be real. My work is rooted in re-educating others about what “health and wellness” have traditionally meant, and that can be challenging. I’m not just teaching new tools; I’m helping people unlearn decades of toxic messaging. But I show up every single day because I believe in this cause. It comes from the heart. Step by step, conversation by conversation, I’m here to change the narrative—to break cycles of shame and build a new culture of body acceptance, self-love, freedom, and inner- happiness.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

What’s helped me build my reputation most is showing up with honesty and consistency. One thing that keeps me showing up, is this acronym for HOPE: Help One Person Everyday. That mindset makes showing up easier—because we all love to help. And even if it’s just one person, it’s worth it!

I also say yes—to just about everything. Kindergarten classes, family workshops, impromptu events while on vacation, and even senior and elderly gatherings. This opened up so many opportunities and places to be seen. I’ve brought this message into educational spaces like school workshops, where it builds real credibility. I also poured my heart into writing my book, Body Positive – The Journey, which has further shaped my reputation as someone who gives generously and whose work is rooted in education, advocacy, and compassion.

And while my social media presence isn’t always polished or perfect, it’s real. I push myself to step outside my comfort zone and show up. I aim to serve, to share hope, to spark thought, and to be a light in someone’s scroll. This kind of consistent, heart-led presence builds trust—and trust is what builds a lasting reputation within my market.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://saridanabodypositive.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saridana_bodypositive/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sari.dana.58
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0AAz8_ezi8FdnkAcSnTVAw

Image Credits

Sari Dana