Have you wanted to hire a trainer but you’re afraid of being judged by your current level of fitness?

Are you looking for someone who understands that your life has real constraints and you’re doing your best juggling all of your priorities?

Would you like someone to walk with you on your wellness journey who is well-educated, supportive, and wants you bring greater balance into your life?

Need someone to speak at your church group, women’s retreat, or business wellness luncheon?

Hi….I’m Coach Karen.  And I want you to know just how great you can feel in your body and in your life!

I’ve always been an active person.  Growing up in a family where road races were part of our weekly ritual and participation in sports was encouraged and supported, I learned at an early age that keeping fit has social, emotional, and physical benefits.

After grad school when I moved to Boston for my first real job, the first thing I did was crack open the yellow pages to find a running group to join.  Little did I know that this experience of being part of a competitive self-coached racing team was setting me up for leaving my job as a college professor and becoming a personal trainer less than a decade later.

When I became pregnant with my first child in 2002, I dove into research regarding perinatal fitness.  I combined the research with my knowledge and experience of training cycles and kept myself fit and active throughout my pregnancy.  After my son was born, I wanted to feel like my old self again.  I knew that regular exercise was a key component of re-establishing my identity.

It was a struggle, though, because I felt guilty about spending time and money on myself when I had my baby to care for.  I didn’t want to lament the body that I’d lost, as I was proud of the body that grew, birthed, and sustained my baby, but my new body was foreign to me.  I needed to figure out how it could work most efficiently….especially on so little sleep!

I knew that I didn’t feel like myself without regular exercise, so I made the commitment to my physical and mental health to keep up regular workouts.  Sure, I had to look at what I had done before baby and adjust it to fit the new time constraints and body issues I faced.  I researched postpartum exercise protocols, wrote a workout plan, plugged it in to my calendar, found a goal, and got to work.

The exercise made me feel balanced and better able to cope with the demands of new motherhood.  It was empowering to work toward a goal that had nothing to do with my baby. Most importantly, the time I spent taking care of myself paid dividends when I had the energy and focus to take care of my family.

I’ve had two other children since then, and I’m still a regular exerciser.  I’m a long-distance runner.  A yogi.  An aqua junkie.  I have a runner of a husband and kids who love to move.  We are an active family.

As I find myself moving into a new phase of life and my body shifting once again, my interests are shifting, too.  My current area of research is perimenopausal fitness and wellness.  I refuse to believe that I’m doomed to suffer for the next decade (and beyond!), so I’m testing strategies for surviving and thriving during menopause.

I love being a life-long exerciser and a life-long learner.  In addition to academic degrees from The University of Notre Dame, The University of Texas at Austin, and University Of London, Birkbeck College, I have earned numerous qualifications in health and wellness.

I am an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and health Coach. I also hold certifications of Pre/postnatal Fitness Specialist and 3rd Age Woman Wellness Coach.  I’m  a Certified Prenatal Kriya Yoga and Aqua Kriya Yoga teacher as well.

Because I love to share my knowledge of and experiences of the wellness journey, I’m often quoted about fitness and family wellness in articles and blogs.  I’m also a public speaker who loves to help others realize that feeling great in your body and your life is a pleasurable possibility!