Meet the Instructors
Meet Jess, Owner
Jess is an avid runner and full time mother of four, free spirited children. Her goal on a daily basis is to simply feel good, be energetic, and be happy. To reach this goal is even more simple: be careful of what you put into your body, get plenty of fresh air, exercise daily, be loving towards others, and enjoy a good craft beer! From track and cross country, to volleyball, basketball, and diving into any and all forms of physical fitness, Jess discovered a love for yoga, and felt inspired to teach others the practice that has benefited her life both physically and mentally. She has a bachelors degree in Sociology and Human Services from Black Hills State University, and is a RYT 200 (Registered Yoga Teacher) from the Colorado School of Yoga where she studied under the founder, Gina Caputo, who put her heart and soul into her schooling and taught her students the priceless knowledge of what yoga really means and how to practice it both on, and off the mat. Jess is CPR and AED certified, and has completed continued education courses in both Yin and Chair yoga. Come to class to breathe, laugh, and evolve both physically and mentally.
"At the end of the day people wont remember what you said, they wont remember what you did, but they will remember how you made them feel"
~Maya Angelou
Meet Dr. Devon, Owner
Dr. Devon's skills range from being an elite, division 1 athlete to a chiropractic physician. Her philosophy of health centers on lifestyle. Nurturing and cleansing the body with physical activity, quality food, and positive energy is the meaning of true health. Since she began her collegiate career, she has always dreamed of creating a gym that would appeal to all walks of life and fitness levels and a workout that would positively shape and change your entire day. Through her experiences and educational background, she and Jess have perfected the idea of “The Hot Room”. Her life mission, with chiropractic care and exercise, is to educate and lead her community to their optimum level of health. Dr. Devon has a bachelors degree in exercise science from North Dakota State University, where she was a 4 year student-athlete for the track and field team, specializing in the 100 and 400 meter hurdles. She is currently a practicing chiropractor and acupuncturist at Nelson Chiropractic. Dr. Devon is a certified group fitness instructor and will be leading students through strength and conditioning classes.
Meet Olivia, Yoga Teacher
Olivia and her husband, Jared moved to The Black Hills in the Summer of 2016 after working in the area during Sturgis Rally since 2005. Growing up in San Diego, CA introduced her to fitness at an early age playing competitive Club Soccer, training horses, and competing in tennis tournaments as a teenager, but the sports never showed her the true meaning of discipline and mind control.
“I first fell in love with yoga after I received a free week trial at a local studio. I had just recently sprained my ankle and was hoping that a few classes would at least help bring back some mobility. After only three classes, I was blown away by the drastic improvements I experienced, not only in my ankle, but my overall leg flexibility and mental calmness. I’ve been hooked ever since", says Olivia.
After recovering from her injury and practicing yoga daily for several years, she kept the momentum going by getting certified through Core Power as a Yoga Sculpt Trainer in 2013. Immersing herself in the intensive training lead to her passion in introducing as many people as she could to the wonders of yoga.
Her yoga classes are based off a Vinyasa Flow and focused on perfecting each yoga pose all while keeping a connection between the mind, breath and body.
Meet Kelsie, Barre Instructor
Kelsie is a mother of three children and a local business owner and actively involved in giving back to the community. She has a strong passion for health and wellness and has earned three degrees in natural health; a Natural Health Consultant, Master Herbalist and Holistic Health Professional. Kelsie enjoys the outdoors and whatever physical form of exercise it may be: wake surfing, hiking, chasing the kids outside or biking. She believes that having an active lifestyle is so important to not only our physical health, but our mental as well. She loves a great strength training workout as well as a great hot yoga session. She believes in ultimate health with eating whole foods, exercising our bodies and mind, and drinking plenty of clean water. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Black Hills State University in 2007 in Management and Entrepreneurial Studies, then went on to earn her Master’s degree in 2008 from Black Hills State University in Business Services Management. Kelsie is also Barre Forte Certified. She hopes you come to the class for a great burn, to enjoy great music and forget about the stress of our daily lives.
Meet Taynger, Certified Personal Trainer
Taynger, rhyming with DANGER, is persuing her dream of becoming Miss South Dakota USA. She has competed for Miss SD Teen USA for two years, earning 4th runner up in state. She competed for one year for the Miss division and placed in the top 10. Taynger competes in three areas of competition: interview, swimwear, and evening gown. Through this journey, Taynger fell in love with the healthy lifestyle changes she was making and the transitions she was seeing. This has inspired her to help others! She is a personal trainer certified through NASM and enjoys creating HIIT (high intensity interval training) workouts and experiencing any new exercises and workouts. Taynger would describe herself as spunky and fun and loves to laugh, dream, and get things done!!
Meet Melissa, Yoga Teacher
Melissa is a RYT through Yoga Alliance. She received her training in Florida which included Hatha, Vinyasa, Yin, and a focus on traditional Ashtanga. Melissa’s passion for Ashtanga stems from its sequential practice, meditative focus, total body strength, beginner to advanced series, and universal commonality through the Sanksrit counting method.
Melissa has been practicing yoga for twelve years, but found love for yoga when trying to balance full-time work, two children full of energy and light, and time for a healthy body and mind. Her focus for teaching with her yoga business, Sage Yoga, and in coordination with the Hot Room, will be balanced living and healthy families through the practice of Ashtanga
Meet Kathy, Fitness Instructor
Kathy Citrowske moved to Spearfish, SD in 2014 from Southwest, MN. She has been married to her highschool sweetheart, Glen, for 18 years and they have five very active children together. For as long as she can remember, Kathy has had a passion for health and fitness. She has taught group fitness classes off and on for years and her main priority is to help others reach their fitness goals and help them feel their best. She loves all forms of exercise! Weight lifting, running, HITT workouts, power walking, and hiking! Her family takes full advantage of the beautiful summers in the Black Hills by getting the boat out and taking their turns wake surfing.
Kathy is going to be teaching Heated HITT on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 7-8am. Think cardio, plyometrics, squats, lunges, and abs. 30 min of cardio followed by 25 min of floor toning- planks, leg lifts, hip thrusts, butt burners, and core. This is a full body workout and toning!
Meet Jared, Wellness Coach
Jared Chrisman's journey to starting Primal Roots Wellness Coaching has been full of life experiences that lend themselves invaluable when coaching his clients.
As a child, Jared was considerably overweight and out of shape. In High School, he was recruited onto the football team for his size and height. Later, he was awarded a college football scholarship all while eating the unfavorable, Standard American Diet (SAD) and tipping the scales at over 300 lbs.
After the rigorous exercise from college was over, his days of overeating processed meals and sugary sports drinks finally caught up to him. He noticed muscle quickly being replaced with fat, depleted energy, and a decline in his overall health.
Desperate to improve, Jared tried to recreate the strenuous college exercises by competing in triathlons and marathons, but never got below 285 lbs. He also turned to misinformed diet trends like the vegan diet, low-fat diet, juice cleanses, calorie restricted diets, and others, but saw no results and even gained weight!
Finally, he found research on the Primal Blueprint and began dropping weight rapidly. Gone were the days of counting calories and spending excessive time at the gym.
Jared now has the freedom to eat amazing food, enjoy shortened exercises, and spend time outdoors and has lost over 100 lbs. in the process.
Eager to inspire individuals who share a similar story, Jared brings a whole new level of passion to coaching.