Yoga Alliance E-RYT 500 level | YogaWorks Certified | Yoga Therapist and Yin Yoga Certified
My Yoga Journey
I am a deeply passionate practitioner, doing my life's work in Yoga, Nutrition and as a Holistic Therapist. Yoga found me or rather tapped me on the shoulder in late 2001 when I was seeking direction and purpose. I was craving inner peace and unconditional love for myself and balance as a young single mother; in essence I was overwhelmed, feeling lost and I did not trust myself. I was invited to a class in Tahoe City, Ca. by a friend and immediately connected to the practice in mind, body and spirit. I remember that the physical practice of the class was hard, but what I remember most was that I was deeply moved to tears, as if for the first time I had stepped into my body and got to have a look around at myself; this single moment propelled me onto my yogic and spiritual path.
I continued to practice over the next few years, not so much for the physical asanas but for the connection to whole being that the practice provided to me. I never intended on becoming a teacher; I was busy being a mom, working in Film and Television and in the Spa Industry, but the universe had other ideas for me. I met Nancy Glenmore at a Vegetarian festival in Richmond Va and again was tapped on the shoulder and this time a whisper in my ear; this is your path, your Dharma. I had no idea what that meant, but I had full being clarity that I was meant to dive in deeply.
I became certified through Yoga Alliance in 2008, completing my 200-RYT from Glenmore Yoga in Richmond, Virginia. That training and the community that Nancy and her husband Kevin created kept me grounded in some of the most difficult times in my life. I still never intended to teach, but again, that tap on the shoulder; a teacher could not continue to teach her classes at a spa I was working at, and knowing that I had yoga training, the owner asked me to take over her classes. Since that day that I taught those classes I have since been blessed to study and earn my 500-ERYT through Yoga Tree. I studied InnerYoga with Dina Amsterdam and I have continued my studies with many gifted teachers through workshops, continuing education and retreats. I decided that after teaching for several years to start back at the beginning and retake my 200 hours with Eka Kong and YogaWorks. That is the best decision I could have ever made because I was and am in a whole new place in my life; after studying, teaching and practicing I was able to absorb and integrate the practice on a deeper level. I continued to complete another 300 hours with YogaWorks and I am currently in an on-going mentorship program Mentoring under Erika Trice.
My Mission
I aspire to live my yoga not only on the mat, but off the mat; what I guide is what I live to the best of my ability. I am a teacher that empowers others and even if I never get to see their evolvement, feel blessed to have planted a seed on their path. I think back to my very first teachers who have no idea who I have grown into today, but the way that they held space for me has been so integral on my path. I love to train and work with other teachers on their path; one of the greatest honors for me is when students of mine are inspired to go become teachers themselves or deepen their practice with a mentorship or teacher training. I aspire to always have a balance of physical and subtle practice without teaching AT students, but guiding with fluidity.
I am in a huge transition in my life on many layers and levels and something I have really admired about my teachers is that even when they are in transition, they still arrive, and they may share vulnerability, but they arrive and stayed present. I have always lived my life for the other and the cultivation of peace and I will continue to do so because I love to be in service. Thus far yoga has held me, allowed me, empowered me and kept me together through so many life things; but most importantly through raising my son and watching him start to navigate into the world as a young adult.
I aspire to be the teacher that helps people navigate their own paths, to be a bridge for them, just like my teachers before me bridged and guided. I also feel it's hugely important that students see me as just human, just like one of them, moving through life best I can too and through it all having humor, grace, awareness and ease.
The practice of Yoga has been truly a friend and a guide on my path to this point and I believe will partner with me throughout the rest of this lifetime and future lifetimes to come.
