Chelsea Russell

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Canada
Toronto, ON
Chelsea Russell

Manual Osteopathy | RMT | Animal Osteopathy Student

Specializing in complex care: nervous system, cranial, gut, fascia. Hi there!

Systems-base, and rooted in structure—because everything is connected. Toronto + surrounding areas | In-clinic & mobile sessions I'm Chelsea, a Toronto-based Manual Osteopathic Practitioner and a Registered Massage Therapist. In the earlier years of my life, I learned the value of health, feeling comfortable in my body, and what it may take to help others find the same. From then onward, I have pr

ide in the caregiving role I have chosen, helping everyone optimize their physical health so they can live more comfortably. Since 2015, I have helped people live more comfortably in their bodies with complaints ranging from anxiety to catastrophic injuries to chronic diseases, illnesses, chronic stress, and chronic pain. I appreciate the importance of health from a personal and professional standpoint. The field of Registered Massage therapy and Manual Osteopathy allows me to connect people back to their bodies. This will enable them to understand how to work with it, not against it and enjoy it, not fear it.

Care that is individualized, relatable, integrated, and inclusive for all. My goal is to provide my patients with lifelong tools for their "toolbox" through appropriate assessment, treatment, education, relatable home care, and appropriate referrals.

My philosophy for maintaining long-term comfort is to use actionable methods and identify realistic and relatable goals.

07/25/2025

Save this.
Because stiffness is common. But it’s not random.

06/28/2025

Primary Progressive MS. No warning. No reset button.

By eight, I watched her steady herself with her nurse Mary at her side, on the back-deck railing, smiling wide while my brother and I played. That was the last time I ever saw her stand. The image is burned in, life with wheelchairs, nurses, and a house redesigned for ramps and lifts.

We didn’t just live with illness.
We lived with other people’s discomfort:
• Kids on the bus mocking the she and her wheelchair.
• Neighbours pointing, laughing, and saying hurtful things
• Doctors saying, “There’s nothing more to do.”
• Well-meaning strangers talking to me instead of her—like she’d disappeared.

I saw it all. I felt it all. And it shaped everything about the way I work now.

When I assess an animal with chronic tension or a person whose pain won’t let up, I’m hearing echoes of those years:
• Structure affects function—no symptom lives in isolation.
• Compassion is treatment—bedside manner isn’t fluff; it’s regulation.
• Complexity matters—the body’s story is never just one chapter.

So if you’ve wondered why I dig deeper than a diagnosis, why I explain the why behind every touch, why I refuse to write anyone off as “too complicated”—it’s because dismissal was the loudest pain I grew up with.

This post isn’t advice. It’s context.

Every session, every ligament check, every gentle pause to let a nervous system settle—she’s in it.
Always.

If you’ve ever felt unseen or unheard, I built my practice for you.
For my mom.
For the girl on that school bus.
For anyone who needs a different kind of care.

Because the body whispers before it screams—
and I’m here to listen.

She loved country music. Especially Garth Brooks.

— Chelsea

06/12/2025

The reality for many of us unfortunately.

06/11/2025

Something that’s become clearer and clearer to me — especially through the kinds of patients I’ve been fortunate to work with:

This practice wasn’t built from trying to create a “method.”
It was shaped — and continues to be shaped — by seeing what actually helps the people who land here.

And what I’ve seen again and again is this:

→ Many of the patients who end up here are carrying layers of complexity that haven’t been fully addressed elsewhere.
→ Some have been told there’s “nothing wrong” — but they know their body isn’t functioning the way it should.
→ Others have been through countless treatments — but their deeper structural patterns were never truly supported.
→ Many are living with compensation and instability they didn’t know could be addressed — and seeing how much can change when it is.

This is why I continue to approach care the way I do — and why I will always keep learning.
Because this lens keeps helping the kinds of patients who trust me with their care.

And when you meet others who share that same passion for helping people — like Brad, who I’m grateful to learn from and work alongside — it’s a powerful reminder of why this work matters.

For me it’s not about doing more. It’s about doing what matters most for the ones who need it. And I’ll keep building my practice on that.

06/07/2025

Trigger warning: loss

I don’t often share much about where this all started — but this photo brought a lot of it back for me.

My dad experienced loss early in life — losing his dad and siblings when he was young.
Later, through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, he had an older “brother” who introduced him to horses.

Despite having allergies, the peace he felt at the barn outweighed the symptoms — something I think about often.

When we moved from the city to the countryside, building a wheelchair-accessible home for my mom, I remember feeling like we could finally breathe again.

My dad brought me to a nearby farm — and that’s where my own path with horses began.

Straight to the saddle — no groundwork lessons first — on horses ridden many times a day, under tack that didn’t fit. I started in dressage. Looking back now, it’s hard to see the discomfort in the horses’ faces — and to remember my own, even as I felt the deep peace that kept pulling me back.

I’ve always imagined working with animals.
But for a long time, I worried I wouldn’t have the tools to truly support what they needed.
That’s shaped so much of why I do what I do today.

Later, I was asked to leave that first farm — a blessing in disguise, as it helped me recognize just how much anxiety that space had created.
From there, one barn to the next, I kept learning. And all of it — every lesson — brought me here.

This photo is from one of my first show seasons.
A reminder of where things began — and why this work means so much to me.

04/09/2024

Exciting News!! Join Ally Caldarola Art Under Saddle - Training, Lessons, Corrections, Horsemanship, Natasha Wakefield, RP, Matatoa Counselling and myself Chelsea Russell, RMT, DOMP, for transformative full-day workshop. Hosted at 13 Shillings Equestrian Center, where we'll introduce new concepts and practices to help you discover new perspectives and possibilities. We're eager to embark on this journey with you!

Experience a day of rejuvenation at our one-day retreat, designed to start your season with emotional and physical balance and, harmony. Discover techniques for self-regulation and enhancing connections. Whether you attend alone or with your support network, this retreat will prepare you for a lifelong toolbox of vitality and harmony.

The cost is $250.00, which includes tax, lunch, and refreshments (coffee, tea, and water) throughout the day.

Interested in a discount? Bring a friend, and both of you will receive a $25 discount. If you bring four friends, they each receive $25 off, and you get a $100 discount off your price!

Visit https://chelsearussellrmt.janeapp.com/locations/13-shillings-equestrian-center/book /6/treatment/33 to register now or email stableyouretreat@gmail.com for more details!

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Toronto, ON

Website

https://chelsearussellrmt.janeapp.com/, http://www.healwithchelsea.com/

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