Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shara Simmons. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Shara , thanks for joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

Too many of us forget that the best therapist is within. Often, quality movement itself is enough to promote an environment to stimulate our own healing process. I am a therapist and a guide that uses hands-on treatment, movement and re-education. I help my clients tune into their own internal compass so that they become empowered to take responsibility for their own health.

“When the body works appropriately, the force of gravity can flow through, then spontaneously heals itself.” -Ida Rolf

A common question among many adults is, “What do you do for work?” I have a difficult time answering this question. I practice within the fields of health and wellness, bodywork and exercise. I am neither a personal trainer, physiotherapist nor massage therapist. I believe the standard of care has declined in the health and wellness industry due to outside regulation leading to a highly specialized and compartmentalized system. Specialization has its place, no question. However, in the discipline of healing the human body, looking at the body as a whole is of utmost importance to achieving the clients desired result.

“An effective human being is a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.” -Ida Rolf

These restrictions within disciplines keep therapists from being able to approach a session in a way that opens their eyes and mind in order to access their knowledge, experience and human capabilities needed to deliver what I believe is the highest standard of care. As well, this current standard leaves the client having to jump haphazardly from one specialty to another attempting to link these disciplines in order to achieve their desired result. This approach very rarely leads to success leaving the client discouraged and often still in pain.

People come to see me because they are experiencing pain and/or discomfort. They may have an acute or recent injury or they feel they tried everything and nothing has seemed to help. In my practice, I take a multi-disciplinary approach, integrating Muscle Activation Technique, the CHEK system, ELDOA and Soma Training. These different modalities help me identify the cause, then choose and apply the appropriate treatment moving forward.

My client’s session begins the moment they walk through my door. At this moment I am gathering information through most of my senses, listening to what they say as well as how they say it, assessing posture, mood, movement, body language, etc. This approach, although inherent, provides an opportunity for me to connect with my client, to establish trust and to adjust my own internal compass to optimize treatment.

I believe the most important time is right now, the most important one is that one you are with and the most important thing is to do good for the one that has entered my office. This is what I hope my clients feel when they leave their session with me.

Shara , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

EuKinetics, “creating harmonious movement through a multi-disciplinary approach”, this name is the heart and soul of my practice. I have always believed that movement is an outward expression of our internal health.

It is difficult to describe my work because I believe what I do is somewhat unique to the industry standard. I have always been incredibly kinesthetic and physically active and this is how I experience the world around me. I started down the path of health and wellness because of my desire to know more about how to be in this physical address, my body in this lifetime, in a way that would give me the freedom to experience my world without limitation.

This path began long ago in grade school. I recall writing a paper, last minute as I often do, and feeling this information flowing through me. First and foremost, it starts with me, then I can guide or be a service to my family and loved ones, then and only then can I be of service to the world. This belief has become my internal compass along this journey.

As many do, I began in a traditional college setting studying Kinesiology at CU Boulder. Here I learned that I wanted to be in this field, the study of human movement, as well I discovered my love for biomechanics and anatomy. After graduation I began personal training at a large gym in Denver. In this environment I had the awareness that I was providing a service for my client but that I was missing very important details that were important to my clients success. Many questions would arise, for example; why was my client walking with a slight limp, why were certain exercises more difficult than others, why is this specific exercise causing pain? I could see dysfunctional movement patterns, I could listen to their feedback, but I didn’t have the tools to identify what was happening, why it was happening and how to correct it. I was searching for answers to these questions so that I could provide a service that I could stand behind, one that benefited my client.

In search of answers to these questions I found the CHEK Institute. This is where I found my first teacher and mentor, Paul Chek. At the CHEK Institute I learned the 6 foundational principles of health; breathing, movement, hydration, nutrition, sleep and thinking. As well, I gained the tools of orthopedic assessment including posture, movement, mobility, strength and lifestyle choices. These teachings resonated with me on a primal level. This learning was not just one of study, I embraced this information, I began living it, teaching it and using it in my practice. In applying these tools in my sessions I began understanding what I couldn’t explain before. My clients began moving more optimally, breathing more effectively, nourishing their bodies with clean food and water leading to a reprioritization and completion of their goals. My standard of care was improving. The tools were changing the direction of my clients’ lives. They were becoming healthier. New questions began to arise; how can I get my clients out of pain quicker, why do I still see instability in movement and a lack of connection or awareness?

