I began my yoga journey after being rear ended in a hit and run in March 2013. My massage therapist who treated me at the time told me that I needed yoga and I resisted, saying “I tried that a couple times and it is not for me” until the pain became unbearable. In November 2013 I researched and learned that Raja Yoga was helpful in pain management and took a class at The Yoga Connection with Vikky Santana. I remember being in a simple seated pose in excruciating pain, sobbing and silently asking myself, “will my back ever be the same again?” My answer nine years later is, “no. But your life needed this disruption for your greater healing and good.” I embarked in a yoga journey that resulted in me being able to manage back pain so that I could live life once again on my own terms. When I took my initial Vinyassa Teacher training with BEa Raydo in the Summer of 2014 I did not know that I would pull upon the well of that mental and physical fortitude to survive crippling grief in the Fall of that year.

Yoga continued to play a vital role in my life in the years to come, as I taught and practiced on and off. In 2019 I suffered an injury to my ribs, resulting again in crippling pain every time I inhaled. This pain invited me again to delve into the depths of my yoga practice. I committed to Yoga Teacher Training in the Spring of 2020 which centered on Raja, Yin, and Kriyin. This sustained me in my practice as a Doctor of Marriage and Family Therapy where I facilitate change for individuals, couples, and families worldwide. I refocused myself to care for myself as I cared for my clients for a global pandemic brought upon by COVID-19.