About Our Space
This is a space built for movement, designed for connection, and equipped to help you feel at home.
At Embody Health and Performance, our clinic inside The Marsh in Minnetonka isn’t just functional—it’s intentional. We’ve created an environment that’s open, calm, and grounded in the same principles that shape our care: focus, flow, and long-term results.
From private treatment rooms and open gym space to the surrounding wellness amenities, every detail is here to support the work you’re doing—whether that’s recovery, strength training, or simply taking a moment to reconnect with your body.
We believe your healing environment matters. And when that space is clean, calming, and centered around you, the process feels different. Better. More possible.
Meet our Team
Behind every great outcome is a team that knows their craft
At Embody, our providers combine clinical expertise with lived experience to deliver care that’s both strategic and personal. We work together across physical therapy, sports performance, and functional wellness to help you move better, heal fully, and live stronger—for the long haul.
Owner • Doctor of Physical Therapy • PhysioCoach
Christopher Warden
PT, DPT, MA, CSCS
Christopher Warden is the founder of Embody Health and Performance and a practitioner with over 25 years of experience in physical therapy, sports performance, and holistic health. He holds advanced degrees in Microbiology, Applied Sports Psychology, and Physical Therapy, along with certifications in movement arts, pain science, injury rehab, gait analysis, traditional nutrition, and healing practices.
His career has taken him from New York City—where he worked with elite athletes and A-list performers—to Morocco, where he served as personal coach to a member of the Royal Family and led strength and conditioning for the national golf teams.
What sets Christopher apart is his ability to connect the dots between complex symptoms and the deeper systems behind them. His approach blends movement, touch, breathwork, and mindset to help clients access healing that goes far beyond the physical. He sees himself as a mirror—guiding people into greater awareness, integration, and lasting change.
When he's not in the clinic, Christopher enjoys long dinners with friends, traveling internationally with his wife, homesteading, celebrating his kids, walking the dogs, and training to better embody the work he lives and teaches.
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Andrew Cardinal
PT, DPT
Andrew Cardinal joined Embody Health and Performance after earning his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Des Moines University. With a background in athletics and a lifelong interest in movement, physical therapy offered the perfect blend of science, strategy, and human connection.
Andrew enjoys working with clients across all ages and orthopedic conditions. His approach blends hands-on manual therapy with corrective exercise, and always starts with one thing: listening. By taking time to understand each person’s goals, motivations, and values, he creates customized treatment plans that help clients return to what matters most—on their terms.
He’s committed to continuing education and professional growth, always aiming to refine his skills and expand what’s possible for the people he serves.
Outside the clinic, Andrew enjoys Minnesota’s seasons—especially when there’s a lake, a fishing pole, or good company involved. He also makes time for sports, friendships, and his own health and fitness.
Doctor of Physical Therapy • Pelvic Floor Expert • Physiocoach
Melissa Vanderlinde
PT, DPT, Pelvic Floor Expert
Melissa is a Doctor of Physical Therapy who takes a whole-body, principle-driven approach to helping people move well and stay active through every stage of life. She earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences and her Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Her work centers on helping people return to the activities they love—whether that’s running, training, working, or navigating pregnancy and postpartum with confidence. Melissa has a special interest in working with runners and provides comprehensive running gait analysis to improve efficiency, performance, and injury resilience. She also works closely with pregnant and postpartum women, supporting strength, recovery, and pelvic health as bodies adapt and change.
Melissa’s clinical focus includes manual therapy, dry needling, E-stim, blood flow restriction training, return-to-sport and return-to-work care, post-operative hip, knee, ankle, and foot rehabilitation, and pelvic floor dysfunction, including incontinence, prolapse, diastasis recti, and pregnancy-related concerns. Outside the clinic, she enjoys time with her husband, son, and dogs, distance running and marathons, coaching Wayzata Girls Cross Country, and spending time outdoors in every season.
