Portrait photo by Marilyn Isaac Photography

 
“Yogah citta-vrtti-nirodhah”
”Yoga stills the turning of the mind”
— Patanjali, Yoga Sutra 1.2
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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About Me

For a long time, I thought yoga wasn’t for me.

Despite my mom going to yoga when I was a child, it wasn’t until my mid-20s that I tried my first yoga class at a YMCA in Madison, Wisconsin. It felt awkward, and I was confused as to the point of it. I was already taking a lot of Pilates classes and working part-time as a group fitness instructor teaching cardio kickboxing and step aerobics. But apparently I wasn’t ready for yoga – not yet. I thought yoga was just another form of exercise, something to do, rather than a practice of mindfulness and of coming home to myself.

Almost ten years later, life looked very different. I was living in San Francisco, feeling the stress and uncertainty of adulting and running a small graphic design business. Although I had struggled with severe depression in my teens and 20s, for the first time in my life I was waking in the wee hours of Monday mornings with anxiety attacks.

One Sunday night, I went to a class at a local studio called Restorative Yoga with Massage – dim lighting, soft props, quiet space, and gentle touch. I didn’t realize it then, but that class was the beginning of a transformation. I started going every week.

Over time, those Monday-morning panic attacks stopped. It took me a while to understand why: yoga had offered me something deeper than relaxation – it had changed my nervous system.

That experience showed me that yoga isn’t about flexibility or performance – it’s about relationship. With your body. With your breath. With your mind. With the parts of yourself that have been asking for attention.

I began going to yoga classes multiple times a week, exploring different styles – Restorative, mindful Hatha flow, Iyengar-inspired, vinyasa, yin, sound baths, bhakti – anything and everything that fit my schedule.

A few years later, during a season of deep grief, cross-country travel, and the exhausting pace of urban life, I met a teacher who suggested I consider yoga teacher training. It was like a light bulb had turned on; I had not considered such an idea before. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to teach yet, but I knew I wanted the deeper dive that a training would offer.

So, at age 38, I took my first yoga teacher training – and, as it turns out, that was just the beginning. My very first teaching gig was taking over the same Sunday night Restorative Yoga with Massage class that started it all! (And I still teach a similar Sunday night Restorative yoga class all these years later!)

What started as personal curiosity and observation became a life-changing path of study and service: to date, countless hours of practice, over 1,900 hours of training, and 3,000 hours of teaching… and counting!

After moving to Seattle in 2017, I had the opportunity to start teaching private clients and quickly discovered how rewarding it was to work one-on-one with people in an individualized way. That experience deepened my commitment to yoga as a therapeutic practice and ultimately led me to pursue yoga therapy training.

Today, now in my 50s, I’m a full-time yoga therapist and teacher, trained extensively in Restorative Yoga, yoga therapy, yoga nidra, and the Iyengar, Hatha, and Viniyoga traditions. I’ve learned how these ancient practices support modern life – especially when life feels unsteady, overfull, painful, or uncertain.

This understanding shapes how I teach, build relationships, and hold space for others.

My Approach

My teaching is directly influenced by my studies with Judith Hanson Lasater, Robin Rothenberg, Darren Main, Harvey Deutch, Britt Fohrman, Brenna Geehan, Sean Haleen, Darcy Lyon, and other wise teachers who’ve modeled yoga as a living, adaptive, inherently trauma-informed, creative, and deeply human practice.

And I would be remiss if I failed to mention that I have learned as much from my own students and clients as from my teachers!

I believe the vast yoga “toolbox” has something to offer everyone. I emphasize slowing down, cultivating compassionate self-awareness, and supporting the wisdom of the nervous system – because sustainable change begins with presence.

My work blends yoga therapy’s individualized approach with the somatic intelligence of modalities such as mindfulness, personal training, physical therapy, Feldenkrais, and massage.

My clients tend to fall into (but are not limited to) these categories: adults 55+, perimenopausal and menopausal women, busy professionals, and individuals living with chronic or terminal illness.

Each session or class becomes a collaborative exploration: what helps you feel more at ease, more stable, more whole. I believe you are the expert of your own body, not me, and I encourage you to listen deeply for that inner wisdom and learn to trust it. My role is to observe, reflect, guide, and offer tools that fit your life – so that yoga becomes something that truly supports you and helps you move well, rest well, and age well.

If you are intrigued and curious about how dedicated yoga practice might support you, I’d love to connect:

My Certifications

Other Relevant Training

  • Basic Principles of Somatic Experiencing® – 2020

  • Yoga Therapy Essentials (Phoenix Rising) – 2020

  • Practicing Justice in Yoga (RW Alves) – 2020

  • Trauma-Informed Yoga (Bianca Raffety) – 2018

  • The Neurobiology of Yoga (Denise Benitez) – 2016

  • 500-hour Yoga Teacher Training (Yoga Tree San Francisco) – 2013-2015

  • Advanced Core Studies (Sean Haleen, Stacey Rosenberg & Jason Bowman) – 2015

  • Relax & Renew® Level 1: Teaching Restorative Yoga (Judith Hanson Lasater) – 2015

  • The Four Desires (Rod Stryker) – 2015

  • Yoga for Cancer Therapy (Ingrid Yang) – 2015

  • Feminine Powers, Feminine Practice (Britt Fohrman) – 2014

  • Yoga Therapeutics Level 1 (Harvey Deutch) – 2014

  • Advanced Anatomy (Harvey Deutch) – 2014

  • Alchemy of Transformation: Yoga, Psychology & Art (Darcy Lyon) – 2013

  • 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training (Yoga Tree San Francisco) – 2013