VITAL MOTION COACHING | ADVENTURE PHYSICAL THERAPY ONLINE

Adventure Coaching, Consulting, & Rehabilitation for Outdoor Enthusiasts

Access your full body-mind potential. Live boldly. Choose your own adventure.

Mission Driven. Adventure Inspired.

I believe in the power of adventure to transform our bodies, minds, and lives. To find success in adventure we must be well-prepared in both body and mind, dial in the logistics needed to bring our adventure to life, and design our lives to fit the person we want to become through the dreams we want to chase.

My mission as a coach is to help facilitate this transformation for those I serve in three ways: private coaching, group programs, and self-paced training courses.

***NOTE: I sustained a “mild” traumatic brain injury in October of 2020, which upended my life and forced me to close my business. I’ve been working hard on rehabilitation and have returned to work gradually over the past two years. I am now healthy enough to re-launch my virtual coaching and physical therapy practice, and am doing so in May of 2024. Please contact me if you think you might like to work with me, and we can connect and see if we’re a good fit for each other! Cheers.***

Curious if my coaching services might be for you? Let’s explore.

There are two main types of people who commonly seek me out for coaching, either through my private services or my group programs:

1) Many people who look to me for coaching are pursuing adventure for the first time, or for the first time in a long while.

They are often those who have realized that somehow their lives don’t fit anymore: they wake up one day and don’t recognize themselves. They’ve lost the connection with their body and their physical health, or with their mind and their mental health. The life they’ve somehow lived their way into doesn’t really feel like “theirs.”

They didn’t get here by design, they got here by default — and they don’t like it.

Adventure can be a catalyst for change: a way to shake things up, interrupt old stale patterns, and bring our bodies, minds, and lives back into alignment with who we truly are and desire to become. It forces us to disrupt our own status quo and ask big questions: “who IS me?”… “how do I be the MOST me?”… and eventually, “how do I become the BEST me?”

Seeking guidance and support to re-orient and re-direct our bodies and minds down a more empowering, sustainable path, one of physical and mental wellness inspired by the pursuit of adventure, can be the first major step to getting our lives back into alignment and becoming the fullest and happiest versions of ourselves. This is what my whole life has been about, and I love helping people with this.

2) Many people who look to me for coaching have a well-established life of adventure, and they’re looking to expand their horizons or level up.

Some of these folks are struggling with an overuse or traumatic injury, often sustained during one of their adventures. And/or, they realize how important their outdoor pursuits are to them, and recognize the need to maintain their bodies at a healthy level and prevent future injuries. My background as a physical therapist and rehabilitative element of coaching puts me in a good position to help these people.

Some people are pursuing competitive goals or personal adventure goals that are unlike any they’ve navigated before, with new elements — or, they want to go further, faster, and perform better than they have in the past.

With my specialty in self-supported ultraendurance pursuits, specifically in bikepacking and multisport expedition; and my holistic coaching methodology incorporating physical, mental, emotional, and logistical training, I am well-equipped to support people in building on their already strong foundation to stretch themselves in the challenging pursuit of a new and exciting goal.

In adventure and in life, understanding and knowing ourselves well — both our strengths and our weaknesses — can be the single most empowering tool that exists; because we know what we excel at and we know where we need to learn more. Where we need to learn more is where coaches and mentors come in, and I love helping passionate adventurers level up.

Seeking guidance and support in the areas where we are not as well-equipped, inspired by the pursuit of adventure, can be the key to breaking through barriers and becoming the best and healthiest versions of ourselves in both body and mind that we can possibly be: actualizing our fullest potential in our time on this amazing planet. This is my greatest obsession and passion in life… let’s do it!

Whether you resonate most with Person #1 or Person #2, I get it. I was you, and I am you.

Person #1 was me, ten years ago.

