Exploring Life & Business with Kelsy Timas of Guiding Wellness Institute

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelsy Timas.

Hi Kelsy, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
“It was 11th-grade Biology during Dissection and a video recording of open-heart surgery when I first connected with what I wanted to be “when I grew up”. Anatomy and physiology were fascinating to me and at this time in my life it renewed my appetite for learning, I was sure that I would be in medicine and pursued it with passion.

After 2 years of working in Quality Management for 2 IPA’s and then 2 years on the night shift in ICU as an LPN, I had an Epiphany about a gap in the health care continuum affecting access and sustainability for patients and providers alike. But what haunted me most was the lack of awareness around education, prevention, and support for the most vulnerable population. Who cares for the caregiver? Where are we serving those who serve?

I dove into Eastern and Ayurvedic mind-body medicine studies and became licensed in yoga/meditation, massage, Holistic nutrition, and Coaching. I started my first private practice in California in 2000 and after marrying an active-duty soldier after 9/11, I relocated to Fayetteville NC, and continued to grow my business and my studies.

Every year, I pursued continuing education in trauma-informed treatments and I eventually evolved into teaching which prompted our business expansion in 2015. Since then, I have traveled all over the country serving this work of integration for sustainable access to health and wellbeing. It has been an incredibly rewarding experience to be a part of the lifestyle medicine emerging and leading in our world today.

I never set out to be an entrepreneur, I simply followed my passion for helping people that needed it most, and that connection led me down a path that has pioneered the effort to “re-integrate” allopathic health care as a functional wholistic approach that supports performance, resilience, and recovery across the entire health care landscape.

This career path has not always been easy or clear, but the consistent connection with clients and witnessing the profound effects of a comprehensive and collaborative approach remains the driving force behind our innovative and evidence-based approach to evolving toward a healthier and happier community.

I still believe that the providers, the warriors, and the leaders of our time are the greatest asset to transformational change. When we support those who hold space for the populations of need and our future, we have the greatest opportunity to heal, learn, grow and thrive collectively. Our personal connection to living well is our greatest hope for the future.”

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Life and business have been a very bumpy road with lots of challenges that have also served as opportunities when I reflect back on them. I don’t think we can ever truly prepare for what we will have to face and if we did then I don’t think we would choose to take the risks needed to grow something like the Institute.

There have been so many disappointments and failures that have truly molded and defined my character and made me the leader I am today. My core values were tested heavily on many occasions and I have learned that clarity of intention is key for me and I can trust myself. My connection to my “big why” is what guides me and as an innovator and a visionary, sometimes it’s guiding me through the dark.

Life and work have been deeply rewarding and on most days, the pure joy and gratitude I feel for this work outshines any of the hardships. I had a small sign in my first office that said “what would you do if you knew you would not fail?”; I am so grateful I chose this for my life.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are the largest and most comprehensive health and wellness center in Fayetteville, NC, and serve clients and students all over the world. Our beautiful 2.5-acre campus is surrounded by nature and meditation gardens where we share lessons on gardening, herbs, and sustainable landscaping.

We built the first Floatation Therapy Suite as part of a military research study we conducted in 2017 and provide comprehensive consulting for clients and organizations needing support for performance and resilience. Our Corporate Wellness division and Military Advocacy Program is contracted and advises many organizations responsible for providing services and care for our nation’s military and first responders.

Guiding Wellness Institute is also the largest Therapeutic Yoga and Meditation Training in the nation and is affiliated with Warriors at Ease and the Integrative Restoration Institute. Together we have trained and certified thousands of teachers across the globe all serving special populations with Trauma-informed mindfulness-based practices.

Our clinic and classes are open daily to our community and our virtual platform ensures sustainable access to our resources for our community during all lifecycles. Our service directory is expanding beyond rolfing, massage, yoga therapy, and coaching as we credential this year with insurance carriers and grow our mental health resources.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Inspiration, education, and connection to a well-lived life; for the individual spirit and for the collective community

I believe that life was meant to be lived, not merely survived. The power of the human spirit, the willful ability to heal and overcome, the unique gift within each individual to be shared with the world and our innate need to connect through meaning and purpose is the driving force behind why I show up to this work every day.

We have so much potential and I believe we get there together.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.guidingwellness.com
• Instagram: @guiding_wellness
• Facebook: @guidingwellnessinstitute
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMpmRC7YH1FQuDbGXCqwAsykOWf04Urpr&jct=CpeZYKZvKrOKRYCI0JbknrToMgsKfg
• Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-well-podcast/id1498819290