Meet Kelly Etter

We were lucky to catch up with Kelly Etter recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kelly, we are so happy that our community is going to have a chance to learn more about you, your story and hopefully even take in some of the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Let’s start with self-care – what do you do for self-care and has it had any impact on your effectiveness?
For self care I do Vagus Nerve toning/ nervous system nurturing, take brisk walks in nature, Bible study, get plenty of exercise & go out dancing.

Consistently engaging in self care has exponentially amplified my effectiveness & my quality of life. Whatever practices one finds that refresh & refuel them, the key really is consistency. And I’d argue that some of what I mentioned above can be swapped out based on personal preferences- aside from attending to the nervous system, which is really non-negotiable.

In the past few years I’ve learned SO MUCH about SO MUCH from mentors Anne Bishop & Chantill Lopez; but here I’ll just highlight the nervous system piece. I learned that our nervous system is the basis for behavior as well as for motor (movement) learning…so ABSolutely (gotta get in my Pilates pun ;-p) essential to my work as a movement educator.

When our nervous system is upregulated- when we’ve been on high alert/stressed for extended periods of time, it is difficult for us to be effective. With the Covid-19 crisis, lockdown, reopening, new variants, etc I think most everyone has been under an inordinate amount of stress. When our nervous system perceives a threat, it narrows our vision to keep us focused on the essential task of surviving. So we lose creativity, problem solving & decision making ability. Our Vagus Nerve acts as a brake to the fight, flight, or freeze response. So when we tone our Vagus Nerve & nurture our nervous system we become more resilient & effective.

Attending to my nervous system helped bring me out of anxiety & overwhelm as I navigated the pandemic: pivoted my brick & mortar Pilates studio to the virtual space plus, with the expert guidance of Chantill & Anne, shifted to a new format of programming that provides so much more than a workout. I developed transformational, life changing programs that comprehensively support my students in reaching their goals.

Because our nervous system is the basis for movement learning & for behavior, I incorporate the nervous system work in each of my programs. As my students’ nervous system becomes more resilient they are more effective not only at learning the movements I teach them, but also at making the behavior changes they desire- creating healthy habits that will support them having a better quality of life for the rest of their life!

It is important to me to be of service & to make a positive impact in the world- consistently engaging in self care has made ALL THE DIFFERENCE in my effectiveness.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
As a child, I was turned away from three dance studios: the instructors had no idea how to teach a little girl who wore heavy cable braces on both legs. I was born with the fibula bones of both lower legs rolled inward. Yes, I was extremely pigeon-toed & dance helped to retrain the muscles to get my legs into the proper alignment.

Years of hard work and sheer determination allowed me to overcome my early disability & follow my dreams. I wound up having a nearly twenty year professional musical theater & dance career; the highlight of which was being a Rockette in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in Mexico City the first year the show went international.

I believe movement is very healing, physically & emotionally/mentally: the combination of working with my Pilates students and returning to dancing played a significant role in healing from the depression, anxiety & panic attacks I suffered as a result of divorce.

I love being of service to others: training them in proper posture, alignment, body mechanics and Pilates exercises has allowed me to facilitate people healing from chronic pain & achieve their fitness goals. My brand is about engaging, educating & empowering you to have the highest possible quality of life!

What I am most excited about now are my high value transformative programs:

DE-STRESS TO AVOID DISTRESS
In just three weeks you will learn tools to RELIEVE stress, AWAKEN your CORE & increase FLEXIBILITY- to support you being the BEST version of YOU, ALWAYS! You will come away with the CONFIDENCE to use stretching, strengthening & stress relief techniques to SHOW up each day as your BEST SELF.

Pave Your Way to Pain Free Exercise
In 21 days you will learn the ABCs of increasing your core STRENGTH & improving your POSTURE for movement FREEDOM & joyful LONGEVITY, even if you battle chronic pain!

RECLAIM your body, reclaim your LIFE – so your body DOESN’T stop you from doing ANYTHING your heart DESIRES!
In 12 weeks you will DISCOVER how to bring your SPINE back into WARRANTY and with it your LIFE! You’ll LEARN how to bring POWER back to your CORE, RECLAIM your POSTURE, and create HABITS that will ALLOW you to ALLEVIATE pain, INCREASE energy, and LIVE the life of STRENGTH and JOY you deeply DESIRE. You will INCREASE your VITALITY and UNDERSTAND how to apply HEALTHY body MECHANICS throughout your day – EMPOWERING you to CONFIDENTLY trust your body to serve you and ELEVATE the quality of your LIFE. I VALUE our relationship and am DEDICATED to helping you feel safe, heard, and SUPPORTED; to leave you feeling bEtter than when you arrived.

GROW + SANCTUARY
In 9 months you will be EMPOWERED to LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE: that of FREEDOM, STRENGTH, JOY & EASE…CONFIDENT that your BODY will SUPPORT you in EVERYTHING you DO. You will be EQUIPPED with PRACTICAL TOOLS to RELIEVE, even PREVENT, PAIN & REDUCE stress. You will be ENERGIZED as you GROW your movement practice, DEEPEN your body knowledge, FURTHER your integration, & RESTORE your BODY, MIND & SPIRIT.
Yes, 9 months is a longer commitment: I really want you to value yourself & your well being – to make a longer term commitment to yourself PSOAS (;-p) to have a longer shelf life.

And I am SUPER EXCITED about the NEW companion workbook to my RECLAIM your body, reclaim your LIFE program! The March cohort was the first to receive this special product bonus- and they’ve expressed that it’s been INCREDIBLY SUPPORTIVE!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
For those early in their journey: I would encourage you to be a student of yourself- to discover what really “sparkles you up” (love that phrase from mentor Anne) about what you are doing & who you are working with, so that you can keep taking steps toward that feeling of excitement & fulfillment in what you are doing- I believe that will help ward off burn out. I also encourage making nervous system nurturing & self care non-negotiable. Finally, I encourage you to seek out & learn from mentors who, along with their life & work, you admire or would like to emulate.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Yes, I LOVE collaborating! I’m looking to collaborate with creative, reliable, curious, teamwork oriented people in body & movement fields- Somatic, Feldenkrais, Pilates, Alexander technique, Yoga, Physical Therapy, Massage therapists, Anatomists…active aging enthusiasts, as well as anyone who coordinates workshops or retreats or has a retreat center.

Actually many of the qualities are the same in my soul mate students…which makes sense because teaching & facilitating movement is really a collaboration between myself & my student. We will be a great fit if you are purposeful, motivated, resourceful, strategic & motivated…if you are curious, like learning & understand that “you get out of things what you put in to them”… that your success depends on your consistent engagement & application of what we cover.

Connect with me via email kellyetterb@gmail.com or phone 626-390-0549

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