Peter Coppola
LICENSED PHYSICAL THERAPIST (PT)
BARRAL INSTITUTE DIPLOMATE (BI-D)
BI VISCERAL + NEURAL MANIPULATION + DISSECTION INSTRUCTOR
REGISTERED YOGA TEACHER
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by how things work from a mechanical and functional perspective. Some of my earliest memories involve taking things apart so I could see the inner workings, and trying to figure out how to put them back together. As an athlete growing up, I started looking at physical fitness and health through a similar lens — which is in part what led me to pursue a career as a Physical Therapist.
I began my professional career in the Public Education sector in New York followed by Arizona, providing PT to developmentally delayed and disabled children and adults. Additional work in Skilled Nursing Facilities, Home Care, and Hospital Rehabilitation units that served Post Surgical and Traumatic Brain Injury clients allowed me to gain invaluable “hands on” experience with a wide variety of patients.
Early in my post-graduate training in different types of manual therapy, I realized the value and power of Osteopathic approaches and manual techniques toward helping my clients achieve goals previously not attainable. This sparked my drive to keep studying and improve my manual skills.
I started my private practice as my passion for this specialized work grew, which has allowed me to seek more opportunities to develop as a therapist and deliver a synthesis of osteopathic manual therapy and traditional physical therapy techniques that meet a wider variety of client needs.
My wife Sarah and I are co-owners of Let the Good In, of which Coppola Manual Therapy is an extension — built on the philosophy of a “whole body approach” to therapy. My manual therapy style targets the body’s natural self-corrective mechanisms, and encourages my clients to take an active role in supporting their general well being.
Sports have also always been a large part of my life — competing in swimming, baseball, and volleyball since an early age. I achieved All American status as a swimmer and have worked with all levels of coaching swimming and stroke mechanics. I have successfully helped athletes in triathlons, volleyball, baseball, golf, running, climbing and more not only return to their sport but improve their efficiency and technique in order to perform at a higher level than before an injury.
Sarah and I are also registered Yoga teachers, and I’ve found Yoga to be an important complement to my clients’ wellness programs. She also specializes in nutrition, which plays a critical role in everyone’s health.
In addition to my private practice, since 2009 I have been an instructor for the Barral Institute — now teaching four levels of the Visceral Manipulation curriculum in addition to Dissection, as well as two levels of Neural Manipulation. I have enjoyed traveling to and working with students not only in North America, but in countries throughout Europe and South America as well as New Zealand and South Korea.