Root & Branch Bodywork
Root & Branch Bodywork is a studio for therapeutic massage and bodywork, skilled personal training, and group movement classes in Mt. Airy, Philadelphia.
Our studio is queer and trans affirming, neurodiversity friendly, and embodies Health at Every Size.
04/29/2026
✨Class Updates!✨
Starting in May, and will be taking over the Tuesday and Thursday evening handstand classes at Root & Branch! 🤸♀️
Tuesday classes with Elliott will continue to be offered at 6pm, and the Thursday classes with Kaeti will return to the 5pm slot. Both classes will continue to be 90-minutes long — y’all aren’t messing around!
We’re going to miss working with , and are excited to hear about his upcoming adventures across the pond (and here in Philly)! You’ll have one more chance to catch his class on Thursday 4/30. 🫶
04/29/2026
Class update! 🚨
Starting next week, our dear friend Elliott Gittelsohn will be teaching handstands at Root & Branch on Tuesdays at 6pm. He is also available for private and semi-private lessons upon request.
Elliott Gittelsohn has been working in circus and movement since age 12, training at Circus Smirkus Academy, The Clown Conservatory, and with Mongolian contortionist Serchmaa Byamba. He has performed with companies including Capacitor, Celebrity Cruises, Sister Magic Productions, MOTH Poetic Circus, Vau de Vire Society, and Kinetic Arts Production.
Elliott coaches contortion, flexibility, and hand balancing, and has directed and taught at programs including Circadium, Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, Kinetic Arts Center, San Francisco Circus Center, Hampshire College, and Circo Caribe. He holds a degree in Performing Arts from the LEAP Program, where he researched psychological stress and recovery in circus training and performance, and is the co-founder of 2nd Hand Circus.
04/10/2026
Join Jen Kranjec at Root & Branch Bodywork for a 2-session pop-up series!
“If there’s something the world needs more now than ever, it’s balance... a call to a healthier relationship with rest, self care, and our bodies.
And, at the same time, we are each called to develop our strength and resilience... our confidence to stand in our own two shoes and offer ourselves boldly, wholeheartedly to the moment.
As someone who has worked in different facets of the fitness industry for over 12 years, I can say that this balance is hard to find... We either push ourselves endlessly towards burnout, or miss the opportunity for meaningful effort altogether.
Yin Strength centers around a practice of embodied strength training to deepen physical and emotional resilience with an underpinning of self care.
This class brings together a lifetime of professional and personal experience from my early studies in Exercise Science to my most recent training as a mindfulness meditation teacher.
I can’t wait to have you there...”
03/28/2026
Drop into your body this weekend with a mindful movement session!
Class space is limited — sign up online or reach out to directly to secure your spot in class. 🌿
03/26/2026
Did you know that spaces that remind us of our connection to nature are associated with better health outcomes (physically and mentally)?
I was recently introduced to the principles of ✨biophilic design✨ by (a clinician turned designer, and a wealth of knowledge on this topic!). It was so exciting and affirming to finally name a concept I have been orbiting since opening Root & Branch — the evidence and methodology behind what we intuitively feel when we are immersed in the sounds, smells, textures, and visuals of the natural world.
I never really resonated with the sterile clinical spaces in which I honed my sports medicine and rehab skills, and couldn’t relate to many of the aesthetic guidelines for spas and wellness studios to “feel expensive” or luxurious. A mindful walk in the woods doesn’t feel expensive; it feels timeless…it feels like coming home. 🌿
01/17/2026
Meet the Root & Branch Bodywork treatment team! 👋
So, I subluxed my shoulder while training some fun trapeze on Saturday. Bummer, but also a very familiar injury for me (and many of my clients!) as a hypermobile human. Thankfully, it’s already almost back to baseline, thanks to my PT exercises and some modifications to my movement practice (yay for the inversion table!).
And…it also wasn’t a huge deal, which feels a little strange to write as a former circus artist who, a decade ago, would have been panicking, making appointments with every sports medicine practitioner in my network, and wondering if this was the end of my training FOREVER. ☠️
When you don’t have the tools and education you need to calmly and strategically move through injuries, every little setback can be incredibly anxiety-inducing…and, unfortunately, we don’t tend to have the best decision-making skills when we’re in a state of panicked reactivity.
I think the concept of “injury prevention” can be pretty misleading. It would certainly be nice if just diligently doing our prehab training and maintaining a balanced lifestyle was the key to bulletproofing our mortal meat suits, but that just isn’t possible!
That said, it is absolutely possible to build up a “resilience toolbox” to improve how we recover from injuries, how we modify our training to prevent deconditioning, and (perhaps most importantly!) how we maintain a growth mindset through it all. Minor injuries are an inevitability, but they don’t need to derail our lives. 🌿
12/14/2025
We are delighted to introduce the newest addition to our bodywork, Liz Faure! 🌿
Liz is a licensed Massage Therapist and professional musician who blends mechanical skill and
physiological knowledge with deep empathy to provide restorative, nonjudgmental and trauma-informed care. She draws on years of experience as a Broadway pit musician to listen, attune, and hold space for healing. Liz strives to support creatives of all kinds to stay pain-free, embodied, and inspired.
While enduring a rigorous touring schedule, Liz was fortunate enough to discover the benefits of massage, working to heal chronic overuse injuries and regulate an overstimulated nervous system. She also believes deeply in the psychological benefits of massage and hopes to bring her work to touch-starved populations.
Liz loves the outdoors and playing music with her friends. She continues to gig in and around the Northeast on the pedal steel and the guitar.
Liz is available for sessions on Mondays from 2-7pm, Wednesdays from 1:30-5:30pm, and select Saturday afternoons.
Now through the end of the month, try a session with Liz at our 20% off member rate by using the code HEYLIZ at checkout! 🌿
12/13/2025
Soft tissue work is also nervous system work, and sometimes the most gentle techniques yield the most profound results.
Calm it down, then build it up! 🌿
10/29/2025
In this post, we discuss how strength and stability training can decrease and mitigate symptoms associated joint hypermobility and connective tissue disorders…and share a few tips for getting started! 🌿
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6618 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA
19119