At the age of 28 I was forced to stare myself down hard and answer those big questions when I found myself in the middle of a major life transition: divorcing my partner of nine years. My entire adult life to that point had been spent revolving around this other human, so much so that I had no idea who I was without him. I was face down and wallowing in the unknown, the rug pulled out from underneath me. Being a lover of the outdoors I turned to adventure to ask my questions, and at the time, training and racing in the mountains on my bike was the tool I used to answer them. I am not exaggerating when I say that racing my bike quite literally saved me and changed the course of my entire life. My cycling coach at the time, Alison Powers, was a huge part of my transformation as an adventure athlete and as a human during that critical period. It is my greatest honor and pleasure in my work to be a part of transformation inspired by adventure as a coach for someone else.

Person #2 is me, and always will be.

Seeking to actualize my full body-mind-life potential as a human, inspired by my outdoor pursuits, has been my own journey for the last ten years since the moment I walked away from what was no longer meant for me. I am continuously designing my life in alignment with who I am and want to become, pursuing impact through adventure all around the world. In my own outdoor adventures as well as my relationships, my work, my way of living, and my physical and mental health, I have been and always will be seeking guidance from others who are highly skilled in specific areas that I am not. My way of contributing to the world through my own work is to provide that guidance for others in my own areas of expertise and deep experience.

This is my promise to those I impact through my life and my work:

I am not perfect. I make plenty of mistakes. And, I am committed to continuously learning, expanding my own horizons, and leveling up my own skills and my depth and breadth of knowledge so I can be my best self in adventure and life, lead by example, and be of service to others to the very best of my ability. I know how deeply impactful a great coach and a great mentor can be, because I’ve had and still have many myself. I do my best to follow in their giant footsteps, and like them, be worthy of the influence I have. I am responsible for being my full self, and my best self, as well as I possibly can. I do not take these responsibilities lightly.

Through my education and personal experience, via my online and in-person platforms, I’ve dedicated my life’s work to facilitating transformation through adventure both personally and for others. It is my pleasure to be of service to you through my work.

Educational Lineage:

I received my Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from the University of Colorado Medical School in 2008. I have practiced in many settings, mostly in orthopedic sports medicine and neuromuscular rehabilitation, within the traditional healthcare system. I opened my own blended physical therapy/coaching practice in 2013 in a hybrid virtual/in-person format. Since completing my doctoral program, I have rounded out my education with certification in athletic performance training through USA Cycling, certification in mountain bike skills coaching through PMBIA, an apprenticeship in Isabelle Tierney’s Feel Good Life methodology (based in psychology, neuroscience, and spirituality), continuing study and mentorship in trauma-sensitive embodied therapy for healing professionals (Jessica Maitri’s Yothera method), mentorship in transformational group facilitation methods (with Jules Schroeder of Unconventional Life), and ongoing continuing study in applied neuroscience, sport psychology, neuromuscular re-education, and life coaching methods. I am a certified Behavioral Change Specialist through ACE, and a certified Reiki II practitioner.

Through education, evidence and experience I hold a strong belief in the importance of involving the whole person, body-mind-soul, in our ability to actualize our full potential and accomplish big goals. My coaching paradigm is based on this belief.

I work with individuals and small groups in ongoing coaching programs virtually and through immersive in-person adventure retreat and workshop formats. I also create self-paced online courses in the areas of adventure-inspired movement and rehabilitative training. If you are interested in exploring the possibilities of working together in a coaching relationship, send me an email to learn more. I’d love to chat with you about supporting your goals and aspirations.

More about me and my coaching background…

I started coaching private clients in 2013 after a traumatic bike crash left me with a broken pelvis and dislocated shoulder. Through a year of surgery and rehab I realized exactly how much injuries and illness can impact the body, mind, spirit, and relationships. I also had a personal journey with psychological trauma, complex PTSD, and recovery related to intimate partner abuse. During this process I realized that the mind and the body are more connected than most of us think. I also realized how the skills I had learned in my years of outdoor adventure pursuits directly translated to helping me through healing and recovery to a place of strength, self-confidence, inner peace, and freedom following both physical and psychological trauma and challenges.

