Well, hello there! :)

A Brief Introduction

Hi there! My name is Snezhana, which is pronounced as snay-zhauna. The name is of Ukrainian and Russian origin, and it means Snow! I was born in Ukraine, but my family and I moved to America when I was just a wee little girl, about 11 months old. I spent most of my growing up years in the beautiful state of Oregon. I am overjoyed to call Arkansas my current home, but Oregon will always have that special “deep home feeling” in my heart. Forever and always an Oregonian.

I received my Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from the University of New England in Portland, Maine in 2016. If you have never been to Maine, you’ve GOT to go!! It is an absolutely gorgeous place!! Since graduating, I have pursued additional knowledge and education to become a Wholistic Physical Therapist. Additionally, I am currently an Herbalist in training. I am committed to being a lifelong learner, as the more I learn, the more I realize how much more there is to learn! :)

I specialize in treating rock climbing related musculoskeletal and neuromuscular injuries. However, I do also treat other sport related musculoskeletal and neuromuscular injuries on a case by case basis. If you have a non rock climbing related injury or ailment, and want to know if it is something that I am currently treating, please send me an email! :)

A Peak Into My Passions and Hobbies

I am a devoted wife to a most loving husband; he is the love of my life and my best friend. Truly.

My relationship with God is my source of strength in this world. His continued guidance and wisdom are irreplaceable. I see His love and sovereignty being so evident in nature, and that is why I am such a lover of nature and the outdoors. I believe life is an extremely special gift. I believe each day is meant to be lived with heartfelt gratitude and intention. As a result, I have many hobbies, passions, and interests! I have been rock climbing since 2009, growing more appreciative of this activity with each passing year. I participate in bouldering as well as sport climbing. Yes, I have seen Free Solo, and no, I do not ever plan to participate in that kind of climbing.

I am passionate about baking and cooking as many things as possible from scratch. I see cooking and baking from scratch as a way to utilize the creative skills that God has gifted me with, as well as being able to nourish my body with ingredients that are nontoxic, and nourishing for my body. The smell of homemade baked sourdough is one of my favorite things! I enjoy mountain biking, hiking, kayaking, camping, bird watching, slacklining, and sooo many other outdoor activities! I am a BIG nature lover. You will hardly ever find me indoors.

I believe in, and have witnessed the healing benefits of rest and slowing down, which lead me to activities such as reading, journaling, prayer, plant and wildlife identification, and forest bathing. Forest bathing, also known as shinrin-yoku, is a Japanese practice where one immerses themselves in nature in a mindful, and calm manner. Oh, and I really like the color pink! But I don’t like pink Christmas trees. Have you ever seen a pink Chrismas tree in nature? Exactly.

It Wasn’t Always This Way: My Dark Valley of Sickness

I wasn’t always passionate about nourishing foods and prioritizing my health. In fact, from my childhood, and into my late 20’s, I was passionate about the Whopper from Burger King, Cheetos, the 5 piece chicken nuggets from Wendy’s, the 7 layer burrito from Taco Bell, pepperoni pizza rolls, cocoa puffs cereal, and my all time favorite snack: Little Debbie Strawberry Shortcake Rolls. In fact, I was so obsessed with Little Debbie’s snacks, that I would always get the seasonal flavors. The vanilla and chocolate Christmas trees, the heart shaped ones with pink flavor for Valentine’s, and the pumpkin delights for Halloween. I ate them on a nearly daily basis. I never worried about them spoling, as the preservatives in the Little Debbie’s snacks allowed them to last for years! It is so totally natural to have food last that long without spoiling! (That’s sarcasm, just in case I need to clarify.)

In addition to my diet of ultra processed foods filled with preservatives, chemicals, pesticides, artificial colors, and a variety of other artificial flavor enhancers, I had extremely poor lifestyle habits. Sometimes I would have seasons where I was averaging 3-4 hours of sleep due to the constant studying, and fear of failing out of school. During seasons of dark depression, I was either sleeping up to 12-14 hours per day to avoid as much of the day as possible, or I was unable to sleep at all due to the dark anxious thoughts that crept in as soon as my head hit the pillow. When I was motivated to lift weights, or rock climb, I would very quickly fall into a habit of overtraining. As a result, I was experiencing frequent muscle strains, various sprains, and frequent aching. These injuries would make me disheartened, and I would then head straight into seasons of no motivation, lack of energy, and no exercise. I was sick very, very often, with my sicknesses lasting for months. I was frequently experiencing the flu, colds, bronchitis, and various other similar illnesses. I thought this was normal, because the majority of those around me were on a very similar trajectory.

