Welcome! I’m Sue Brian, Founder of Twin Oaks Method.
I support adults in moving with more ease, flexibility, and confidence while cultivating greater peace and healing through breath, mindful movement, and supportive lifestyle practices. These tools made a meaningful difference in my own life, and they are now the foundation of the Twin Oaks Method and how I guide others.
I’m a National Board-Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC), a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach (FMCHC), and a Certified Holden Qigong Tier 1 Instructor currently completing Tier 2 certification. My blended training and experience allow me to weave Qigong, mindful movement, and health coaching into an approach that feels simple, accessible, heart-centered, and deeply supportive.
I’m also a wife, mother, grandmother, and lifelong learner. My happy place is walking in nature, learning something new (currently American Mahjong… so fun), enjoying a friendly game of pickleball, time with family and friends, reading, and practicing Qigong under my oak trees.
I’m grateful to walk this path with others who want to feel better from the inside out. My hope is that each class and program offered through Twin Oaks Method leaves you feeling more grounded, more confident, and more at peace as you move through your day.
If you’d like to learn more about my journey and the inspiration behind the Twin Oaks Method, you’ll find the rest of my story below.
Twin Oaks Method
The Twin Oaks Method is a modern and accessible approach to wellness that blends ancient Eastern wisdom and intentional movement with Western science and practical tools to support the whole person… Body, mind, and heart.
it draws from:
• Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM): describes Qi (chee) as the body’s natural bio-electrical energy… the current that keeps us alive, supports each heartbeat and breath, and helps regulate our organs, digestion, emotions, and overall sense of calm. Our meridians act like the wiring that carries this energy throughout the body, helping everything function smoothly. Practices such as breathwork, Qigong, and acupuncture work like a light switch or dimmer, adjusting how balanced, regulated, and energized we feel.
• Holden Qigong - draws on teachings from Mantak Chia’s lineage and the many masters Lee Holden studied with. Lee blended these practices into a modern, accessible style of Qigong, which I now bring forward in my own gentle and approachable way.
• Biomechanics informed by western physical therapy principles, to support healthy joints, fascia, strength, balance, and everyday mobility.
• Right and Left Brain Connection - Simple hand, brain, and cross-lateral exercises that support communication between the two hemispheres of the brain enhancing thinking, focus, coordination, and balance.
• Breathwork to calm the body and mind, support emotional regulation, improve energy flow, and help the nervous system return to balance.
• Functional Medicine: evidence-based lifestyle practices to support sleep, digestion, stress regulation, and mindset… helping the body return to a state of balance and resilience.
• Behavioral Science + Coaching: Positive Psychology and practical strategies that support meaningful & lasting change.
Image by Cyndi Bemel
At the heart of the Twin Oaks Method is a simple belief… it is never too late to reconnect with your body, calm your nervous system, and create a greater sense of whole body wellness. Whether you are rebuilding after injury or illness, hoping to prevent future issues, or simply wanting to feel steadier and more at home in your body, there is always a next gentle step you can take.
My intention is to offer a safe, encouraging space where you can explore those steps at your own pace… building strength, balance, and confidence while also tending to stress, emotions, and mindset. We work with the body, the breath, and the brain together, so that prevention and healing become part of everyday life.
My hope is that each practice helps you feel more balanced and flexible, more aware of your movements, and more at ease, physically and mentally…supporting both healing now and prevention for the years ahead.
For those who enjoy knowing the “why” behind the work, the story and inspiration behind the Twin Oaks Method continues below.
The Story and inspiration Behind the Method
Every method has a story… and this one grew slowly over a lifetime.
The Twin Oaks Method is rooted in lineage, shaped by many teachers, nourished by a whole-person view of wellness, and guided by the symbolism and wisdom of the oaks themselves (learn more about the oaks below).
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I like to think of myself as a fellow traveler on this path of life, continually learning, healing, and growing while navigating the complexities of our modern world. Like many of my students, I continue to deepen my sense of inner balance, vitality, and peace by leaning into the tools that help me stay centered when life becomes uncertain or stressful.
Stress touches nearly every aspect of our lives, and from both Eastern and Western perspectives it is understood to play a significant role in many of the health challenges people face today. Qigong and the Positive Psychology practices I gained through my Functional medicine Coaching training have given me ways to quiet my mind, calm my heart, tap into the strengths I already have, and find my center when life pushes me outside my comfort zone. These tools continue to support my own life and well-being, and they shape the way I teach and guide others.