My beginnings in coaching were specific to working with competitive athletes. Though this is still a part of what I do, I have expanded in the past handful of years to working with a different type of client in private and small group coaching and retreat settings. I love supporting outdoor enthusiasts with big personal goals who are motivated to evolve, expand their horizons, and level up their body, mind, and life through their adventure pursuits; and have done work in many of these areas but need support to achieve the goals they want. Many of these people come to me after an injury or other physical setback, or sometimes with a realization that their physical fitness and strength isn’t where they’d like it to be, because of my physical therapy background. My unique style of coaching blends rehabilitative expertise with a wellness and performance coaching framework that incorporates mindset and emotional work as well as physical training. I believe that addressing the body without addressing the mind is doing all of us a disservice and only achieves a part of the desired outcome — not the whole package. And I don’t want anything standing in your way.

Some of the results my clients get look like this: feeling strong and capable in body and mind, learning to feel good internally regardless of the external setting, learning to use your body to its fullest potential in any circumstance, navigating life’s challenges and the body’s physical injuries with grace and grit, learning to silence the voice of the inner critic that stifles your ambitions, transforming suffering into insight, taking care of your body so your body takes care of you, making smart decisions in tough moments, being confident in having both physical and psychological skills in your toolbox to pull out in times of need, trusting yourself and your abilities, reaching an outdoor adventure goal, or breaking out of your comfort zone in a multitude of ways.

I know there are many people out there who are held back by physical or psychological limitations, trauma, or conditioning to be afraid of the unknown — I’ve been there myself. I’m still there to some extent, every time I uplevel and play a bigger game in sport or in my life. Each time we level up we are presented with a new set of challenges and a new opportunity for growth. I still get uncomfortable when I’m out on a limb; when I’m asking my body or mind to do something they haven’t done before. But now I have the tools, confidence, and support to work my way through and be successful.

And if I can build these tools and confidence with solid support, so can you.

When reaching an important goal or dream, whether it’s in outdoor pursuits, competition, or being bolder and more adventurous in other aspects of life, I know the importance of having people on your team who have been where you are and who are well-trained in the process of reaching the other side, coming out stronger, and putting more success deposits in the bank. It is both humbling and an honor to have come to in a place in my own life where I can play that role for others as a coach and mentor. I’d love to become a part of your team.

What about physical therapy?

While I am a Doctor of Physical Therapy, currently fully licensed in Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico, with compact license privileges in Washington, Oregon, and Utah, I no longer practice physical therapy in a traditional healthcare setting. I feel the insurance-based system impairs my ability to give my best care for a variety of reasons. If you live in any of the above states I do provide telehealth (and potentially hybrid telehealth/in-person) self-pay physical therapy services, and I will provide you documentation that you can submit on your own to your insurance company, but I cannot guarantee that you will be reimbursed. You may be able to use your HSA to pay for my services; this will depend on your specific HSA plan and is your responsibility to determine. If desired, I will communicate with other members of your healthcare team as your physical therapist. If you are outside the states listed above, I am happy to work with you in a coaching format to help you reach your health and performance goals, but I will not provide “traditional” physical therapy. If you’re unsure of what’s the best option for you, send me an email and I’ll do my best to help point you in the right direction, whether that’s one of my services or a recommendation/referral elsewhere.

Are there any options for those who can’t afford or don’t need private coaching?

Glad you asked. For those who don’t need or can’t afford private coaching, but still want to learn from me in the areas of adventure planning and preparation or adventure-inspired movement training, I run low-cost (and occasionally free!) masterclasses and workshops, and also mid-range group programs, throughout the year as I have availability. Check out the Masterclasses tab here on my site for any upcoming trainings or to purchase replays of prior trainings. I’ll also share on my Instagram when I have upcoming educational opportunities, so give me a follow to stay in touch.