Surely my diet and lifestyle habits improved when I was studying to be a Doctor of Physical Therapy, right?? After all, I was studying to have a Doctorate degree in “healthcare,” and was surrounded by 50-60 future Doctors of Physical Therapy on a nearly daily basis….. That’s the irony of it all. We were going to graduate school to be Doctors of Physical Therapy, and yet, we were not being taught the foundational principles of how to truly nourish our bodies, as well as how to educate our future patients regarding this topic. We were not being educated regarding the powerful effect that diet and lifetyle habits have on our overall health. We were learning about the complexity of our brain, our cardiovascular system, nervous system, musculosketelal system, and yet, we were not educated and informed on how ultra processed foods with preservatives and artificial food dyes are harming each one of these systems in our bodies. We were learning about the functions of the cells, nerves, and organs in our body. Yet, we were not being educated or informed on how conventional farming that uses chemicals, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers on their crops is greatly depleting the nutrients of the product we end up consuming, while simultaneously introducing toxins into our body, which is harming the function of our cells, nerves, and organs. For clarification, I am not intending to speak ill of my professors or the school. I am not blaming the professors. However, I do think we need to ask: Why is this kind of information not being taught to future health practitioners whose role is to “improve the health of their patients”?

Towards the end of my graduate schooling (2016), and a year after graduation (2017), I was probably at one of the lowest points in regard to my health. I was in a very dark season of anxiety and depression. I had gained about 20-25 pounds between 2015-2017. I had mostly stopped exercising, and did very little climbing anymore. I felt hopeless, and dreaded each day. Nightime was my favorite if I was able to fall asleep and escape my dark thoughts. I continued to eat the above mentioned foods, and now that I was in Texas, I added Whataburger to my diet, as well as queso made from Velveeta Cheese. I was almost always bloated, but thought it was normal. I was almost always tired, but thought it was normal. I had major self esteem issues, but thought that too was normal. I was obsessed with social media, (Facebook at this time), and was frequently checking the number of likes that my posts received to provide myself with validation. I was 27 years young at this time, but I felt lousy. Additionally, I was still experiencing the side effects of my childhood trauma, as the physical and mental abuse had taken quite a toll. I was degrading drastically. Some people were seeing my decline and attempted to help by offering two main solutions: 1) get on anti-anxiety medication and 2) leave my relationship with my then boyfriend, who is now my darling husband. Those were apparently my only options for how to improve my health. How heartbreaking is that??

Not one person was intervening to educate me on how each one of my symptoms had roots attached to my diet and lifestyle habits. My diet was heavy-laden with synthetic ingredients, which were wreaking havoc in my poor body. My body was crying out for help through my symptoms, but I was ignorant of this at that time. No one was educating me on the harmful psychological effects of doom scrolling on Facebook, and needing validation through the amount of likes I received. No one was educating me on the importance of spending time outside so that I could receive Vitamin D from the sun to support my circadian rhythm, which would improve my sleep. No one was explaining how my toxic diet was weakening the integrity and function of my cells, which was in turn weakening the integrity and function of my muscles, ligaments, and joints — predisposing me to frequent injury. For clarification, I have absolutely no animosity towards the people in my life at that time. They didn’t know this information themselves, and thus, could not provide this information for me. Ironically, I had just recently graduated with a Doctorate degree in “healthcare”, and yet I did not understand how to get to the root cause of my own symptoms to improve my health. Now that is something to ponder.

