Kinesiologist
Vanessa Paragas
READ MORE ABOUT VANESSA
It was almost by chance that Vanessa found the existence of the kinesiology program which seemed to be the perfect blend between her interest in science, her love for movement, and desire to empower through education. She started working as a personal trainer throughout her studies and graduated from McGill University in 2012. Shortly after graduation, she obtained her kinesiology license as a member of the Fédération des Kinésiologues du Québec.
Over the last twelve years, Vanessa has worked in many different environments ranging from the university setting, to gyms big and small, in person and virtually. While the majority of her interventions are one-on-one, Vanessa has also taught classes, small-group trainings, and workshops. No matter if they are senior citizens new to exercise, trained athletes conditioning for sport, or new moms who are unsure about how to kickstart their fitness journeys, Vanessa is comfortable working with clients with different needs. Her broad experience allows her to feel comfortable in adapting her interventions to whoever is in front of her and with the equipment that is available.
Vanessa’s natural curiosity and desire to solve complex challenges has driven her to acquire further knowledge in many departments that impact physical activity behavior. It is through maintaining a beginner’s mind, being aware of her blindspots and seeking to learn more that she believes that she can be best informed to provide her patients the care they need. Her continuing education journey includes training in injury prevention, rehabilitation and performance, perinatal exercise prescription (prenatal & postpartum), mental health (motivational interviewing, body image, stress management, depression, anxiety, and trauma). In 2021, she completed her Frederick Stretch Therapy Level 1 certification with Stretch to Win Institute.
While exercise is often linked with the pressure to use exercise to change one’s body, Vanessa seeks to use her knowledge to help her clients understand how amazing the human body is, how much it does for us, and to use movement as a powerful tool to help connect us to it, respect it and celebrate it. Over the last years, Vanessa has participated in projects aimed to help people reclaim themselves from the pressure of diet-culture including contributing to an online course and building a module on intuitive movement, collaborated/has been cited in a book on fatphobia (Au-dela de la grossophobie - Redéfinir son bien-être et habiter son corps by Julia Lévy-Ndejuru and Marilou Morin-Laferrière), and in summer of 2023 she has had the opportunity to participate in Quebec’s first province-wide awareness campaign against fatphobia (La grossophobie, ça suffit!).
