Chelsea Russell

Home
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 pride 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.

09/28/2025

Lately I’ve been sharing about muscle engagement, isometrics, and why sometimes it feels like you’re just going through the motions.

Here’s the thing: if your brain can’t find a muscle, it can’t use it. That’s where body mapping comes in.

Why your brain might not find a muscle:
– Past injury or pain → the brain protects the area by dialing down activation.
– Hypermobility or instability → the brain doesn’t fully trust the joint, so it avoids firing certain tissues.
– Compensation patterns → stronger muscles keep stepping in, so weaker ones stop getting called on.
– Lack of awareness → if you’ve never slowed down to feel a contraction, the map for that area just stays fuzzy.

When the map is fuzzy, the body reroutes. That means other tissues carry the load, which is how imbalances, tension, and even injuries build up over time.

Why body mapping matters:
It gives your brain a clearer picture.
– Muscles fire more evenly
– Stability comes before strength
– Movement feels safer and smoother

It’s not about making your body perfect. It’s about teaching your system to share the load so nothing gets left behind.

From kids learning to move, to adults with pain, to horses under saddle — awareness is always the first step.

Because you can’t build stability on something your brain doesn’t even recognize.

Have you ever noticed a muscle that just doesn’t ‘fire’ the way it should?

09/16/2025

Body mapping is something I wish I had learned as a child. It’s one of the most valuable tools I use in practice, and it’s something that can benefit almost everyone I see.

For people with hypermobility, the experience of living in your body can feel very different. Joints often move further than expected, stability doesn’t always show up when you need it, and the boundary between “safe” and “too far” isn’t always obvious. It can feel like your body writes its own rules — until you learn how to listen differently.

This is where body mapping comes in.
🌿 It helps you become aware of your body in space.
🌿 It teaches you your own boundaries and limitations — not someone else’s.
🌿 It shows you where strength, stability, or balance might be missing, and where you can build more support.

The majority of people I work with benefit from this, whether they have hypermobility or not. Because body mapping isn’t about being fragile — it’s about building accountability with yourself. It’s a way to check in with how your body is really functioning, to understand what’s helping you feel steady and what might be pulling you off course.

If I had known these tools earlier, I would have had such a different relationship with my own body — more awareness, more confidence, more trust in its signals. That’s why I bring it into my sessions now: because the earlier you learn this, the more empowered you are to make choices that support you, instead of chasing after “fixes.”

At the end of the day, body mapping is about self-awareness. And self-awareness is the foundation for stability, strength, and the kind of balance that lasts.

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.

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!

Address

600 Sherbourne Street, 6th Floor, Unit 606
Toronto, ON
M4X1W4

Website

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

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Chelsea Russell posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Chelsea Russell:

Shortcuts

Want your practice to be the top-listed Clinic in Toronto?