Mother, Physician, Athlete: Dr. Sonja Stilp RISES to It All
“I step into nature every day to find wellness and inspiration. I encourage others to do so as well.”
As a single mom to twin boys and a practicing physician, Genesee resident Sonja Stilp, M.D. learned early on that to mitigate the stress of motherhood, and the guilt that can come with balancing it with a full-time job, she had to be honest. “From a young age, I talked logically to my children about motherhood and the importance of my life’s purpose to provide and facilitate health and wellness care to others,” Sonja says. “I made that a center point of my dialog with them from birth and I believe it set the tone of ‘This is what we do with a family.’ ”
Her sons, Clark and Everest, are now 17 and are adventure hounds, with a hobby roster that includes extreme sports from rock climbing to avalanche safety training and heli-skiing. Stilp saw them off on a cross-country road trip last summer, solo with some friends, and admits some friends were mortified at the idea of granting that kind of freedom to two 16-year-olds. Proving resilient and responsible, they had earned it, Stilp says, and she gives some credit to the honesty-filled and involved family dynamic they honed over the years. “Demonstrating maturity and good choices, encouraging the positive and not focusing on the negative,” she says. “I’m doing something right because they’re fiercely independent – not dismissive or rude, just enjoying life.”
The kids gleaned more than that from their mom. Stilp is also quite the adventure seeker herself, listing surfing, backcountry skiing, SCUBA diving, rock climbing, trail running and sailing among her favorites. She is a former category 1 bike race competitor, certified in avalanche safety, and has advanced wilderness rescue certifications as a physician. Stilp and her sons have traveled and pursued adventure around the world from the Maldives, to the Galapagos, Brazil and more. It extends to when Clark and Everest were toddlers, Sonja found ways to involve them in her exercising and adventures. “I had a chariot stroller with three conversion kits: run, bike and cross-country ski,” she recalls. “I would bike them around the neighborhood in Genesee, along Montane Drive. Anyone who knows the road knows.”
Stilp grew up between Wisconsin and the Caribbean, where she fell in love with water – surfing, paddle boarding – and adventure. She says she first visited Genesee when she was a competitive cyclist and a friend’s father lived in the area. “I fell in love with the Colorado Rockies as a child skiing Aspen,” she says. “From the time I was a little girl, I dreamt of living here in the mountains.” Her favorite rides are Red Rocks, Lookout Mountain, and Echo Lake Loop. It’s difficult to separate Stilp’s active lifestyle from that as a physician and a mother; her love for outdoor adventure is central to her practice as a physician, in which she integrates exercise and a healthy prescription for fresh air and sunshine. “I step into nature every day to find wellness and inspiration,” she says. “I encourage others to do so as well.”
It’s likewise impossible to separate the role of mother from her role as a physician. Though motherhood did not slow Stilp down, it prompted her to reassess her work-life balance when her children were around 6 years old. In 2013, she was a partner at an orthopedic physician group and decided to leave and establish her own practice that was more aligned with her values as a physician and as a parent. “Doctors are taught to ignore how they are feeling to take care of others,” she notes. “This was perfect training for motherhood.” Her practice, RISE (an acronym for restore, innovate, strengthen, and empower) takes a holistic approach to care; her patients include athletes and active adults who want to maintain physical strength and address injuries or conditions without the use of surgery. “My goal is to assist people to live healthy and active lives – no matter what their lifestyle, age, or fitness level,” she says.
Stilp also has worked with veterans who had sustained injuries in combat and live with disabilities, helping them with outdoor recreation therapy. In the midst of that work, the family welcomed Cornelia, a German Shepherd who accompanied Stilp in her practice and brought “a calm fierce presence,” to her patients. Unfortunately, Cornelia, who was well-known in the neighborhood, died suddenly last year. She says her neighbors’ true colors shined in that time. “Her loss it showed me how powerful her love was – talk about neighborhood, they brought me flowers, dinners, cards, everything,” Stilp recalls. Cornelia inspired Stilp to further pursue canine therapy and she is excited to welcome a German Shepherd puppy this month. “A dog a day keeps the doctor away,” she says. She looks forward to diving into this season of her career as Clark and Everest tour colleges and talk of summer jobs.
Among all of her pursuits and accomplishments, Stilp says the most challenging has been motherhood. She helps other mothers who come to her as patients and sees herself as a leader by example, demonstrating the importance of looking at one’s whole self and whole body to help it heal and grow strong. “ ‘Take care of yourself’ for mothers is not ‘Go for a spa day once a year with girlfriends,’ it is an everyday journey,” she says. Stilp lists her advice for moms feeling overwhelmed and trying to keep the balance: sometimes, the strongest thing moms can do is ask for help; it’s important to celebrate and honor their body; and laughter is truly the best medicine. “For me, when I feel I’ve been caught in a riptide, I remind myself to go with the flow. Other times for me, it’s not simply about treading water. I remind myself of how much I love to swim.”
Article: By Josie Klemaier
Photograph: Richard Stockreef
Call or text 303.448.8843 to schedule with Dr. Sonja Stilp on your Active Healing + Active Wellness Journey to RISE.