In the high-performance world, people are obsessed with “Before” and “After.” They track the kickoff and the final whistle. The rehearsal and the opening night. The conception and the birth.

But as a movement and alignment specialist who has spent two decades working with NFL players, the Joffrey Ballet, and elite clinicians, I’ve learned that the most critical work doesn’t happen at the peak.

It happens in the transitions. 

My friend and client, Emelie, calls this week between Christmas and New Year’s “The Taint.” It’s brilliant, it’s hilarious, and from a biomechanical perspective, it is profoundly accurate.

The Anatomy of “The Taint”

If you’re unfamiliar with the slang, the “taint” is the colloquial term for the perineum. 

“Because it ain’t your balls, and it ain’t your ass” is how it was explained to me.

Musculoskeletally speaking, the perineum is a thick convergence of pelvic floor muscles, fascia, blood vessels, lymph, and nerves. It is the literal threshold of your deep core. It is a busy, high-traffic zone.

When things aren’t moving well: It gets congested, stagnant, and tight.

When everything is flowing: It feels stable. Almost… boring.

This week of the year is our collective Taint. It’s an in-between space. It ain’t the holidays anymore, and it ain’t the New Year yet. It’s a threshold where nothing seems to be happening, yet everything is reorganizing.

Why Transitions are “Expensive”

One of my favorite phrases, taught to me by my ballet teacher Kat Wildish, is this: Transitions are expensive.

In dance, the transition is where the actual dancing happens. If you lose your focus between big jumps or multiple turns, you aren’t dancing. You’re just stringing steps together – And let me tell you, audiences ain’t gonna pay for that!

The same applies to your training, your career, and your pregnancy. 

It’s easy to view “The Taint” as a waste of time. We want output. We want results. Now. 

AND the transition is where the recalibration happens. It is the subtle reorganization of the system that must occur before a new level of performance can emerge. This is where we benefit from neuroplasticity. 

If you rush the transition, you pay for it later in compensation, injury, or burnout.

Moving Through the Threshold

Whether you are currently navigating the transition of a calendar year, a trimester, or a career pivot, what do you notice?

• Are you jammed and overloaded, trying to “productive” your way through the pause?
• Or are you allowing the system to settle and integrate?

For me, I’m leaning into the quiet magic of the family and community I’ve built. I’m holding my new ideas gently, refusing to rush them into deliverables before they are ready.

Training the System

At the core of my work ← see what I did there? Core?!

At the core of my work, whether with a pro athlete or a pregnant person, is the belief that the body is an intelligent and unified system. A system that requires moments of not performing in order to remain sustainable.

Right now, I’m letting this transition be what it is: Not productive. Not performative. Just present.

I’m winding down 2025 being present with MY Taint. And I’m inviting you to be present with YOURS. 

If you’re someone who finds it difficult to downshift during transitions, know that this space matters more than we give it credit for. Your ability to handle the next high-demand phase of your life depends entirely on how you navigate “The Taint” of right now.

Ready to master your Taint?

Whether you are navigating a pregnancy, recovering from an injury, or simply recalibrating for your next high-demand season, the goal is the same: Integration. I work with a limited number of people who refuse to settle for “good enough” alignment. Inside AND out. I am currently preparing some exciting things for 2026. Including, but not limited to…

• A year-long training program for the ultramarathon of life!
• 1:1 Movement & Alignment Intensives: Short term engagements for people who need their bodies to keep up with their ambitions.
• Specialized Workshops: Moving beyond “wellness” and into real foundational, functional movement that results in HUGE results. HUGE!

As always, I’ve got your back. I’ve got your front. And I’ve got your undercarriage.