Every year for the Boulder Valley, Biz West recognizes forty professionals under the age of 40 whom they consider to be emerging stars and leaders in the city of Boulder. These young, hardworking individuals are celebrated for their professional successes in the Boulder community. One of these forty people is Kelly Elle Larisey yoga studio owner, Paleo nutritionist and bacon-lover. Kelly is recognized for a range of professional and creative endeavors centering on holistic health; from being managing owner at Boulder’s popular yoga studio, The Little Yoga Studio to life coaching and Paleo coaching, Kelly’s passion and multitudes of work cultivate meaningful change in life, body and mind.

A practicing yogi of fourteen years, Kelly is one of the legacy teachers at The Little Yoga Studio, having been a part of it since it’s opening in 2011. She chose yoga while studying to get her masters in counseling; knowing how transformative the practice had been for her, she wanted to dive deeper into the philosophy of yoga as a tool to use with her counseling. After receiving her teacher training in Los Angeles, California and moving to Boulder, she began teaching and practicing at the Little Yoga Studio. Kelly’s involvement at The Little Yoga Studio changed from teacher to owner in 2012 when founder Amy Benton asked her to become her business partner. After working with Kelly for a little over a year Amy felt that she had the integrity, ambition, energy and talent to become an outstanding manager. Today Kelly owns and manages the studio and focuses on providing a safe and welcoming place for clients to walk in and each time delve deeper into their own personal practice.

Beyond the walls of the yoga studio, Kelly’s other transformative passion lies in her Paleo work. This has evolved from simply adopting the Paleo diet herself in 2013 to creating and operating her very own 30-Day Paleo Reset program—she is even the go-to Paleo expert for Alfalfas Market! As a lifelong emotional eater, Kelly was all too familiar with the struggle with weight, having tried virtually every kind of diet out there, none of which were sustainable or positively impacted her life and eating habits. Ready to make a change with her relationship to food, Kelly’s journey with Paleo began on April 1, 2013 when she did a clean eating challenge through CrossFit gym, CrossFit Sanitas which used the Paleo diet as their clean eating model. After just five days she could feel a huge difference in her body beyond just physical weight loss—her energy levels were up, her overall mood had improved drastically and her body just felt great! Thirty days later she had lost 15 lbs. and 8% of her body fat and most importantly finally found a healthy eating lifestyle that was sustainable.

The Paleo lifestyle became more than a personal life choice when she started noticing many of the clients she worked with could perhaps benefit from eating Paleo as well. She then put together a short 10 page PDF of what Paleo is and how to follow a 30-day program and ran them through a 30-day challenge. When she talked about this small program she had designed for her clients, many other people expressed interest in it as well. On February 3^rd, 2014 Kelly started her first formal 30-day Paleo Reset. Twenty-five people signed up for the program and she charged them $25 for her guidance and help through the process. Soon after her first reset ended, Kelly realized she wanted to turn it into a more structured program and take this project even further. She wanted credentials to back her up and became a certified nutritional therapist; she added onto the PDF, had a photo-shoot organized to include pictures in it, and had it printed and bound as a book for each reset member to have. She then began running groups of people through a 30-day reset and started involving many local, paleo-friendly businesses in the program to help them gain exposure as well. Restaurants and stores like Larkburger, Yellowbelly, Fresh Thymes, Zeal, Alfalfas Market and Holy Bites are all partners in Kelly’s 30-Day Paleo Reset.

Today Kelly’s 30-Day Paleo Reset costs each member $250 but includes a toolkit and book to follow as well as discounts and goodies with local partners in Boulder and a plethora of support: each reset member receives a one-on-one sixty minute coaching session on what the 30 days will entail before the reset begins. This session can be used however the client would like, whether its hiking Sanitas and just talking about Paleo, shopping for Paleo foods and products at the store or just going for coffee to discuss the reset. Kelly and her clients set goals as well as obstacles for the next 30 days and how to reach these goals and overcome anything that might hinder their progress. Kelly acts similar to a sponsor during this time, checking in via text message with clients three times a week, but she is also available to them for help and information as much as they need. Additionally, clients also receive a fifteen-minute coaching session per week—in person or over the phone—as well as a thirty-minute closing coaching session at the end of the reset to discuss where they will go from here and how their experience was.

Kelly’s Paleo guidance is not just confined to her reset program. As Alfalfas designated Paleo expert, Kelly frequently gives Paleo cooking demos at the organic and local grocery store. She has even gone through each of their products and marked over 150 items in Alfalfas with her Paleo stamp of approval!

More than just a yoga teacher and business owner, Kelly’s entrepreneurial skills allow her to help people be the best versions of themselves by making holistic and healthy changes through yoga and by utilizing her Paleo expertise to change their bodies through food. Her intention and goal of the work she does with her clients is to hold a safe space that allows the freedom for transformation and change. Her passion for such transformation and her own natural drive has pushed her to become the innovative business owner and creator she is today, bringing her to the forefront of Boulder’s young professional community.

More information on Kelly, her 30-Day Paleo Reset, yoga and life coaching are available on her website www.kellylarisey.com or email her kelly@kellylarisey.com.

Marika Dasbach