Hi there. My name is Rhiannon - though most people call me Rhia.  Some of the boxes I've fit into in my past have been yoga teacher, Thai healing arts practitioner, professional dancer, mobility specialist, & personal trainer. Titles aside..

My life's work is to help people connect to a deeper part of themselves through movement, to their intrinsic strength and to find more freedom of expression.

    I currently teach one-on-one functional strength training and mobility - online and in Takoma Park, MD.  I help people mitigate injury, work towards their individual movement goals, & to stay strong to keep moving and doing the things they love to do.

 

 Back in 2017, after my 6 year mark of teaching yoga and dancing professionally (and practicing even longer), I had come to fully experience that bodies love variety in movement (which I wasn't getting from just doing yoga and dancing), and I was needing to make a change. Basically, my joints were cranky, and I felt "tight" even though I was stretching all the time. Meeting a cool veteran and personal trainer - Ben King - set the stage in 2015. He showed me the importance of strength training and how he combined that with mindfulness. 

Originally yoga helped me with an injury recovery back in 2006. I learned how to listen to my body. But then the physical part of the yoga practice wasn't working for me anymore. I learned more. I got really curious about injury prevention and went down the rabbit hole. The biggest takeaway I learned over the years, is that you can mitigate injury by one of two ways:  either avoiding a movement altogether, or progressively strengthening the body to better withstand the movement. Bodies are really adaptable. 

​

 We can be intentional in a movement practice to prepare our body/minds for the unknown possibilities that life will throw at us - so we can handle them with grace.  AND this can be approached in many different ways. 

​

Movement, especially dance, and an interest in the human experience, led me to a BA in sociocultural anthropology. I am forever interested in how culture and community shape how we move our bodies, or don't move, and what the implications are.

   The private conditioning & coaching that I do is born out of deep consideration of how we're (in the context of the US) living in our bodies on a day-to-day basis and what movement "nutrition" we could use a little more of depending on what our goals are. I also believe there are lessons we can learn through physical training and getting in touch with our bodies that can lead us to live more harmoniously in this life with others. What I integrate draws from functional mobility & strength training, yoga & mindfulness, somatic practice, biomechanics, neuroscience & related pain education. 

​

In 1-1 mobility & strength coaching, I help people tackle nagging movement inquiries, goals, and issues with practical resolutions. I want to make the most of your time.

I also believe in making functional strength and mobility accessible to as many as possible -- whether in group or private setting.

​

   I am a forever student and will always try to be less wrong than the day before. Recently I've learned a lot from the Postural Restoration Institute, and have completed their "Myokinematic Restoration" & "Postural Respiration" courses. I continue to further my education with courses every year which I think is necessary for any movement professional. 

​

    For private conditioning FAQS click here.

​