Sword yoga development taking on NYC

Katya Saturday is all up in arms.  

But the no-nonsense New Yorker isn’t indignant — she’s empowered via sword yoga.

And a metal, 30-inch, double-edged blade, named Golden Hour, is her most popular instrument of independence. 

“It’s a tool of self-expression and freedom,” Saturday, 25, solely instructed The Post. “The sword is like a magic wand that gives me a sense of graceful power.”

“When I hold it, I feel like a force of femininity, beauty and strength,” added the force-to-be-reckoned-with, one within the rising military of on a regular basis dynamos main the sword yoga health cost. 

It’s a girl-powered motion aimed toward getting in form whereas getting their slice of the motion. 

Sword yoga is a fusion of tai chi and kung fu with a contact of intuitive motion, sluggish respiration, paired with vinyasa yoga and sculpting actions. With the assistance of a kung fu jian, an historic Chinese straight sword, this noncombative exercise helps girls construct power and confidence.

Saturday, who suffers from power panic assaults, lauds sword yoga as her agency basis throughout making an attempt occasions, such because the latest loss of life of her grandfather. 

“When I feel an attack coming on, I rely on the training and breathing techniques,” she stated, boasting a combined assortment of 10 swords, daggers and light-weight sabers.

Before amassing her heap, the sword yoga fanatic of two years educated with a soup ladle, however “now, if I’m feeling anxious, I’ll grab Golden Hour or a light saber and get into a sword yoga pose,” she stated. “It forces me to get out of that negative space and get present in my body.”

“… I’m proud of how far I’ve come, physically and mentally,” gushed Saturday. “My confidence gets dangerously high at times because I possess the power of the sword.”

“I walk around the city feeling like the cool princess in a tower — but, in reality, I’m the dragon.”

Saturday is one among many ladies proving that swordplay is now not only for the boys. 

From the fearless heroines of fantasy novels to the never-say-die divas of Disney, equivalent to animated battle-angel “Mulan,” the notion that girls could be weapon-wielding warriors, too, has captivated audiences for many years.

However, the inclusive thought has struggled to maneuver past the film display screen and into the true world.

Women typically stay severely underrepresented within the sport of swordsmanship, as lower than 10% of worldwide tournaments in recent times featured girls’s occasions, per reports. And they’re solely barely extra seen within the martial arts world, according to February 2026 data, which discovered that simply 25% of US practitioners are feminine. 

But Sabina Storberg, founding father of WeaponUp, a sword yoga health platform, the primary of its sort, is chopping a brand new path. 

“Female martial artists aren’t widely portrayed as dainty, graceful women or Pilates princesses — they’re often portrayed as hardcore, tough girls,” Storberg, 34, a married mom of 1, based mostly in South Florida, instructed The Post. “We offer sword yoga classes on drills and basic, sculpt, balance, flexibility and grace that help women feel fierce, confident and beautiful.”

An alumna of Qufu Shaolin Kung Fu college in China, the place she spent 4 years underneath the strict tutelage of martial arts instructors, studying classes in dignity and self-discipline, Storberg formally launched WeaponUp in May 2024, swapping a place with UNICEF in girls and youngsters’s well being for a full-time sword yoga profession.

To study Storberg’s pearls of principled knowledge, sword-swinging subscribers pay $24.99 per thirty days for the 30 to 60-minute on-demand digital classes. While WeaponUp presently doesn’t provide in-person studio providers, Storberg routinely hosts stay sword yoga occasions in main cities nationwide. 

@theweaponup

We don’t practice to shrink ourselves or chase exhaustion. We practice to maneuver with intention. To really feel grounded, succesful, and highly effective in our personal our bodies. WeaponUp blends vinyasa move with straight sword apply to construct power, coordination, and presence. This isn’t about pushing tougher. It’s about shifting smarter, standing taller, and embodying energy that’s calm, managed, and unmistakable. Your sword is a instrument. YOU are the weapon. Step right into a apply designed for girls who transfer otherwise. Join us at WeaponUp.com we’ll ship the sword to your door! ⚔️🌿 #weaponup #swordyoga #femininestrength #valkyrie #fitness2026

♬ original sound – WeaponUp

And for a one-time price of $64.99, her wannabe girl-gladiators should purchase a 1-1.5-pound, 27.5-inch tai chi blade that’s mailed to their properties solely for coaching functions.

“You’re dancing with your sword while getting a great workout,” stated Storberg, noting that college students can burn roughly 200 to 500 energy per class. “And you feel it. We do a lot of lunges, squats and arm work. It builds your strength, flexibility, balance and improves posture.”

“It gives women a chance to channel that main character energy,” she chimed, “to be the heroines of their own stories.”

From a security standpoint, the sword is semi-flexible sans a inflexible blade, which permits it to maneuver easily along with being quieter, safer and extra forgiving, particularly for sword newbies.

Exercise escapism is a apply teeming with psychological and emotional well being benefits, in line with Staci Sycoff, a NYC-area therapist and life coach. 

“Yoga already promotes present-moment awareness. Adding a sword requires even greater concentration, which can deepen mindfulness and help quiet anxious or racing thoughts,” Sycoff instructed The Post. “Blending the calm focus of yoga with the symbolic strength of a sword, that practice encourages confidence and emotional resilience.” 

“Strength isn’t just force,” the professional added, “it’s balance, clarity and the courage to stand firmly in your own power.”

Shreya Singhvi agrees. 

“I was at a low point when I first started sword yoga this year,” Singhvi, 25, a monetary analyst, residing in Hell’s Kitchen, instructed The Post. She joined Storberg’s WeaponUp in January, hoping swordplay would function a welcome distraction from the woes of the relationship world.  

“Going through these movements helped me feel like a badass again,” stated the avid motorcyclist and snowboarder, from New Jersey. “Sword yoga became a time when I could just turn my mind off and really focus on my health and wellness rather than the things that were happening [in my personal life].”

Since nailing the fundamentals of blade health, Singhvi routinely does 30- to 45-minute sweat classes along with her metal a minimum of twice every week. But the burn schedule hasn’t been a breeze for the beginner.  

“I took a leg sculpt class and it kicked my a–,” she laughed. “But it definitely worked my thigh muscles to the max.”

“My arms and core feel stronger. It’s really been amazing.”

But probably the most wonderful perk of the sword work is a renewed sense of pleasure in her womanhood.

“Gender rules aren’t a factor at all. There’s nothing holding me back,” stated Singhvi. “I’m doing things I never realized I was capable of doing as a woman.”

“And I’m proud of that.”