this is so much more than traditional physical therapy

Take the guesswork out of healing by understanding your unique constitution and the root causes of your symptoms

My name is Rachel de Simone. I’m a Doctor of Physical Therapy and the owner of Lotus Yoga & Integrative Health.

I teach energy-balancing yoga classes and work 1:1 with people who are depleted from living with persistent pain.

I integrate the ancient wisdom of yoga and Ayurveda with modern pain science to help people address the root causes of pain and depletion from a whole-being perspective.

As a patient who has lived with persistent pain, and as a provider treating persistent pain, I got tired of chasing pain and masking symptoms. I believe that pain exists for a reason, and if it is persisting, we need to change the conditions that are enabling it to thrive. I see pain and other symptoms as important communications from our wise bodies, and I teach my clients how to tune into that wisdom so that they can shift from surviving to thriving.

I'm currently accepting new clients. If you feel depleted or are living with persistent pain and you resonate with a more holistic approach to healing, let's connect. Relationships are at the heart of this work, and I think it is important to work with a provider that you trust. Schedule a free discovery call with me to see if my approach would be a good fit for you.

Pain affects more than just your body, it affects your mood, your focus, your relationships, your digestion, your sleep, and your quality of life. Pain is your nervous system’s alarm asking you to pay attention to a real or a perceived threat. Think about how impossible it would be for you to ignore the fire alarm in your home, and how ill-advised that would be. Have you ever heard the story of the person who is walking in the woods and sees a snake? Their inner alarm system activates immediately, and they might start sweating or experience an increased heart rate. Then a few moments later they realize it is just a rope and their nervous system relaxes. This is a normal response to stress. The problem is that for many of us, we remain in a prolonged stress state, and this is especially true when we have prolonged pain and busy lives. Our bodies are not meant to handle the flood of cortisol and adrenalin that are produced when we are in fight or flight mode, so naturally we begin to experience an impact on all areas of our mind, body, and spirit.

Ayurveda and yoga are tools you can use to learn how to pay attention with compassion so that you can differentiate between a rope and a snake and support your nervous system in turning off the alarm. Taking an integrative approach also helps your metabolism, concentration, sleep, and quality of life to recover from that stress, and gives your tissues the optimum conditions for healing. To treat an injury in isolation isn’t very efficient, and is often not effective. But to treat your injury holistically can make a difference in all aspects of your life.

I work with people at all stages of their wellness journeys. I specialize in persistent pain and nervous system sensitivity, which means I have a passion for preventing those conditions. If you aren’t having pain, now is a good time to start building wellness as a daily practice. My treatment philosophy begins with prevention, and this model enables me to focus on prevention and work with people BEFORE they have an injury, and at the early stages of an injury to prevent persistent pain patterns, as well as support people recovering from an injury or healing a sensitive nervous system associated with persistent pain.

HOW CAN INTEGRATive physical therapy benefit you?

what can you help me with?

I can support you with meeting your health and wellness goals. I’m a physical therapist, and I specialize in supporting people with persistent pain by calming the nervous system. But I’m also an Ayurvedic Health Counselor, which means I help people develop personalized wellness practices that support all aspects of wellness at all stages of health. Here are some of the reasons why people choose to work with me:

  • Digestive concerns: gas, bloating, constipation, heartburn, reflux, sour burps loose stools

  • Boosting metabolism by tending to the digestive fire

  • Difficulty falling or staying asleep

  • Waking up in the morning without feeling refreshed

  • Support with auto-immune conditions

  • Acute or persistent pain or injury

  • Arthritis or achy joints

  • Osteoporosis  

  • Anxiety, depression, stabilizing the mood

  • Difficulty concentrating

  • Trouble remembering things

  • Low or high energy

  • Low libido

  • Heavy or light menstrual flow

  • Hormone balance and support through perimenopause and menopause

  • Dry, irritated, or lackluster skin or oily, acne-prone skin

  • Hair loss

  • Not feeling like yourself

  • Feeling disconnected

  • Building a personalized yoga, pranayama, meditation, or exercise practice

you are more than a collection of shoulders, knees, and hips. you are a whole person and your health care should reflect that.

Become your own best healer

There is no one solution that works for everyone because we all have different needs. Anything can be a medicine or a poison, depending on how, when, and why it is used.

The best solution isn’t the one that worked for your friend, or the one you saw on Instagram, it is the one that is personalized for YOU.

The truth is, you are your own best healer. Ayurveda is one of the world’s oldest systems of medicine. It has endured the test of time because it starts with the idea that your natural state is balanced, and that true health means to be situated in yourself. When you are situated in yourself you know how to give yourself the medicine that you need. 

Ayurveda provides an intuitive framework for understanding our relationship with our environment. We each have our own rhythm that flows through the seasons of each year, and over the arc of our life. If we choose to ignore that rhythm and go against the grain of nature, it will drain our vital energy and eventually lead to dis-ease. 

A mindful approach to health includes understanding your unique constitution, how you are affected by the foods you eat, the information you consume, how you spend your time, what you pay attention to, your relationships, and your environment, and making choices that support your natural state of balance.