About Me…I have been practicing yoga for 20 years, and teaching for 19. After my fifth yoga class, I knew I wanted to become a yoga teacher. My teacher training was a five-year internship-style program. We met at my teacher’s house once a week for a half-day, and assisted 4-5 classes per week. I spent hundreds of hours with my teacher, as his student, assistant, and helper. I learned much from him, and am eternally grateful for the foundation he provided me.

I also spent ten years under the guidance of a spiritual teacher, from whom I learned meditation, self-inquiry, the heart of devotion and relentless self inquiry. However, my greatest lesson came through the dissolution of our community and my choice to part ways with him. This journey more than any in my life challenged me to take responsibility for my own actions and for my own growth, and while it was difficult, I took this time to dive more deeply into studies in yoga, ayurveda and philosophy, and became the lead teacher in the first teacher training of a prominent Austin yoga studio.

I continued to study and practice yoga—-journeyed to India and Thailand—and upon my return continued to lead and to develop more teacher training programs, as well as international yoga retreats. In 2013, I completed my Master’s Degree in Spiritual Psychology and in 2014 I completed the three year training program in Somatic Experiencing and began seeing clients as part of my post training work. I became an SEP (Somatic Experiencing Practitioner) in June of 2016.

I teach Vinyasa Yoga, Yin Yoga and Partnered Thai Massage, meditation and pranayama, the foundations of Ayurveda, and am well studied in the Yoga Sutras and other significant yogic texts. In addition, I have studied world religions, have been trained as a life coach, and completed a year-long energy healing course. I am an eternal student, and have found this supports my continued passion for teaching and mentoring. I love sharing what I know, learning what my students know, and having the opportunity to invest in my students with the same loving care my teachers invested in me.

I live part time in Austin, Texas and part time in the mountains of Colorado. I am in love with movement and with the outdoors—in addition to yoga I enjoy hiking, biking, and have recently become a fan of the SUP (stand up paddle board). My love of travel and yoga was a natural fit, and I enjoy leading yoga retreats around the world—2016 was Iceland and Panama, and 2017 will be France & Bhutan.

About My Teachers… I have so much gratitude and appreciation for all of my teachers. They have influenced my practice, helped me develop qualities inside of me I wasn’t aware of and was sometimes afraid of. They challenge me to examine what I do and why, and to continually uncover the true nature of yoga practice. Every class I teach reflects guidance, inspiration, and perspiration they were willing to invest in me…to each I am eternally grateful.

About The Practice… If you come to my class, you can expect a few things. First, you can know your ability to be with yourself is far more important than your ability to balance in handstand. You can expect to be challenged to push your edge, wherever that edge might be. You can always ask questions, but remember the answers you find will eventually come from within. And finally, you can expect to sweat and curse a little, and then remember why you are practicing and find yourself in the midst of it all.

About Teaching… I teach yoga because it breaks me open. This path leaves me tender, and sometimes so vulnerable it’s hard to get up in front of a room full of people and feel strong enough to lead a class. But in vulnerability we find true strength. And if I ask my students to let themselves be opened by their practice, how can I offer anything less? What I cultivate in my practice, and in my life, is what I have to share. If I am not letting the practice expose my softness and vulnerability as well as my vibrance and my joy, I have no depth, only words, and there are enough empty words in this world.