Meet the Team
We promise you to be present with you in every interaction you have here at TLC, to share our knowledge so it can become yours and give you the tools to stand on your own to live a life full of energy, vitality, and wellness. If you join us on this journey with your commitment and trust, you will likely experience improved relationships, health, performance, and happiness.
Dr. Soma Grotefend, MD
Wellness Physician
Chris Grotefend
Fitness Professional
Lauren Hoogs
Health Coach
"Hello. My name is Dr. Soma. I am an M.D. who believes that finding your own personal path to becoming and staying healthy should not be scary or complicated. I am here to help you discover your body's built-in abilities to heal itself. In cooperation with your personal physicians, I will simplify and individualize your journey back to health. Hearing and understanding your unique circumstance and helping you know what choices to make in your own life makes the process of becoming healthy a fun adventure. Learning what TO DO (instead of all of the things you are not supposed to do), becomes simple and possible.
As a child and young adult, the universe presented me with serious health issues that gave me personal experience in what helped and interfered with my body's ability to handle these challenges. Being a curious kid and loving to look into microscopes led me to an in-depth study of the tiny universe of bacteria and the huge impact these little earth cohabitors have on our lives.
After graduating with my degree in Microbiology, a very unique program in medical school taught me how to apply basic knowledge of human chemistry and anatomy to the seemingly funny way our behaviors can get us into trouble trying to solve problems faced in modern life. I have watched my own body healing and witnessed many others heal when simple foundation principles of nourishment, movement, and focus are applied. I look forward to helping you find and build your own unique path to health and resilience."
I am your wellness physician (think MD who's interested in getting you healthy). You will see me when you participate in our foundation program and membership programs. I will be overseeing those with complex medical conditions to ensure safety and effectiveness. I will also meet with green and yellow members on a one-on-one basis.
You will also learn meditation from me.
- Family Physician for 20+ years
- Board Certified in Family Medicine
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine
- Teachers in the Ishayas' tradition 6-month mastery course in Spain
"I'm a lucky guy. I decided that I love fitness, wellness and health promotion more than 30 years ago and have been fortunate to live and teach what I absolutely love most this entire time. I've gotten to play with refining and redefining the essentials of what I consider healthy living both in my own life and with my clients over the years. Balance including all aspects of fulfilling life experience has led Soma and me to tease out what we feel are the essentials-namely food, focus, and fitness. We have further refined these essentials so that busy people can address them all and still have a life. Our society today is increasingly busy and filled with limitless information so it is progressively essential that we make this learning process both easy for you and logical to you. Unfortunately, we've discovered there isn't a magic pill. If you recognize these essentials to be realistic and applying them, it could be the key to successful life enhancement. These new habits of healthier living will be simple and will provide you with what you want."
I'm all things fitness. I'll be helping you develop a fitness foundation in our foundation program. I will conduct small group training sessions as well as personal training sessions for our green and yellow members.
You will also learn all about meditation from me as well.
- Personal training since 1986
- National Academy of Sports Medicine Certification
- Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science- Northern Arizona University 1992
- Teachers in the Ishayas' tradition 6-month mastery course in Spain & 15 years of ascending
"Starting in high school, I started having confusing symptoms that only continued to worsen through college and recently came to a breaking point in the last year. I've been told numerous different thoughts about what could be causing my problems, but what was happening in my body was never explained so I could understand what was happening or helped in finding solutions that I could do for myself to help my conditions. Being so young, I felt that I had an opportunity to improve my health before it got worse but I've had to navigate largely on my own. Once making some lifestyle changes out of desperation, I experienced drastic improvements in my symptoms. This encouraged me to dive deeper into the topic and eventually guided me to pursue my Integrative Health Coach Certification with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition to become the person I wish I had through this confusing time. Support, education, and facilitation are how I can help people accomplish their own health goals in a way that doesn't seem so hard and isolated. By breaking down goals into manageable steps, I help participants see that changing their habits can be lasting. Being able to help build TLC is a dream come true-blending my skill sets and passion into one!
I'm passionate about the Total Life Concept approach to wellness because I've experienced the changes in my own conditions by changing my diet, honing in on my stress levels, making lifestyle changes and uncovering the root of my dis-ease. After cutting out gluten and dairy for over a month, I saw all my IBS symptoms subside and my joint pain which I'd had for 5 years also lessened to nearly nothing. I'm always working with my ever changing body and thanks to meditation, I now see my symptoms as a message from my body to make changes. And so I listen! TLC is truly about figuring out what works for YOUR body. Get ready to know yourself in a whole new way."
I will be hosting your orientation sessions, coaching calls, and fielding any questions you may have.
My job is to help you make the small steps that will create big changes. I'm here to help you apply what you learn at TLC to your daily life and hold you accountable to doing it. That may mean sharing tips, doing follow-ups to see how your appointments have gone, facilitating a deeper understanding of your life and how it's impacting your health goals and offering resources.
I'm the main point of contact for all things TLC.
- Integrative Nutrition Health Coach certified-Institute of Integrative Nutrition 2019
- Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and a Customer-Focused Selling certification-Colorado State University 2016