“I have been preparing for this moment my whole life,” I realized during my first yoga experience. Following Savasana, the shift inside of me was palpable, the light was now very bright. A very clear understanding, without words, was obvious.  This is my path. I had just turned 40 and had been seeking for this feeling since I was 15 after a near death experience. Still raising kids, navigating huge life changes, debating grad school, unsatisfied and unmotivated I was on fire and fully charged now. I had taken some yoga classes four years prior, but this time, Shakti had awakened in me, she was ready to rise and lead me. I trusted her.

The path of Yoga gave me every thing I had been seeking, a full physical, mental, emotional and spiritual connection to what I had felt disconnected from within me. I worked hard, I practiced and studied like my life depended on it, because to me, it did. What were the immediate side effects? A new calm confidence in my own decision making, a deep sense of being held, a feeling of safety within me, the ability to be in my integrity with my word, and most of all a raging clarity of all that needed my attention in my life. What we give in this practice comes back to us in ways I cannot describe beyond this.

Over time I could witness the discrepancy between me “on the mat” and me “off the mat”, and I could root out that division and saw my ego projection. The full 8 Limbed Path gave me a way to weave that separation within me back into my heart through a daily spiritual practice, Sadhana.

I knew I wanted, needed to share this with YOU. I wanted to be a conduit for this light, power and connection that was flowing through me. Your journey will be unique, and yet, together we all walk a path to our hearts and souls. This is what I believe completes us.

It is now 23 years on this path, from ecstatic practices to the depths of pain, from cross country moves to international teaching, studying to the degree of an additional 805 hours to become a Certified Yoga Therapist (after already 1000 hours of Hatha and Kundalini yoga certifications) to another 1000 or more hours to become a Board Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner and Ayurvedic Yoga Therapist. Overall, every hour of learning and teaching holds me like a warm embrace. I see humanity with more clarity and understanding now than I ever have. Everything is connected, in us, with nature, and with each other. Anything that seeks to divide is the opposite of union, and Yoga is Union. I strive to live in Union and see the Union in everyone and everything, to the highest of my ability.

The real teacher is the Divine, Life and our experiences. I bow to that.

Education, training and certifications

805 hrs. Certified Yoga Therapist, Soul of Yoga, San Diego, CA, (2018-19), IAYT included:

• The Art and Science of Pranayama and Sounding for Health, Healing & Awakening, Dr. Richard Miller (iRest)

• Yoga of the Heart & Advanced Meditation on the Yoga Sutras , Nicholas Joy Devi

• Yoga for Depression and Mood Management, Amy Weintraub

• Yoga and Respiratory System, Leslie Kaminoff

• Life Force Trauma Sensitive Yoga, Rose Kress

• Prenatal Yoga Training, Flossie Park, E-RYT 500

• Living a Fulfilling Life, Lessons from the Bhagavad Gita, Phil Goldberg

• Anatomy of Aging, Monique Lonner, C-IAYT

• Yoga of Recovery for Addiction and Self-Destructive Behavior, Durga, C-IAYT

• Yoga for Grief Relief, A Somatic Approach to Grief Counseling and Therapy, Antonio Sausys

• Fundamentals of Chair Yoga, Sherry Zak Morris, C-IAYT

More juice:

• Residency Ayurvedic Pancha Karma and Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy Specialist, Villa Ananda, Mexico (2018 &2019)

• Certified Ayurvedic Yoga Therapist, NAMA (National Ayurvedic Medical Assoc.) 2017

• Masters in Ayurveda, Mt. Madonna College of Ayurveda(1 year, partial study, 2017-2018)

• 40 hrs each, Ayurvedic Pulse Intensives, The Ayurvedic Institute with Dr. Vasant Lad, Albuquerque, NM (2015 & 2018)

• 40 hrs. Advanced Teacher Intensive, White Lotus Foundation, Ganga White and Tracy Rich, (2015)

• Mt. Madonna College of Ayurveda, Board Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner, Mt. Madonna, CA (2014), NAMA

• Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant from Sai Ayurvedic College, Miami, FL (2011-12)

• Month Long Intensive in Advanced Meditation Practices, The Golden Temple, Amritsar and Rishikesh, India (2010)

• 500 hrs. E-RYT 500 in Hatha Yoga (with Golden Heart Yoga, 2007-2008, Annapolis, MD)

• 200 hrs. RYT 200 in Hatha Yoga, 2003

• Unity Woods Iyengar Yoga Apprenticeship, 2001 (Washington, DC)

• 100 hrs. Yoga Institute of Miami, Iyengar Yoga Teacher Training, 2001 (Miami,FL)

• B.A, in Economics and Behavioral Sociology, Salem College, NC, 1982

• Mother to two amazing adults
   

Loads of fun with these lovely souls:

Jivamukti Yoga, Integrative Yoga with Joseph LePage, Shiva Rea, Angela Farmer, Barbara Benaugh, Natasha Rizopoulos, Tias Little and more who keep influencing my heart.

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