For the body that feels compressed, stuck, or braced
Does this sound familiar?
Maybe your muscles always feel tight. Maybe your joints feel compressed. Maybe your breathing feels restricted. Maybe your body feels heavy, stagnant, or swollen. Whatever you're experiencing, it feels like your body is holding on to something it can't let go of.
None of that means your body is broken. It means your body is compensating, and compensation always has a reason. When you find the reason, the tension finally has permission to leave.
If you feel pressure through your joints, tension that keeps coming back no matter how much you stretch, or a body that feels heavy and hard to live in, you're in the right place. I help you understand what's actually happening in your body, and what to do about it.
One body, one pattern
Your body isn't a collection of separate problems. The way you breathe shapes how you hold tension. The way you hold tension shapes how fluid moves through you. The way fluid moves shapes how heavy or light you feel. And the way you walk ties all of it together.
That's why I don't hand you a stretch for the sore spot. We look at the whole pattern, breathing, posture, lymphatic flow, and gait, and rebuild it in an order your body can actually follow.
My story
I spent more than a decade in chronic pain while teaching Pilates professionally. I stretched, strengthened, and treated the sore spots, and nothing held. What finally changed everything was learning to read what my body was actually doing, and retraining the pattern instead of chasing the symptom. That's the work I do with clients now.
Client experience
"I understand my body much better since working with her."
“I had an amazing experience working with Kelly!
From the moment I met her she was incredibly friendly and helpful. She made the whole process smooth, ensuring I felt comfortable throughout. I’ve tried everything from a personal trainer, yoga to physical therapy and had almost given up on the journey to find someone to help relieve the intense pain I was in. She truly has the magic touch, not only has she clearly mastered her profession. I was completely impressed with the amount of patience and undivided attention to my needs and body. I cannot stress enough how amazing this is experience has been. My posture is better, my ability to notice what I need to adjust throughout the day so my body doesn’t hurt, are tools that have helped me tremendously throughout the day. Please do yourself a favor and check out her work, you will not be disappointed!”
“I have been going to Rootforce for just over a year and I cannot recommend Kelly enough. I have chronic hip pain and range of motion issues and Kelly has really helped me and continues to do so. She is a keen observer of how your body moves and can show you how you are moving and what needs to be done to correct it. I understand my body much better since working with her.
During this same time frame, I have had a couple of Physical Therapists and quit both of them because they did not give me the amount of insight into the causes of my issues as Kelly does- they were only focused on strengthening my hips.”
“Kelly’s knowledge of the body and human movement runs deep. However, it is her ability to communicate nuance with clarity and warmth that will help you achieve meaningful change.”
“Kelly is highly skilled at zeroing in on your form, which is important to me after having previous injuries. She is a good listener, and she creatively crafts each workout to suit my needs. I feel fortunate to have met Kelly, a true talent and a kind human.”
“I am so grateful for Kelly’s wisdom and expertise. The lessons and guidance she has created offer a wealth of insights into breathing, mobility, pain relief, and so much more.”
Find out where your body is holding
Find out where your body is guarding, compensating, and holding, and what that's telling you. Free, takes about ten minutes, and it will change how you think about your tension.
Credentials
I'm a certified Functional Patterns HBS1 Practitioner with a Regenerative Health Certification and more than ten years of Pilates instruction. My coaching draws on biomechanics, breathing mechanics, fascia and lymphatic health, and gait training.
Start Here
Work with me.
Every client relationship starts with a movement assessment, in person or online. From there, choose the level of support that fits: monthly 1:1 coaching, guided daily training, or in-person sessions at my gym.
Learn at your own pace.
Not ready for coaching? Start with 360 Breathing, my course on restoring full, three-dimensional breath, or the 28-Day Lymph Reset for a body that feels stagnant and heavy.
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Because stretching treats the symptom, not the reason. Tension is usually your body bracing to protect you from a pattern problem somewhere else, like a ribcage that doesn't expand or a stride that doesn't absorb force well. Until the pattern changes, your nervous system will keep recreating the tension, no matter how often you release it.
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Most care treats the spot that hurts. I look at why that spot is being overloaded in the first place, which usually traces back to how you breathe, stand, and walk. Instead of managing the same pain over and over, we retrain the pattern that keeps producing it. Many of my clients came to me after years of PT and massage that helped for a few days at a time.
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Yes, and in many cases it's exactly what those bodies need. Everything starts with an assessment of how your body currently moves, and your training is built from there, at a load and pace your body can actually handle. I spent over a decade in chronic pain myself, so nothing I coach assumes a body that feels easy to live in.
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Both are available. I work with clients in person at my gym in Minnesota, and online through video sessions and a training app with guided programs you can do at home. The assessment that starts every client relationship can be done either way.
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We look at how you breathe, stand, and walk, and I show you what your body is doing and why it likely feels the way it does. You leave understanding your body better than when you arrived, plus a clear picture of what we'd work on together. From there, you decide whether ongoing coaching is the right fit. There's no pressure to continue.