I live to move.

My love for movement began at an early age, encouraged by my movement-loving mother. I spent my adolescence studying jazz, ballet, tap and West African dance and knew that somehow movement would always be a part of my life. But it wasn’t until college that I discovered a love for the science of movement. As a dance major, my classes included Anatomy and Kinesiology - courses that developed my understanding of movement so much, they changed how I moved both in dance and in the world. When I graduated from Long Island University with my Bachelor of Arts in 2002, I was still searching for my place in the dance world. Was I a performer, a choreographer, a teacher?

I repeatedly found myself drawn to movement therapies including Laban/Bartenieff studies, the Feldenkrais Method, Alexander Technique, and the Franklin Method. Then, in 2004, while juggling teaching gigs and performing, it hit me... I’d be a physical therapist! But instead of working with soccer players or basketball players, I’d work with dancers! It was a brilliant idea! I soon discovered, it was someone else's idea... some twenty-odd years earlier, when I found the Analysis of Dance and Movement (ADAM) Center at my alma mater, Long Island University, and the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS). It was still a good idea, so in 2008, I became the third Dr. Glasper in my family, graduating with my Doctorate in Physical Therapy.

My work in dance medicine began as soon as my feet hit the NYC pavement. While volunteering at the ADAM Center, I helped therapists research the biomechanics of dance. At the Ailey School, I assisted therapists weekly in the clinic and with annual injury prevention screens. In my final clinical rotation, with Westside Dance Physical Therapy, I trained with seasoned dance medicine therapists and worked with both the School of American Ballet and the New York City Ballet. And somewhere along that amazing ride, I met the woman who'd change my life, Jennifer Green and PhysioArts Physical Therapy, the place I'd call home for the next ten years. 

As a freshman Physical Therapist, amongst some of the most talented therapists in the world, I commenced the education of a lifetime. Not only through my gifted colleagues and mentors but through my incredible Broadway community. 

While at PhysioArts, I began studying functional manual therapy with the Institute of Physical Art (IPA), a methodology that echoed familiar thoughts and theories from my earlier movement therapy studies. Eventually, I'd log more than 150 hours of continuing education in Functional Manual Therapy®.

Studying with the IPA not only informed my work with my patients, it guided me through my own journey of rehabilitation and pushed me to find my own body's potential. This exposure opened my mind to other forms of movement and exercise outside of dance, like yoga!

As a longtime student of Buddhism, yoga had always intrigued me. I started meditation practice while in college but never adapted to a consistent yoga practice. But in 2014, my body and soul suffered a traumatic personal loss and yoga was my salvation. My monthly practice became a daily practice and then suddenly, I found my breath again! And with that breath came a calm for my spirit. A few years later, I completed yoga teacher training with Now Yoga in New York City.

In 2015, I decided to expand my therapy skills into Women’s Health by joining the elite therapists at Beyond Basics Physical Therapy. Once again, I found myself working with pioneers in the field. For two years I immersed myself in Pelvic Health. I studied pelvic floor specific manual therapy techniques through the Hermann and Wallace Rehabilitation Institute, collaborated with specialists in all branches of medicine and truly gained a new appreciation for the human body and mind.

During my time at Beyond Basics, I offered myself as a guinea pig, of sorts, for a new fertility program. A year later, I was expecting and in May (2017), an incredible little soul, Isabel James, took her first breath in this world. If you want to be impressed by the human body, have a baby! You've just gotta keep breathing and moving. 

Through the years I've come back to that thought over and over - breathe and move. It's become my life's mantra. It has healed my head, heart and soul and seen me through both backache and heartache. So with that, I invite you to BREATHE + MOVE with me!