Kelly's Journey

23 Aug

Maryland, Johns Hopkins, Los Angeles, burnout, a sailboat, six months across Asia — and eventually Nosara.

My story began the moment I let go of everything I was conditioned to believe and took the road less traveled…

I grew up on 18 acres in the woods in Maryland. I spent my childhood taking care of horses, mucking stalls, tossing hay bales, and working out to my Mom's Buns of Steel tapes since we didn't have cable.

My first job was working at a gym when I was 16 years old. I became a certified personal trainer by the time I was 18 and went on to attend Johns Hopkins University to play Division I lacrosse and potentially become a doctor. I kept my passion for fitness alive by teaching group fitness classes on campus and launching a health & fitness column in the college newspaper.

Students would come up to me on campus and tell me how they were feeling healthier thanks to the tips and information I provided. I realized there was great power in prevention and awareness. My career aspirations pivoted from treatment to health promotion.

I went on to complete my Masters Degree in Exercise Science and Health Promotion after taking a year off to travel Australia and do a training internship with elite coaches on the Gold Coast. I pivoted my training to bodybuilding in my early 20's and earned my IFBB Pro Card in 2010.

Upon graduation I landed a job as content writer and on-camera fitness expert for a virtual training website based on the west coast. I packed up my little red Volkswagen convertible bug with all my physiology and training textbooks and I was off to sunny Los Angeles, California!

I was burnt out. That was the end and a new beginning.

My work in LA was diverse in the beginning. The virtual training site was a start up venture that only lasted a year so I focused on training, coaching, and fitness modeling to make ends meet and continue on towards my goals and aspirations of fitness stardom. I got fitness modeling gigs; I even got offered a job to be an “after” photo for a weight loss product, which was alarming to me and made me realize how many diets and fitness gadgets were smoke and mirrors. I wrote recipes for celebrity trainer Bob Harper's website, appeared in P90X2, and held the title of Fitness Expert Consultant for Daily Burn.

From years of being an athlete and pushing my body to perform and look a certain way I had movement deficiencies, aches and pains, and a poor body image.

I realized I had reached many of my athletic and career goals, but I was unhappy and unhealthy — despite looking like the picture of health.

Back to Basics. Back to Nature.

One day I had an inner calling to set out on a quest. I sold nearly all of my personal belongings. I spent months in nature — hiking, living on a sailboat for a few months, learning to surf, diving deep into yoga, Pilates, and meditation, and exploring various methods and practices for healing and personal development. I continued my journey traveling abroad for six months to India, Bali, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia, studying movement, meditation, and natural healing methods. I attended numerous Vipassana silent meditation retreats unraveling years of societal conditioning.

Something miraculous happened throughout this journey. I started to feel better than ever before. My bloodwork was excellent, my hormones recalibrated, and my heart space expanded with love and devotion. I was a new person ready to get back to my roots of fitness and wellness and be of service in a transformed way. I started sharing my discoveries and practices at companies in Southern California through my Wellness in the Workplace Seminars.

In 2018 I moved to San Diego and served as a fitness specialist at the Golden Door resort and spa while I spent my free time surfing and teaching outdoor fitness classes and coaching private clients.

Soon after, my husband appeared in my life. I rode the wave from the ocean to the mountains. We got married and had our son in the mountains of Colorado. I opened my first studio, Elemental Conditioning. As my son approached schooling age we felt called to deepen our connection to nature, return to living close to the ocean, and give him a unique educational experience rooted in community and the natural world. We pivoted from our plans and moved abroad to Costa Rica. It has been one of the best decisions we've ever made. Living deeply connected to the natural rhythms of nature and embracing a simpler life has given us radiant health and joy.

I feel like I've moved in a big circle, learning who I'm not only to return to who I truly am. I love this journey and I wouldn't have had it play out any other way. Movement and mindfulness can teach us so much — who we are, how to care for ourselves, others, the planet, and how to live on purpose.

My hope is you experience this for yourself in your own way.