Meet Kelley Marie Garcia

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kelley Marie Garcia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelley Marie, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
When I finished physical therapy school and passed my boards exam, I thought that is what I would be doing for the rest of my life. However, shortly following that, my dad was diagnosed with an unknown form of stage 4 cancer. Doctors say it was gallbladder cancer which operates similarly to pancreatic cancer. Two months following his diagnoses he passed away. Luckily my doctorate degree allowed me understand this a lot of his symptoms clearly showed that he had some sort of liver issue. Sure enough, he had two massive tumors in his liver. I say this because his doctors at the time, blew off his symptoms. He even ended up in the ER and urgent care before someone decided to run his labs and thus we found out about the cancer. That whole situation is what pushed me towards integrative health, functional lab analysis and nutrition therapy. I was determined to make sure that more people knew how to truly get to the root cause of their health issues. While my practice is all about foundational health, most of the cases I see have something to do with hormones. That can be PCOS, thyroid conditions, miscarriage, infertility, fatigue, weight gain, etc. I never had plans of starting my own business but the loss of my dad drove me to create something for his legacy.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I pride myself in always asking “why”. If you have PCOS, why? Hashimoto’s, why? Resistance to weight loss, why? In my opinion, that is what is missing in health care. We are very good at prescribing medications as solutions, but no one is asking why these issues are popping up in the first place. After physical therapy school, I helped as a teaching assistant in the cadaver lab. During that time, my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. One of my professors who was also in the cadaver lab, told me to look into integrative health as a way to assist my dad from a more holistic standpoint. Little did we know that he wouldn’t even make it past 2 months. While I was grieving his loss and practicing as a new physical therapist, I decided to get my certifications in integrative health, functional bloodwork and nutrition therapy. I built my practice while working full time at a Pilates studio as a PT and Pilates instructor. I started to look at clients more holistically. 2 years after the loss of my dad, my mom was diagnosed with triple positive breast cancer. That was when I knew I needed to take my business full time because I was not going to lose another parent so soon to cancer. With all the knowledge I had and the help of both western medicine and other integrative practices, my mom’s cancer was gone even before her double mastectomy. What I have learned throughout the last 5 years is that everything happens for a reason. If my dad had not passed away, I would’ve never opened my practice. My practice serves as his legacy and has shown through multiple client testimonials that we have more power than we think when it comes to our health, we are just not educated enough. That’s where I come in. My passion is to educate my clients on the WHY behind what they are experiencing. I walk alongside them to balance out the body. When we do that, incredible things happen. I’ve seen thyroid markers normalize, people with low fertility get pregnant and deliver, women diagnosed with PCOS regulate their cycles. I want women to know that healing is possible and that I’m here to listen to their concerns and support them, because that’s the type of care I wish my father would’ve received.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
To begin, I love some Greenstreet breakfast. Their goat cheese omelette and potatoes are incredible. You also can’t forget the Nutella French toast. For lunch I would go to Smash Bros. It’s a new grass fed smash burger spot that does not use inflammatory seed oils but instead uses tallow to cook their food. It’s amazing. For dinner I love a good steakhouse or the classic, Hillstone. Being a dancer some of my favorite spots include: the Bar, Coyo taco back room, Purdy lounge when it was around and Blackbird ordinary. When the weather is nice you can find me at the beach getting sun and considering that movement is my hobby, I’m usually at the gym, a yoga class at Breakfree or on some Pilates equipment around town.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Both my parents who have always worked incredibly hard to give me the best they could. My professor in physical therapy school who introduced me to integrative health. Without that, I would’ve never opened this business. My emotional intelligence and business coach, Angie Sanchez, who was with me from the loss of my dad all the way until I took my business full time.

Website: www.kelleymarie.co

Instagram: @kelleymarie.co

Youtube: kelleymarieco

Image Credits
Natalie Priscilla