I have always had a love for horses and a passion for fitness and education. While it seems simple to me now, it hadn’t occurred to me how I could combine these interests into a truly rewarding pursuit for both horse and rider.
I am a physical therapist by trade and have over 14 years’ experience working in acute care, home care, and outpatient physical therapy. In 2020, I opened my own private practice where I have focused on my niche in physical therapy – vestibular rehabilitation and concussion management. I have been a Board Certified Neurologic Clinical Specialist through ABPTS since 2017 and part of my work during my career was to help build a well-rounded concussion management program at a local hospital. In the midst of this work, I returned to my alma mater to begin teaching as an adjunct faculty member and have now successfully taught across three separate colleges and universities – The Sage College’s DPT program, Excelsior College’s Health Science Department, and Tufts University’s DPT program. Providing quality education that focuses on translating complicated constructs into simpler forms has been my driving mission.
I bring that unique blend of skills to my clinic to reach patients with neurological or vestibular injuries, which, while sometimes appearing “invisible” to the naked eye, can have such a profound impact on that person’s movement and abilities. So much of my training and education has been on empowering this patient population and improving their balance so they can have a better overall function and quality of life. What I realized more and more as I was working with these individuals was how many times I could relate to their balance challenges through my own riding and trying to work on improving my fitness and balance as a rider. Thus, the idea for Anchored Seat was born.
I am certified as a 4-star trainer through Train Your Seat Equestrian Training and am also certified in Functional Movement Systems Level 1. I combine these trainings, along with my experience as a neurologic PT and equestrian, into wellness programs that aim to train your brain and your body together so you can ride better. This encompasses so many areas – from thinking about how your body and your brain communicate, to how you balance, to your general fitness level, to how you best learn new information and motor skills. The program takes fitness training and personalizes it on a whole new level!!
I originally thought about this from the aspect of being an equestrian and wanting to prevent injuries, especially concussions. I now realize it travels beyond this into wanting the best welfare for you and your horse. You can’t ask your horse to be balanced and centered until you yourself are balanced and centered. The more fit and focused you are out of the tack, the more you can bring to your training sessions with your horse. Isn’t it time you worked toward bringing the best version of yourself to your riding? Let’s “level up your seat”!
My mantra is simple – Exercise without intention is just movement. It’s just like training without a plan…that’s simply riding like you are on a merry-go-round. Let’s bring more purpose to our work outs and intention to our rides. Check out the rest of my website to learn more about how I can help!