The Diagnosis That Inspired Change

I am abundantly grateful to be able to share that I did not stay in the dark valley of sickness permanently. Unfortunately however, the turning point in my health journey was prompted by a heartbreaking diagnosis in the family. My father in law was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia at the young age of 60. This news broke many hearts in the family, but it of course deeply affected my sweet husband, and my loving mother in law. There were a whirlwind of emotions and questions at this time, as we tried to make sense of this news. I don’t remember every single emotion, or thought, but I do recall being fixated on the following thoughts: “Dementia at 60? How? That’s so young…” In school, we were taught that dementia was an “old person’s” disease, typically occuring when a person was in their 80’s or 90’s. (For clarification, I do not call anyone old. I think that is a very unproductive word to describe someone.) These thoughts led me to stumble upon a research article which showed a connection between aspartame and dementia. Aspartame is an artificial (chemical) sweetener that was developed to replace sugar. It has allowed various products to be labeled as “sugar free,” thereby making some people believe they are consuming a “healthier” product. This sweetener can be found in MANY food items, but it is very known for its use in diet coke. My father in law drank liters of diet coke DAILY, for YEARS. I am not exaggerating. When I shared this news with my mother in law, and my husband, their intrigue was piqued. This then prompted me to ask more questions about my father in law’s diet and lifestyle habits, which led me to another discovery. I stumbled upon another research article which found a connection between Lipitor and dementia. Lipitor is an extremely common statin that is prescribed for people with “high cholesterol.” (I will hold my tongue on the topic of cholesterol, as that is a topic for another day.) My father in law had been prescribed Lipitor by his doctors, and he had taken it for at least 5-6 years up until his diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia. Encouraged by my husband, I kept digging, and going down more rabbit holes in search of more answers. As I dug deeper, I found continued connections between artificial ingredients and dementia, as well as other various diseases that are very prevalent in our American culture. It is glaringly obvious to me now, but back then, I was completely blindsided as I started to realize: “There’s a lot of harmful ingredients in our food!!”

As I reflected on my father in law’s diet and lifestyle habits, I realized that he was unfortunately living in a way that was very much creating an inviting environment for diseases such as dementia, to develop and thrive. He was a brilliant electrical engineer, who worked extremely hard to provide for his wife and two boys. As is common with many people, he worked a stressful 9-5 job, which was accompanied with a stressful high traffic commute to and from work. His food and drink was mostly comprised of the standard American diet consisting of highly processed ingredients, preservatives, chemicals, pesticides, artificial colors, and various artificial sweeteners and synthetic flavor enhancers. Around his 40’s and beyond, he had stopped regularly exercising, and had become mostly sedentary. Prior to his diagnosis, his diet and lifestyle habits did not shock me because mine were very similar. However, AFTER his diagnosis, and AFTER discovering the connections between synthetic ingredients and dementia, it was more than just a lightbulb that went off in my head. I had all of the stadium lights of a football field go off in my head. In that moment, I realized that what we put into our body does matter. Our diet and lifestyle habits are either fighting disease, or fueling it. Ooof! That realization was a big slap in my face, as I realized that my diet and lifestyle habits at that time were absolutely fueling disease and illness.

My Healing Journey Did Not Happen Overnight

With my newfound knowledge and information that I mentioned in the section above, I went over to our pantry and refrigerator and purged every single item that contained synthetic ingredients. Every. Single. Item. My darling husband looked over at me, wide eyed, as almost our entire refrigerator and pantry were on the ground in the kitchen/dining room. At this time, his diet and lifestyle habits were almost identical to mine. Except his fast food intake was even greater than mine, and like his dad, he too drank liters of diet coke DAILY. My husband was experiencing dark depression, anxiety, frequent injury and sickness, lethargy, no motivation, and had difficulty sleeping. Additionally, he was prescribed Nexium for his barrett’s esophagus. He ate about 3-5 TUMS everyday to attempt to deal with his DAILY acid reflux. (Have you ever looked at the ingredient list of TUMS?? YIKES!! One of the TUMS varieties he was taking had aspartame as the sweetener.) He experienced restless leg syndrome daily, which worsened at nighttime, adding another layer of difficulty to sleep. I recall how he would have to shake his legs anytime we sat down to watch a movie, or when we laid down to sleep. I was not upset at him for needing to do this, but it did add another layer of difficulty to my own ability to fall asleep. (My father in law struggled with restless leg syndrome as well.) Because of the answers that I had been finding, my husband was willing to join me on my healing journey. Following the purge mentioned above, we barely had anything left in our fridge and pantry. Yes, we had THAT much food and drink with synthetic ingredients. Since we barely had any items left, it was time to go grocery shopping. I recall this being probably one of the longest grocery trips I had ever had, as I picked up each item I was planning to purchase and actually read through the ingredient list, for the first time ever. I was horrified at how difficult it was to find simple items, such as ketchup and mustard, without any synthetic ingredients. (This was around 2018, there are a LOT more companies now who are making much more pure products compared to 2018.) I remember sitting on the floor in the grocery aisle, becoming overwhelmed as I read more ingredient lists. This almost led me to despair, but instead, this thankfully led me to a powerful realization: If it was so challenging to find food and drink items without synthetic ingredients, then that meant I must make it myself, from scratch.

