Meet Lisa Kelly | Physical Therapist, Adventurer and Lifelong Learner

I’ve had a circuitous career, and life, that has taken me around the world. Starting out as an Athletic Trainer with degrees in Nutrition/Clinical Dietetics, I initially took some time off after college and worked as a Ski Patrol at Sugarbush Resort in VT. One thing led to another and after graduating with a degree in Physical Therapy in 1993, I backpacked the Long Trail, helped a friend on RAAM (Race Across America) and then found myself working for the US Men’s Ski Team! I travelled around on the World Cup Circuit and worked at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics, which was my ‘dream job’!

It wasn’t easy getting there. As a shy person, I had to push myself by putting myself ‘out there’ over and over again. I appreciate the first physical therapist I volunteered with, who told me ‘if you don’t SPEAK UP you won’t make it’. Well I laugh about that now, as once you get me talking, especially about PT, PRI and your body, I just keep going and going! So many fascinating things to say about our bodies.

So after all my good fortune, I had some misfortune. I was involved in a ski accident, breaking my femur weeks before I got married. That’s a whole other story, but during my long recovery, my classmate, colleague and friend Michelin Carroll, PT, PRC helped me get back on my feet. That encounter in 2000, that helped me so much personally, has guided my professional career ever since. She introduced me to the wonderful world of Postural Restoration®️, a treatment methodology that is a paradigm shift from what I had learned and known before.

After years of being challenged to think ‘differently’, and now I dare say, to think more ‘correctly’ about our body as an entire system vs just the symptoms that it presents, I established the first Postural Restoration Certified Center in Denver, CO. I am most proud of this accomplishment; both for the long road it took me to get here, especially after talking time off to raise my children while living overseas, and for the tribute I hope it represents to Ron Hruska MPA, PT, the founder of the Postural Restoration Institute, in Lincoln NE.

If there’s a life lesson in there, I imagine mine’s ‘it’s ok to be different’, as well as ‘create your own path’, it’s worth it!

Let’s see, I of course, would head right to the mountains!! So many beautiful places to go in CO…. Rocky Mountain National Park, Chitauqua and the Flatirons in Boulder, as well as any of the ski towns. They are all great for day hikes, backpacking or even just sight seeing.

More locally, I would recommend downtown Louisville, CO for a coffee at Giovannetti’s, or brunch with a Chai at Huckleberries, delicious bread at Moxies or a visit to the Friday Street Faire or Saturday Farmer’s Market.

Another outing would be to Pearl Street in Boulder, followed by a visit to the Boulder Reservoir for some paddle boarding with Rocky Mountain Paddleboard. Such a lovely place and amazingly friendly staff!

Michelin Carrol PT, PRC, classmate, colleague, friend!