Meet Joanna Annie Tsotas, the Heart Behind Root to Rise

I think a lot of us spend years surviving environments that teach us to shrink instead of expand. To quiet ourselves. To filter ourselves out. To fit into watered-down versions of who we are so others feel more comfortable in our presence.

Then, sometimes, grief visits. And decides to overstay its welcome. One loss after another. Like losing baby teeth. Pieces of yourself. Pieces and people you desperately thought you needed.

And grief has a strange way of shaking you awake. Sometimes loss cracks something open in you. Sometimes rock bottom becomes the place where something inside of you quietly whispers:

I can’t keep living like this.

But I want to say this gently:

You do not have to wait for pain, to choose yourself. You do not have to lose something to begin living. But I understand that sometimes it is the suffocating weight of pain that finally makes you reach for something that helps you breathe again.

For me, it began with running. Not because it fixed everything, but because, for the first time in a long time, I felt like I could breathe.

I became confident in my capacity to survive.

I remembered what it felt like to feel alive. And grief began to look different to me. Like love that simply needed somewhere else to go.

I started remembering this:

The root of grief is love.

And every new encounter with love in my life, through community, friendships, movement, purpose, joy, began to mirror the losses I had survived.

Not replacing them.

But reminding me that love never really leaves.

It changes shape.

And that, more than anything, is why Root to Rise was created.

To help people find freedom inside the griefs of life. To loosen their attachment to heaviness. To reconnect to the love beneath it all. To live through hope. Through meaning. Through movement. Not to “fix” people. But to help people reconnect to themselves. To feel supported. To build confidence through action, effort, authenticity, and self-trust.

Because you were never meant to do this alone.

A lot of people think coaching is about:

• strict plans
• perfect routines
• pushing harder
• holding people accountable

And while structure matters, that’s not where I start.
Because most people don’t struggle from lack of information.
They struggle with inconsistency, overwhelm, and disconnection from themselves.
So what I focus on is different.

I Focus on Building Self-Trust First

Before anything else, we work on this:
Can you rely on yourself?

Not in a perfect way.
Not in an all-or-nothing way.
But in a consistent, honest way.

Because without self-trust:

• no plan sticks
• no habit lasts
• no progress feels stable

So we start small.
We build follow-through.
We close the gap between what you say and what you do.
That’s the foundation.

I Focus on Nervous System Safety, Not Just Discipline

Most people try to change their life while their system feels overwhelmed.
And then wonder why they can’t stay consistent.

But if your body feels:

• stressed
• pressured
• overloaded

You’re not going to sustain change.
So instead of forcing discipline, we build habits in a way that feels safe enough to repeat.
Because consistency comes from regulation; not pressure.

I Focus on Simplicity Over Perfection

You don’t need a perfect routine.
You need something you can actually follow through on.
So we strip things back:

• simple nutrition
• realistic movement
• routines that fit your life

No extremes.
No all-or-nothing.
Just what works and what lasts.

I Focus on Identity, Not Just Habits

Anyone can follow a plan for a short time.
But lasting change happens when your identity shifts.

So instead of:
“What should you do?”
We focus on:
“Who are you becoming?”

Someone who:

• shows up even when it’s not perfect
• follows through in small ways
• adjusts instead of quitting

That’s what makes habits stick.

I Focus on Consistency Over Intensity

We don’t go all in.
We go repeatable.

Because doing something consistently, even at a lower level, will always outperform doing everything for a short period of time.

This is how we avoid:
start → stop → start over

And replace it with:
show up → repeat → build

I Focus on Supporting You, Not Fixing You

You’re not a problem that needs to be fixed.
You don’t need to become a completely different person.
You need:

• structure
• guidance
• support
• a way to build habits that actually fit you

So instead of pressure, you get a process you can grow into.

What This Actually Leads To

Over time, things start to shift:

• you trust yourself more
• you stop starting over
• your habits feel more natural
• your energy improves
• things feel less overwhelming

Not because you forced it, but because you built it in a way that lasts.