This is when I was fortunate enough to be asked to be a part of the first Muscle Activation Technique, yearlong program founded and created by Greg Roskopf. In this program I was reminded of how little I know about my favorite subject, anatomy. This is one of many times in my life when I realizing how little I knew ignited my desire to dive into the learning process. This technique profoundly changed how I approach my sessions. MAT provides an incredibly effective approach to identifying and treating what specific muscle(s) are causing my clients joint instability/pain. With MAT I could identify my clients specific weakness and treat it. I use this technique every day in my practice and it allows me to create positive change quickly. At this point, my studies started reinforcing one another. I could now assess my clients posture, movement, lifestyle choices and create programming, then utilize MAT to get my clients out of pain and to prime their body to respond to their now even more specific exercise program. My clients began moving towards their goals more effectively with less setbacks. With this new information, new questions arose. With the tools I had I could help create balance around a joint and throughout the body but was there a way to create more space within each joint, to reverse or relieve the effects of gravity, or a way to unload the joints and optimize recovery?

“We are only as strong as our weakest link.” -Paul Chek

These questions lead me to the Legacy Sport and Wellness Center in Dallas and where I met my current teacher, Scott Herrera. This is where I began and will continue my journey in learning ELDOA, Myofascial Stretching and SOMA Training. ELDOA was founded by Guy Voyer. Voyer was looking for an exercise based system founded in osteopathy to stimulate and promote healing in the body. ELDOA is the only tool I have found that truly “creates space” in a specific joint. When you hold an ELDOA posture you improve joint mechanics as well as the related systems. These systems include but are not limited to the digestive, cardiac and respiratory. There is an ELDOA posture for every level of the spine but also for peripheral joints such as the shoulders, hips and pelvis. This technique is an incredibly powerful tool and I am very excited to be integrating this into my practice in individual sessions as well as in group classes.

What makes my work different from the industry standard? I do humbly work in the parameters of my knowledge and experience, however I am open to what challenges each and every client may present. When I am challenged with situations that I do not fully understand I will embrace that opportunity to continue in the learning process, optimizing and improving my standard of care.

My purpose on this planet is to connect with each individual in a way that I can first understand what they need, collect the appropriate data, educate them on their own body and to create a toolbox in their own language they can implement in their own life. I want each person to receive the gift of being responsible for their own health and healing. The goal is to overcome pain and injury, move freely, have a clear vessel to navigate and experience this world without limitations in a way that serves their own purpose, their own path.

EuKinetics, “creating harmonious movement through a multi-disciplinary approach”

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

As a business owner I have asked myself this question many times, it is a crucial component of growing my type of practice. The trend of gaining new clients through marketing and social media is apparent and I do believe could be incredibly beneficial for myself as well. However, every time I have gone down this path I have been distracted from what is the best source of new clients for my current practice.

I’ve identified this through asking myself; am I taking care of my current clients and am I serving them to the standard of care that I know I am capable of? Here is where I find what improvements I need to make with my individual clients and with my practice. When I put my focus here, what I find is that I receive an influx of new referrals. In other words, for my one on one practice, word of mouth has been the best source of new clients.

For me there is no higher compliment than the father I am treating who then refers his wife and their children to come work with me. In order to grow beyond my personal practice, which I am embarking upon, I believe the formula of success would be to hire a social media marketer, knowing that this can distract me from client focus.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

The time I had to pivot in my life, business and career came with the news of my pregnancy. At this point in my life I was practicing as a CHEK Practitioner and MAT Therapist. With this information I turned inward, to myself and my baby. I utilized all of the tools and experience in life and work and created a program specific to pregnant women as it coincided with my own term. I embraced and learned everything I could about how to support your female body as you provide an optimal environment for the life growing inside of you. Then Maia Leigh was born. I applied my knowledge and experience and engaged completely in raising my child. I can attribute most of my success and where I am today because of my daughter, Maia’s powerful presence in my life. She has inspired me to be the best human and mother possible. As her parent I have learned to live a life of dedication to health, honesty, humility and growth. This was a clear opportunity for me to grow as an individual and a parent which in turn expanded my work focus.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.eukinetics.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eukinetics/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SharaSimmonsEuKinetics
• Other: Email: [email protected]