When Movement Feels Impossible
Tabitha Green, founder of Achy to Active and owner of Tall Tree Pilates in Deerfield, Illinois.
Through Achy to Active, Tabitha supports people living with chronic illness, pain or fatigue to find accessible, sustainable and adaptable ways to move.
Her work isn’t about pushing harder. It’s about improving capacity gently, learning to pace, listening to the body, and advocating for your needs so daily life feels more manageable again.
Her programs including the Gentle Movement Series, Pilates for POTS, and one-to-one support are designed to meet people exactly where they are.
The goal isn’t perfection.
It’s possibility.
Built From Lived Experience
Achy to Active was born from personal necessity.
Tabitha was teaching in the Dance Department at Columbia College Chicago when chronic illness changed everything.
Tasks that once felt effortless became overwhelming.
She found herself dismissed in medical settings, misunderstood by friends, and disconnected from traditional fitness spaces that didn’t understand fluctuating symptoms.
She knew what didn’t work.
So she began exploring what might.
She experimented with pacing, breathwork, nervous system regulation and adaptive movement.
Instead of forcing her body, she learned to support it.
Slowly, she noticed change in herself and in her clients.
That shift became Achy to Active.
Her work now goes far beyond exercise.
It’s about living well with illness, reducing flare-ups, rebuilding trust with your body and creating a life that actually fits your reality.
The Real Work Behind the Scenes
One of Tabitha’s biggest challenges hasn’t been creating the courses. It’s been everything around them.
Marketing, advertising, tech, admin, content planning, learning new platforms, all while managing her own health.
At one point, she spent nearly a year wrestling with an “affordable” tech platform that ultimately cost her more time and energy than it saved.
Eventually, she chose a system she could actually use and found support where she needed it.
Right now, visibility is her main focus.
She’s building a six-month marketing strategy using the principle of Build, Borrow and Buy to grow her audience intentionally and wisely.
But she’s also candid about the internal challenge.
With limited energy and so many moving parts, prioritising can feel overwhelming.
Knowing what will truly move the needle isn’t always clear.
Like many founders, she’s learning that strategy is just as important as passion and that asking for help is strength, not weakness.
At Reignelle, we honour women like Tabitha who turn personal adversity into purposeful impact, proving that business can be both compassionate and powerful, and that sometimes the most meaningful movements begin slowly.