I started cooking more instead of relying on convenience foods, as that allowed me to be in control of the kind of ingredients I consumed. I was focusing on incorporating food and drink in its whole pure form, without any synthetic ingredients. I removed fast food from my diet. I removed all lab created food and drink from my diet. I focused on supporting companies that were growing their products without the use of chemicals, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers. I found farmers who were raising their animals in a humane way, truly pastured, instead of being confined in tiny quarters where disease is rampant. Additionally, I found farmers who were raising their animals without the use of growth hormones, no antibiotics, and without the use of conventional genetically modified feed. Permanently deleting Facebook solved my addiction to doom scrolling, as well as eliminated my need for validation from others through the number of “likes” I received.

When I started to make these changes in my diet and lifestyle habits, I gradually noticed a reduction in my symptoms. This process did not happen overnight. It took several years, but eventually, every single one of my symptoms was GONE. Absolutely gone! I was no longer experiencing depression or anxiety. I was able to fall asleep easily, and sleep through the night, averaging a comfortable 8-9 hours of sleep. I no longer dreaded the day, as I had hope, and no longer had dark thoughts to battle. I was able to lose the 20-25 pounds I had gained, and I had a renewed desire to exercise with my newfound energy. I was no longer bloated, and my digestion issues were no longer present. I even experienced an improvement in my self esteem. I was hardly getting sick anymore, and if I did get the occasional cold, my body recovered within just a matter of days, compared to the previous months it used to take. Additionally, I have experienced a significant reduction in musculoskeletal and neuromuscular injuries. On the rare occasion when they do occur, my healing time is now much quicker as my overall health is in a better place. It almost brings me to tears as I reflect on my healing journey. My healing journey required that I take personal responsibility for my health, thoughts, decisions, and actions. It required A LOT of mental fortitude, A LOT of commitment, and A LOT of hard work. But every single bit of it has been worth it, because I got my LIFE back!

It is with abundant joy and gratitude that I am also able to share that every single one of my husband’s symptoms is GONE. He no longer experiences dark depression or anxiety, and he now has a strong zest and passion for life. He no longer struggles with lethargy or lack of motivation. My husband no longer takes Nexium, and he cannot even remember the last time he took a TUMS antacid tablet. We haven’t had TUMS in our cabinet since 2020, and never will again. There are powerful natural ways to get to the root cause of acid reflux, and thankfully, my husband no longer experiences daily acid reflux, which had previously plagued him for 15 years of his life! Additionally, my darling husband no longer has restless leg syndrome, and is now having a much easier time falling asleep, and staying asleep. My husband also got his LIFE back!

I Choose to Flourish Naturally, Instead of Degrade Synthetically

I have experienced firsthand the detrimental effects that synthetic ingredients cause in our body. I witnessed the steady decline of my health, as I was degrading synthetically. It is with abundant gratitude that I am also able to say that I have experienced the powerful healing properties of natural medicine. I was able to reverse my decline through natural medicine such as: nontoxic food and drink, removing social media, incorporating herbs and mushrooms, exercising, spending intentional time in nature, investing time and love into my marriage, practicing gratitude, and spending daily time in prayer. It brings me abundant joy to be able to proclaim that I am now FLOURISHING. And it is completely through natural means. There was no need for synthetic pharmaceutical drugs, or other synthetic forms of medicine. I believe God created us to do more than “exist” or barely get through each day. He created us to flourish. And He has provided us with abundant tools of natural medicine, so that we can flourish naturally.

I’ve been in a dark valley of sickness, and now that I am on the other side of that, I would like to provide hope and guidance for people who want to experience restorative healing. The kind of healing that inspires you to dance out of bed because you’re so thankful for another day. That is my mission with Therapy Beta, my Wholistic Physical Therapy Practice, as well as with Dr. Snezhana’s Kitchen (launching in 2026).

You get ONE body. You get ONE life. Don’t wait for a life threatening injury or diagnosis to start prioritizing your health. The choice is yours.