Joe Kelly

I believe we all have the ability to find ways to connect, move and feel better in our bodies. We have an unlimited potential for growth in body awareness, health and movement and I’m constantly astonished by both elite level athletes pushing the boundaries of movement in their chosen disciplines and the breakthroughs I see my clients make with moving more gracefully, bringing more awareness to their breath and finding ways to move pain free.

I believe most of us live out of touch with our bodies and I’ve lived through that wakeup call myself. After years of competitive athletics and high stress jobs I realized that I needed to change the way I related to my body. I was young and ambitious and was interested in pushing myself to my limits in both my athletic and professional endeavors. However, that came at a cost of not giving my body enough time to heal and enough downtime to unwind the work stress. Working long hours in the office and pushing myself in the mountains on the weekends sometimes going on climbs with 20 hour pushes began to break down my body.

I developed over use injuries in my calves, developed chronic pelvic pain, chronic hip pain, tore my labrum in my right hip, and threw out my back a few times among other smaller injuries. I was chronically tight and was not allowing my body enough time to recover. Mentally I was stressed about my career progression as a Green Building Consultant often feeling anxious in a career that was not satisfying my desire to connect with people on a deeper level. 

I wanted to find a career that encompassed my passion for learning, teaching, movement, health, and challenge. I happened to find it at the Institute of Structural Medicine. I began investing my energy into learning about movement dysfunction, the body’s connective tissue, the impacts of nutrition and hydration and bodymind connection. I started working on myself getting significant amounts of bodywork, reducing stress, eating healthier by reducing the amount of inflammatory foods, and working with movement experts to improve my own understanding of health, movement, and bodywork.

Through this personal journey into health and movement I’ve been able to transform the way I feel in my own body. My range of motion has improved, my coordination and body awareness has increased, I’m less susceptible to injury and I’m climbing harder than ever. I believe the work I do has a profound ability to help people get better and I’ve lived through it. However, it requires work from both the practitioner and the client. There is no miracle pill or surgery that will teach you how to connect and move better in your body, it’s something that requires participation and work.

When I’m not working I enjoy getting out into the mountains as much as possible, going back East to Vermont to visit my family, going on fun travel adventures, playing games with friends, cooking tasty and healthy food, and listening to music.