About Me

Our bodies and minds are constantly sending us information on the full spectrum between pain and pleasure. Over the last decade, practicing yoga has taught me how to decipher these signals in a mindful way. 

I fell in love with yoga as a teenager in a hot vinyasa class. I had never felt more epic than walking out of the studio drenched in sweat after a hard 90 minute class. I loved pushing through the discomfort of the heat and fine tuning my alignment in every pose. Yoga felt natural to me; the movements were reminiscent of the gymnastics and dance I did as a child. And, since I was a die hard perfectionist, I really would only be interested in doing an activity I was naturally “good” at. 

Through the guidance of my incredible teachers - Dianna Bruschera, Amanda Briody, Lily Dwyer Begg, and Dani Reidy - my definition of “good” has evolved. Instead of enabling my perfectionism, yoga has become the mechanism through which I deconstruct it; now my main priority during my practice is cultivating presence. With less ego attached to perfect form or jumping into a handstand, I learned to make authentic choices within my practice. Soon after, this skill translated off my mat. I began to ask questions like, “is it serving me or anyone else to beat myself up over the mistake I made at work today?“ or, “am I doing this because I want to or because I feel obligated?” In a world that is constantly telling us what would make us happier - what we “should“ be doing - it has been immensely freeing for me to learn how to look within for answers first on my mat, then in life.

The challenge with learning to find answers internally is that many of us are so disconnected from our bodies and minds that we can’t hear them. Just like the culture around us, most movement practices teach us to ignore or push through the pain, we are also encouraged to do so emotionally. Whole lives are spent shoving down feelings of exhaustion, anxiety, uncertainty, and sadness. The practice of yoga has taught me how to meet pain and discomfort as valuable signals to be understood instead of avoided.

My hope as a teacher is to help students of yoga reconnect with themselves and their purpose. I often hear statements like, “I’m too embarrassed for you to see how inflexible I am,” or “I just don’t bend like that.” The way yoga is portrayed and practiced in many places is exclusionary and sometimes disrespectful to the traditions it comes from. I seek to create a space that allows everyone a chance to safely connect with their body and mind in order to become their most authentic selves.