Personal experience ignited Patti Reed’s passion for preventing pain and undoing the damage done by many of today’s fitness regimens. An ACE-certified personal trainer and the owner of Intuitive Movement, in Naples, Reed formerly lived with a great deal of pain; the result of years of repetitive movements she performed daily in her dog grooming business and personal weightlifting routine. After working with a cutting-edge physical therapist whose approach integrated myofascial release and trigger point therapy, Reed’s pain lessened as her body gradually responded to being gently stretched with foam rollers.

“My body was a mess, but I looked good because I had worked out daily for two hours at the gym. Unknowingly, repetitive movements impacted my fascia and muscular system and ultimately, my skeletal structure. Unfortunately, my trainer didn’t know about doing a full postural analysis before developing my workout routines. Eventually, I learned that this was a major mistake, because knowing an individual’s full range of motion for all the muscle groups in the body is necessary to develop a routine that doesn’t do damage,” explains Reed.

Extensive research regarding training and education provided Reed with potential careers and certifications—personal trainer, massage therapist, trigger point therapist and Yamuna Body Rolling (YBR) practitioner—that expanded on the stretching techniques she learned from the physical therapist. “All of my education and training, particularly studying with Aaron Mattes, whose Mattes Method of active isolated stretching is recognized worldwide for treating pain, and studying with Yamuna Zake for my YBR practitioner certification, helped me to understand how my body’s muscular system works and which muscles to release and stretch, as well as in what order,” notes Reed, who offers group and private YBR sessions.

Regardless of age or physical limitations, nearly everyone can benefit from YBR, which helps to keep the body well aligned, toned and flexible, with a good range of motion. In a YBR class, individuals learn to work on each part of the body by rolling a ball of appropriate size and firmness from the buttocks to the calf; from the tailbone up to the skull; from the abdomen up to the collarbone; from the collarbone out to the shoulder joint; and so on.

“YBR gives individuals the opportunity to work on themselves and in the process, develop a sense of self-empowerment, because they can free their body of restrictions and eliminate stress and tension anytime, anywhere, forever,” says Reed, who recommends private YBR sessions prior to group classes.

Location: 832 Anchor Rode Dr. For more information, call 239-649-0814 or visit PattiIntuitiveMovement.com. Also visit YamunaBodyRolling.com.