My Story: from hot mess to zen mama

"Yoga is the process of replacing old patterns with new and more appropriate patterns." - Sri T. Krishnamacharya

Who am I?

Just a girl from the Pacific Northwest who loves to help folks that could benefit from yoga – but are waaaay too busy to take studio classes regularly – create personalized practices, so that yoga actually works for them.

I grew up in Seattle, skipped town the moment I finished high school to attend college on the east coast, lived for a stint in Central America, and promptly moved right back home to the PNW within hours of finishing my bachelors degree (a liberal arts education from a tiny, little known, private college where I studied foreign languages – chiefly Spanish and French). I love to go to new places, experience new things, and meet new people – I adore listening to people tell me their stories. Yet one way or another, I am always drawn back to this beautiful, overcast, green corner of the country because home is my favorite place to be.

I love all things PNW. Yes, even – maybe especially – the rain. And like any good PNW’er, I love all things outdoors.

I also dearly love my hubby, whom I met in high school – yup, the high school sweetheart thing! And our two brilliant, spunky children. And my rescued Boxers, who do indeed fit the stereotypes of both typical Boxers and typical rescue dogs. So my heart and my hands are full!

What do I do?

Most of my time is spent learning and teaching. I homeschool our kiddos. Am forever in the process of retraining rescued pups to overcome their neurotic tendencies. And interspersed throughout my days are appointments with clients dealing with chronic pain, fatigue, or stress who meet with me to discover which particular yoga solutions are ideal for their body, their mind, and their real life. Nearly every angle of my life is involved in teaching, coaching, and inspiring – which means I also spend a great deal of time reading, studying, and training in order to teach well and help more.

Why do I yoga?

I initially came to yoga in my college days as a means to combat insomnia and counteract stress. It pulled me out of depression.

I delved deeper into practicing as much as I could with teachers from Iyengar Yoga and Astanga Yoga traditions after college because the intensity of those styles met my chronic anxiety head on. It sort of lassoed it, wrangled it, and tamed it down.

I practiced gentle yoga during both of my pregnancies for much needed self-love.

After hitting 30 and having had two children, I stumbled upon hot yoga – entirely because it was the only studio near my house at the time – and discovered how lovely it can be to step out of the wet, chilly, PNW weather and pretend to be on a steamy beach in Costa Rica for 90 minutes. I didn’t feel as capable on the mat post-babies, but being in the heat was a lovely little “cheat” to get me almost back to the range of motion I had once had.

Then, realizing that I absolutely could not practice yoga the way I had pre-kiddos – finding that some of the old favorite poses were downright painful if not entirely impossible “all of a sudden” – I stepped into my first Yoga Teacher Training.

I took that first YTT in hopes of learning enough to know why I couldn’t yoga the way I used to, the way I wanted to. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that in more than a decade of practicing yoga, I had hardly scratched the surface. This tradition is rich with wisdom, tools, techniques, and rituals for holistic well-being.

Within a year of completing 200 hours of YTT, I enrolled in a 500-hour YTT in the Viniyoga tradition (known for therapeutic yoga). That second YTT turned out to actually be closer to an additional 800 hours of training, but I am so thankful for every moment of it! In 2022, I completed my final additional hours of required training and clinical practicum to become a certified yoga therapist through the International Association of Yoga Therapy.

How do I yoga?

My own yoga practice is as diverse and colorful as my ever-changing moods – think My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss. Some days I am rolling myself slowly through a powerful Astanga-esque Surya Namaskar with a few arm balances thrown into the mix for good measure. Other days I skip the mat and pull the couch cushions onto the floor to drape myself into restorative postures. And still, other times I stay snuggled under the comforter with the kitten and my japa mala beads and I just breathe my way quietly through my mantra.

And this is precisely what I love to share when I teach others yoga: it is just as rich, diverse, and sophisticated as you are. Wherever, whomever, and however you are, there is a yoga practice, technique, tool, or ritual that can serve you. Find just the right recipe of asana (poses), pranayama (breath work), dharana (meditative focus), vairagyam (continual effort), and svadhyaya (self-reflection), and it can unlock, transform, build up, and inspire!

Wondering if I might be the right yoga therapist for you? Learn about how yoga therapy with me is yoga with a different spin here.