We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dr. Melanie Ziaziaris a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dr. Melanie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share an anecdote or story from your schooling/training that you feel illustrates what the overall experience was like?

Upon graduating high school, I knew I wanted to go into Physical Therapy but did not realize the endless opportunities it would provide me. I was an athlete growing up; I figure skated for 12 years and also participated in gymnastics, dance, and track & field. I love being active and challenging myself which furthered my passion for movement and living a healthy lifestyle. I began my journey at Miami University in 2016, where I earned a B.S in Kinesiology with a minor in Nutrition. When I arrived at college, like many other freshmen I felt lost so I started practicing Yoga both as a hobby and for fitness. Immediately, I fell in love with all aspects of it and soon after entered yoga teacher training because I realized there was so much more to learn outside of the physical and wanted to learn the right way before practicing on my own. During my Sophomore year of college after 9 months of coursework and training, I became a certified yoga instructor and have been teaching ever since. It is then that I realized that Physical Therapy & Yoga are intertwined. I knew then that in the future I wanted to combine my background and knowledge of Yoga with my Physical Therapy practices with my patients. In 2020 I started school for my Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree. After 2.75 long years (school all year round) and 4 clinical rotations later, I graduated in April 2023 with my Doctorate. I am thankful for having the opportunity to attend Northwestern University and the clinical experiences I had. In total, I spent 19 total weeks in outpatient orthopedics & sports, 6 weeks in cardiac unit in acute care Physical Therapy, and 13 weeks in outpatient neuro treating various neurological disorders. All of these experiences have brought me to where I am today, and I will continue using my resources and experiences to enhance the human experience.

Melanie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Melanie Ziaziaris, PT, DPT, RYT. I am a health and wellness advocate and have my doctorate in Physical Therapy. I have been practicing for one year, and I’m also a registered yoga teacher that has been teaching for 5 years. I currently treat all outpatient musculoskeletal disorders (ranging from all joints from ankle to cervical spine, chronic & acute pain), vestibular issues/balance impairments, neurological disorders (particularly Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Stroke, ALS), and Pelvic Floor dysfunction. I love to treat it all!

Currently, I am a travel Physical therapist, so every 3-6 months I go to a new state or city and treat all of the above in outpatient clinics. I combined my passion for health & traveling into a career! What I love most about Physical therapy is that you can get what you want out of your career & reach as many people as possible. There are so many avenues and specialties.

With my background in yoga, I use many yoga based methods and techniques for my clients, especially for pelvic floor dysfunction, back pain, and surprisingly ankle injuries! The mind and body is connected and we can’t neglect one without the other. I value patient education so that my patients can use all the skills I give them into day to day life. What I aim for is showing you the tools you need to succeed outside of the clinic.

I also have a social media presence, you can find me on Instagram & Tik tok as @drmelanieziaziaris, and Youtube as @balancedwithmel. I am passionate about mobility, diet/nutrition, and leading a healthy lifestyle, so you can find a little bit of everything on my pages!

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

In the past year I have taken on many 1:1 clients, treating them for back pain, shoulder pain, in addition to hosting private yoga events. Much of my clientele thus far is from constantly putting myself out there on social media and continuing to produce content even if it did not perform the best. A few of my 1:1 clients have also come from simply talking to people in spaces where I’ve taught yoga classes and networking. Going through social media can be tricky because you never know what you will get and you can’t always see someones full personality only though the Internet. This is why I value all opportunities and see them as a networking endeavors because you never know who you will meet or the connections you will make! Everything in life is a choice and an opportunity, never see it as anything less than that!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

A person’s upbringing often shapes their perceptions of the world, and can also serve as a motivating factor in their adulthood. I grew up with a single mother, had a father who was no where to be found, and ended up living with my amazing grandparents for much of my childhood. I grew up on the North side of Chicago and had grandparents who barely spoke English. My mother did all she could to provide, and I was fortunate to have gone to some of the best public schools in the city due to both luck and opportunities. I wanted to be an example to those growing up in adverse circumstances that you can make greatness regardless of your environment. You have to make your own opportunities and always remember the end goal. In high school, before marijuana was legal in Chicago, I got in trouble at school for being in possession of it. I remember my assistant principal at Jones College Preparatory High School making a comment to me as I was sitting in detention. He made a negative remark to me about being in detention, to which I replied, “I got straight A’s last semester” and he said ” yeah but you were suspended and..”. as if that was supposed to hold me back or take away from the fact that I got straight A’s and was a great student otherwise. In that moment, I remember thinking to myself that I will be a Doctor, despite his perceptions and low expectations of me. When there are odds against you, you don’t look back, you just look at what the evens can do for you and how to get there.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmelanieziaziaris/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanieziaziaris/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@balancedwithmel
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@drmelanieziaziaris?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Image Credits
Photographer of two images: Monte, Instagram @visionaryprice