After navigating her own chronic health challenges, Kirsty Denny developed a passion for holistic health and eventually discovered energetic kinesiology, a modality that transformed the way she understood healing and wellbeing. Raising two highly sensitive children prompted her to deepen her knowledge of the nervous system, neurodivergence and the many factors that influence children’s health and development. Today, she combines professional training with years of personal experience to support parents and children through Kirsty Marie Energy. In this interview, she shares the journey that led her here, the lessons she’s learned along the way, and why helping families feel supported has become the driving force behind her work.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business
Well….. life! It was a gradual becoming rather than a business idea. I started out as an ecologist as I’ve always been a nature girl, but I developed a fascination with holistic health when I became quite unwell in my early twenties.
I experienced the kind of chronic ill-health that can be a bit baffling for mainstream medical professionals: chronic fatigue, chronic pain, chronic gut issues, chronic anxiety, with a sprinkling of troubling symptoms like panic attacks, reflux and hair loss! I researched and tried all the things: dietary changes, supplements, yoga, meditation, adrenal support.
All of these approaches were interesting and valuable for me, and then the missing puzzle piece that helped me to feel excited about life again was working with energy. That’s when I realised I was in love, accepted the redirect and began studying energetic kinesiology.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
Much like accepting the pivot towards natural health, it was more of a stop-start meander than a hard launch!
Not long after I began my kinesiology studies, I (intentionally) became pregnant with my first child. I loved being pregnant and felt great, and naturally my attention shifted to motherhood. I really wanted my baby’s arrival to be peaceful and natural, so, just as I had approached my own health, I did all the things – ate organic whole foods, took the ‘right’ supplements, meditated, did hypnobirthing, had all baby’s organic cotton clothing, bedding and baby carriers ready. I was on it.
Of course, life had some surprises in store for me. My baby was born, I was besotted and then everything was …hard. And exhausting. Feeding was a disaster, sleep wasn’t really a thing, my baby cried and cried and cried. But hadn’t I done everything right?
I was completely consumed by trying to help my baby and stay somewhat sane. My love for energy work and kinesiology was still there, but most definitely on the back-burner.
I didn’t have the resources to use my skills as much as I would have liked for my baby or myself, but eventually I resumed my studies… and then had another baby! Surely this time it would be easier?! Nope, not really.
I officially completed my studies when my second boy was around 3 years old and gradually began seeing clients, mostly friends and family at first, but with a view of the long-term game and a passion for assisting tired, stressed parents and high needs babes like my own.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
My children are my greatest teachers (clichéd but true), and so following their lead and learning what is supportive for them has helped me to hugely expand my knowledge and skills for assisting others.
As mentioned above, even doing everything ‘right’ and knowing a lot about attachment style parenting and holistic living, my children met the world with great intensity and seemed to have many physical and emotional sensitivities right from birth.
As I’m sure many of you can relate to, no one researches like a worried mother, and I really went on a journey exploring everything ranging from tongue tie to MTHFR and other genetic mutations, Ehlers-Danlos hypermobility, ancestral diets, nervous system health, primitive reflexes and on to ADHD, autism and neurodivergence in general. It was clear to me that my children had very sensitive nervous systems and that there were multiple factors influencing this.
This led me down the path of learning specific methodologies within kinesiology that are helpful for brain and nervous system balance and integration as well as emotional stress release… perfect for assisting our sensitive or neurodivergent little ones to overcome challenges and embrace their unique gifts.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
Based on my answers to the previous questions, it’s clear this has been a challenge for me! My boys were all-consuming for years, and that’s been part of the process for me…I’ve learned so much!
The truth is that time has been a major factor in achieving balance. My boys are 13 and 10 now, and, although I’m home educating them, things are just a lot more spacious in this season. In a sense, I’m now reaping the fruits of the labour of love in the early years.
I also love finding win/win scenarios that make life easier for me and my clients. That’s why although there’s something special about working in-person, I also love doing remote kinesiology sessions. This provides me more flexibility around my boys’ schedules and means that no one has to pack their kids into the car, disturbing nap times, getting stuck in traffic, etc. This is near and dear to my heart as both my boys were very hit and miss with sleep and one of them was near impossible to get in and out of his car seat! I can also work on babies and wiggly little ones through the mother or other caregiver. Surrogate sessions like this work for anyone, but the connection between Mum and babe is particularly strong and beautiful to witness.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
I’ve already talked about the challenges with my kids, but of course, our kids are intimately connected with us and our own stressors and conditioning going right back to childhood.
Although I had done a lot of ‘inner work’ before becoming a mother, my little guys really opened me up to a whole other level of awareness…in a pretty painful fashion to be honest!
I experienced fairly severe postpartum depression and anxiety, and so whilst I was figuring out how to support my high needs babes, I was also confronted with my stickiest pain points and subconscious beliefs about myself.
The hardest part for me was watching my babies struggle and not being able to magically fix it all for them.
Feeding was hard, sleep was hard, my firstborn didn’t even like going in the baby carrier. Was I a failure as a mother? This brought up so many layers of grief and not feeling ‘good enough’ for me. This really pushed me to work through my own limiting beliefs and subconscious wounds in such a deep (and ongoing) way. I sometimes refer to my boys as my really hard-assed Zen Masters.
The process was pretty gnarly at times, but I’ve grown immensely as a practitioner. I’m able to work with much greater depth with the subconscious patterning and stress that affects us all and, unchecked, can be passed on to our children and future generations.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The pros are the flexibility to create a life that works for all of us and to pursue work that I’m truly, deeply passionate about.
As for cons, the buck stops with me – if I’m not motivated, if I’m not prioritising myself and my business, no one’s going to chase me up about it. Challenging, yes, but a great opportunity to continue noticing my own conditioning around self-worth and what’s possible.
I will say that forming friendships and support networks with other women entrepreneurs has been a crucial factor in not giving up and succumbing to the mountain of laundry and responsibility of everyday mum life.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
As my own boys continue to grow and spread their wings (nooo my babies!), I’m really looking to utilise the skills and wisdom gained to assist more families.
We know that children provide us with the most precious opportunities to grow, heal and co-create together. Simultaneously, it can be very hard, especially with the lack of a supportive ‘village’ that is unfortunately a common part of modern life. I still have very clear memories of those people who reached out to us with genuine empathy, support and non-judgement when we were in the thick of high-intensity parenting… and I’m all about paying it forward.
Visit the Kirsty Marie Energy website to find out more, and connect with Kirsty on Facebook and Instagram.