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Several years ago, my experience with a cancer diagnosis gave me the gift of awareness and the urgency I needed to truly change how I was living and thinking. I was in the middle of my Functional Medicine coaching studies and had just been introduced to Holden Qigong when the diagnosis arrived, and I have to say, the fear and anxiety were overwhelming. I had already been living with a steady undercurrent of worry and stress for years, and the diagnosis intensified everything, leaving me feeling even more anxious and disconnected from myself. But as I leaned into Qigong, even when I didn’t fully understand the hows and whys, things slowly began to shift.
Through Qigong and the tools I had gained through my coaching studies, I began to see how the emotions I had been carrying and the negative mindset I had lived with were quietly, and not so quietly, harming my health, draining my energy, and hijacking my outlook on life. Western medicine, through surgery, removed the cancer, but it was Qigong and other healing methods that helped me acknowledge and release the heavier emotions I had been holding, allowing me to shift into a healthier, more optimistic, and more positive mindset. That shift has been deeply healing and truly life-changing.
The tools that carried me through that time are still practices I lean on today, and I am honored to share them with you in the hope that they bring a little more courage, resilience, and peace to whatever life may be bringing your way.
The Twin Oaks Circle grew out of this very intention…to offer a space where people can feel supported, encouraged, and grounded as they build their own path toward vitality, healing and prevention.
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I believe wellness is more than exercise and nutrition… it is shaped by the many branches that support our everyday lives. Our relationships, our sense of connection, the way we sleep, breathe, move, and care for ourselves, and the mindset we bring to each day all influence how we feel.
Most of us carry a natural negativity bias, a protective instinct meant to keep us safe, yet one that can also create stress, worry, fear and insecurity. A core part of the Twin Oaks Method is learning to gently shift that bias. Through Qigong, mindful movement, breathwork, and Positive Psychology principles (the practice of using our existing strengths…yes, you have many), we learn to move toward inspiration, confidence, gratitude, and inner peace. It takes practice… and practice makes progress.
Each class is designed to meet you where you are, honoring your body’s needs while guiding both body and mind toward greater vitality, balance, and ease. My training in Qigong and Traditional Chinese Medicine theory, Positive Psychology, Functional Medicine, and Coaching Competencies allows me to weave movement, mindset, and nervous system support into a method that nurtures whole-person wellness.
Whether we are practicing Qigong, exploring B.A.S.I.C.S.+, warming up for pickleball, or blending coaching with mindful movement, my intention is the same… to help you cultivate strength, flexibility, calm, resilience, and a mindset that softens stress and opens to what is possible with confidence, courage, gratitude, self-love, and compassion.
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The Twin Oaks Method is shaped by years of formal training and a lifetime of learning, guided by teachers, mentors, and evidence-based practices that deepen my understanding of movement, energy, healing, and whole-person wellness.
My education includes certification through the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy, where I completed extensive training in behavior change, lifestyle medicine, and Positive Psychology, as well as passing the National Board exam to become a National Board–Certified Health & Wellness Coach. Alongside this, my advanced training with Holden Qigong, plus years of study and collaboration with physical therapists, movement specialists, and wellness professionals, forms the strong and multidimensional foundation of this method.
The Twin Oaks Method brings these influences together, rooted in tradition, informed by modern science, and enriched by my lived experience. It honors the teachers who helped shaped me while offering a clear, accessible path for the people I support today.
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Twin Oaks Wellness was named partly to honor the two magnificent California oaks in my backyard… trees whose steady, calming presence has offered healing energy, shade, strength, and a peaceful place to practice Qigong, meditate, and to gather with the people I love.
As I learned more about oak symbolism, everything clicked. Across cultures, the oak represents:
Resilience
Integrity
Inner wisdom
Flexibility
Strength through all seasons
Consistency in the face of change
Deep roots and expansive possibilityThese two trees stand side by side, each strong on its own, yet even stronger together. Their roots intertwine beneath the surface while their branches reach outward and upward. In a simple way, this reflects the heart of my work… staying connected, supporting one another, and building inner strength from the inside out.
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A special thank you to my dear friend Cyndi Bemel, whose beautiful photography graces the pages of this website. Her eye for detail and natural beauty, and her gift for finding the magic within it, has truly elevated my vision and helped bring the spirit of Twin Oaks Method to life. You can view the full versions of many of these images, along with more of her stunning work, on her website at cyndibemel.com.