Doctor of Chiropractic
Breanna Tivy
DC
Dr. Tivy is a chiropractor and Minnetonka native with more than 15 years of clinical experience. She earned her Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Northwestern Health Sciences University and holds certifications in NASM Personal Training, Dv8 Kettlebell Training, and nutrition. With a lifelong background in athletics, she developed an early appreciation for how movement, strength, and recovery work together to support long-term health.
Dr. Tivy enjoys working with people who want to stay active and continue doing the things they love throughout every stage of life. Whether someone is training for an endurance event or simply wants to move comfortably through everyday activities, she focuses on helping patients maintain the strength, mobility, and resilience that allow them to keep showing up for what matters most.
Her approach blends chiropractic adjustments with soft tissue work, motion palpation, and Graston Technique, creating care that is responsive to the individual needs of each patient. By building meaningful relationships and taking time to understand each person’s goals and lifestyle, she helps patients move better, feel better, and stay active for the long run.
Outside of the clinic, Dr. Tivy enjoys traveling, cooking, skiing, and spending as much time outdoors as possible.
Acupuncturist
Mary LeSourd
Integrative Health Coach
Mary LeSourd brings more than 30 years of experience helping people move, recover, and reconnect with their bodies. Her background spans Corrective Exercise training, post-rehabilitation Aquatic Therapy, Shiatsu bodywork, and warm-water Aquatic Bodywork.
Since 1993, she has worked in both clinical and wellness settings, including the Golden Valley Courage Center and The Marsh, supporting individuals with a wide range of physical, cognitive, and functional needs.
Mary’s work is centered on adaptability and meeting each person where they are. She integrates both land- and water-based approaches, allowing sessions to evolve based on what best supports the individual in the moment. Rather than following a rigid protocol, she works collaboratively with clients to build strength, restore mobility, support recovery, and deepen awareness of how their body moves and functions.
What sets Mary apart is her ability to create an environment where people can both challenge and support their bodies—using movement, water, and hands-on work as tools for learning, trust, and long-term change.
Certified Functional Wellness Coach • Operations Manager
Sara Warden
Functional Wellness Coach
Sara Warden is a certified functional wellness coach who helps individuals reconnect with their health through whole-person strategies that integrate nutrition, lifestyle, mindset, and environment. Her approach is rooted in lived experience—from navigating burnout and chronic symptoms to reclaiming her own vitality as a dancer, mother, and lifelong learner.
Sara’s journey into functional wellness began during pregnancy, when her curiosity around traditional food practices became a passion for using nutrition as medicine. After rebuilding her own health from the inside out, she began guiding others through their own transformation—offering education and sustainable strategies for balanced living.
Now certified as a functional wellness coach and working alongside her husband, Christopher, Sara offers personalized coaching that helps clients cut through the noise, uncover root causes, and create lasting change. She uses food, habit tracking, and the power of circadian rhythms to help realign physiology, restore energy, and regulate the body’s natural healing systems. Sara is known for meeting each client with honesty, empathy, and depth. Her mission is simple: help people reclaim ownership of their health and feel more grounded in their own lives.
Acupuncturist • Physician of East Asian Medicine
Health Coach • Pelvic-Floor Expert
Lesley Koehnen
Pelvic floor expert, Pilates Instructor
Lesley Koehnen brings over two decades of experience teaching Pilates to adults over 50 and fostering wellness through movement, education, and community connection. As the founder of Village Health, she’s known for creating safe, welcoming spaces that support healing, strength, and lifelong mobility.
Her work is rooted in trust—built over years of walking alongside clients through seasons of growth, recovery, and resilience. Lesley’s approach is collaborative and heart-centered, empowering clients to feel at home in their bodies and confident in their capacity.
Beyond the studio, Lesley volunteers with Pathways Minneapolis, where she facilitates virtual small-group health coaching. She also advocates for food and wellness policy improvements in the Wayzata School District through the Healthy Food and Healthy Habits parent group.
A lifelong learner, Lesley is passionate about exploring holistic practices, cooking with local foods, supporting small businesses, and modeling well-being in her family and community. She lives in Minnetonka with her husband and two children, who continually inspire her with their curiosity and creativity.
