Meet Our Team
About Kathryn
Hi, I’m Kathryn Bruni-Young.
I’ve been coaching people in some form of movement for 20 years. From yoga classes in my 20’s, to hybrid style movement and mobility, and now to lifting and running.
I own a small countryside gym coaching people of all ages in heavy lifting, work with a roster of 1-1 clients from different backgrounds, and lead online group programs for all levels of fitness.
My classes and programs emphasize consistency, small progressions, and self kindness because I know it’s not just about adding more weight each week. I encourage people to tune into how they are feeling, notice fears coming up, cultural messages, and help folks untangle their relationship to exercise.
Whether you are working on a bench press, deadlift, or running your first mile, I believe in a slow and steady approach.
Giving your body the time it needs to adapt without rushing is key to managing pain, boosting confidence, and trusting that you can do the challenging or exciting things on your bucket list.
Over the years I’ve interviewed over 100 guests for the Mindful Strength Podcast including Lorimer Moseley, Jules Mitchell, Greg Lehman and Jill Miller.
When I’m not lifting weights, running or baking bread you can find me hosting my knitting group, kissing my Irish Setter Doodle’s face a hundred times, and repositioning the furniture in my living room.
About Chris
Hi, I’m Chris Bourke.
In 2016, while finishing my yoga teacher training at The Branches in Kitchener-Waterloo (formerly Queen Street Yoga), I attended a workshop Kathryn was teaching on integrating strength into a yoga practice. Later that summer, my friend and studio owner, Leena, invited me to join Kathryn’s Teacher Immersion. On a whim, I said, “Sure!”
I was immediately hooked—not only by the strength training itself, but by Kathryn’s grounded, encouraging approach and her deep understanding of the connection between physical and mental health. By the end of the retreat, I told her, “If you ever need help running one of these, I’d love to be involved.” We barely knew each other, but I had a strong feeling we’d work together someday.
Since then, my journey into strength training has grown immensely. I started behind the scenes, working on everything from graphic design to video and podcast editing. Along the way, I absorbed countless hours of conversations with leading experts, shadowed Kathryn’s classes and retreats, and immersed myself in the science of strength. Over time, I stepped into more teaching, leading mental health workshops and developing my own class, Mindful Energizer.
Mental health has always been central to my work. For nearly 20 years, I’ve worked in community mental health, providing direct support and completing extensive training in evidence-based approaches. Today, I work with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health to improve access to youth mental health services across Ontario.
I also offer movement and mental health coaching to a small roster of clients and continue teaching/behind-the-scenes wizardry at Mindful Strength while completing a formal mentorship with Kathryn and expanding my strength coaching practice.
Working together is a lovely collaboration that keeps me motivated and moving well.
I reached out to Kathryn when I had been lifting weights for about 15 years. I was looking for some support and accountability in my training and I liked Kathryn’s smart and safe progressions and overall philosophy.
I didn’t have the confidence to lift heavy and was afraid of hurting my already sore knees.
I had a lot of issues related to body image and aggressive messaging around exercise. Their approach made me feel safe and supported. I’ve finally embraced a healthy and balanced approach to lifting and movement.
For friends eager to develop strength and to do it in a safe, supportive, and thoughtful space, I highly recommend working with Kathryn.
She has skillfully turned strength training into a contemplative, meditative practice. She helps clients cultivate non-judgmental reflection on what’s happened, stay grounded with what is currently happening, and remain curious about what’s ahead.
Kathryn supported me to regain confidence in myself after injury and time away from training.
Before training with Kathryn, I was afraid I’d stay stuck in the cycle of re-injuring myself or not moving out of fear of injury. With our training I’ve been able to find my actual sweet spot, and understand when to push myself and exactly when and how to rest and recover for best results.
Mindful Strength Membership
The Netflix of Fitness Classes!
For beginners or people restarting their routine.
This is the supportive online community and streaming dashboard for easily building a new habit.
It’s packed with follow-along video tutorials for cardio, mindfulness, and heavy lifting that teach you the techniques for the first time (or refresh your memory).
By hitting play on our Program of the Month just once or twice a week, you’ll see measurable growth from anywhere, entirely on your own terms.
Strength & Conditioning Program
Take the Guesswork Out of Gains
For people who already lift a couple times a week.
Get 12-week training blocks that strike the perfect balance of cardio and structured lifting.
You’ll see more long term progress in strength and cardio endurance without overdoing it or exhausting yourself.
It’s about precise percentage-based lifting targets, timed rest intervals & videos you can watch as you go. Every workout is logged through our signature Everfit training app.
About Strength Training
Lately “strength training” seems to be everywhere, every class has some light weights in the corner, boasting the benefits of bone density. But what is strength training and why is it so useful?
Our bodies adapt to what we do, plain and simple.
Use it or lose it, strength training helps us use it!
The same way that baby plants in the garden centre need to be exposed to sun and wind before they can thrive in the garden, our bodies need a certain amount of stress on them to maintain bone, muscle, joint health, and physical durability.
Strength training is the process of lifting, pressing, pulling etc… heavier weights in order to be able to do more challenging physical feats and maintain our bodies. Through strength training, cardiovascular training, power development and more, we hold on to more of our physical capabilities for much longer in life. This is very good news!
How much do you need to lift?
That really depends on your current level of strength, and how strong you want to be.
What we will say is – the weights you lift need to challenge you. Whether that’s 45 lbs or 200 lbs.
For most people having a set of dumbbells or adjustable dumbbells are a great place to start.
Over the months as your strength and confidence develop you can add more weight to continue challenging yourself.
Our programs will teach you how to get started, when to start adding, and what to expect along the way.