Introducing Corey Kelly --"Anatomical Engineer" extraordinaire -- from Tribalance

Corey Kelly had spent years as a personal trainer, bodybuilder and martial artist. In 2005, he took his first yoga class at a friend's urging, but five minutes in, wondered when it would end. He glanced repeatedly at the clock as the moments crawled by, relieved when it finally hit the 50-minute mark.

"Now that we're warmed up," the instructor announced, "the real yoga begins."

Corey realized it wasn't an hour-long class. He took a deep breath and surrendered to the yoga. In that moment of clarity, of becoming fully present, his past experiences and future path crystallized. He didn't look at the clock again. Rising to an empty room after a long savasana, Corey knew he was going to teach and open a studio.

In 2006, Corey met the advanced instructor Shiva Kumar Madayya, who began practicing yoga in his hometown of Mysore, India at the tender age of six. Corey and Shiva became friends, and eventually Shiva moved to Chicago, where he lived with Corey for about a year. For both, the experience was like a year-long yogic immersion. Through Corey’s yoga and tai chi practice, he overcame his early-life battle with depression and substance abuse.

In 2007, Corey founded TriBalance Yoga Center in Schaumburg, a suburb of Chicago. In November 2011, TriBalance relocated to a 13,000-square foot green facility, one of the largest of its kind in the midwest. The lifestyle center features four studios and expanded services, including chiropractic care, nutrition, acupuncture, personal training, physical therapy, several styles of yoga and a rigorous instructor training program. Corey considers it a community lifestyle center built by the community for the community.

In addition to teaching yoga, Corey does clinical-based therapeutic work, combining elements of nutrition, Ayurveda, traditional yoga therapy, Thai bodywork, massage and various forms of energy work. He has extensive experience with spinal cord and intense sports injuries. Corey has traveled to India to pursue his studies, which he continues on an ongoing basis.

Corey notes that his style draws many different people, and he works with a high percentage of men and athletes. He has enjoyed bringing yoga to several memorable settings, such as the outfield at Wrigley Field, teaching over a thousand people at the Chicago Yoga Rave Benefit, and teaching inmates at Cook County's prison.

“I teach around 900 classes per year and I still can't explain how the 'real yoga' I heard about in that first class works. It's powerful and amazing. Yoga is a union, not only of body and mind but teacher and community. It is together that we are the strongest, and together we can change this world"