The Body of My Work
I’m Rev. Kelly Isola, founder of The Story in Our Bones. I’m a certified Trauma-Informed Weight Lifting Coach, Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapist, and NASM Certified Movement Facilitator.
I believe our stories live in our bones—carried through generations, stored in the body, and ready to be remembered with compassion and strength. My work bridges somatic trauma science with and healing-centered liberation and embodied spiritual practice
This is not traditional fitness. It’s the integration of body, mind, and soul—where strength becomes story, movement becomes medicine, and every breath becomes an act of healing.
At The Story in Our Bones, I weave together these truths: science validates what trauma survivors know in their bones, and spirit reminds us we are already whole.
The Teachers in My Bones
Embodied Lineages: Where Science Meets Spirit
For more then 15 years these teachers and researchers have not only shaped how I understand healing through the body — they’ve mentored, trained, certified and encouraged me along the way.
Their teachings live in my bones.
Through their guidance, I’ve deepened my mastery in somatic healing, trauma integration, and nervous system regulation. Together, they bridge science and spirit — reminding us what the body has always known: Safety. Strength. Belonging. Restored through movement, awareness, and connection.
Science explains how trauma lives in the body.
Spirit reminds us we are not broken, only becoming.
My work brings the two back together.
Cultural, Intergenerational Trauma + Liberation
- Nkem Ndefo — resilience as capacity-building and body sovereignty
- Dr. Sará King — liberation neuroscience and healing-centered belonging
- Resmaa Menakem — racialized and intergenerational trauma held in the body
- Thomas Hübl — collective trauma and embodied repair
Somatic Trauma Healing
- Peter Levine — nervous system regulation through embodied awareness
- Pat Ogden — integrating body and mind through movement and mindfulness
- Babette Rothschild — understanding and restoring safety in the body
- Staci K. Haines — somatics for personal and collective transformation
Trauma + Nervous System Research
- Bessel van der Kolk — trauma lives in the body and can be healed through movement, breath, and connection
- Stephen Porges — polyvagal theory and the science of safety as the foundation for healing
- Dan Siegel — interpersonal neurobiology and the integration of mind, brain, and relationships
- Deb Dana — translating polyvagal theory into everyday tools for regulation and resilience
Movement + Mind Integration
- Arielle Schwartz — polyvagal-informed somatic practice and embodied compassion
- Manuela Mischke-Reeds — embodied storytelling and somatic inquiry for transformation
- Jon Kabat-Zinn — mindfulness and somatic awareness as medicine, safety through presence
- Gabor Maté — understanding trauma through the body’s wisdom and symptom expression
