Since childhood, I’ve always loved movement. From the age of 13 to 29, I lived to dance. I studied ballet, contemporary, jazz, and musical theater. Dancing was foundational in giving me a deep awareness of my body, the discipline to work hard, and igniting my creativity. My love of yoga grew out of my love of dance.

When I was just out of college meditation was introduced into my life as well as my first spiritual teacher who became a guiding force in my life. She inspired me to look deeper into myself and to fall in love with the various practices of meditation and inner healing work. I was 22 years old.

Around this same time, I found yoga or maybe yoga found me. My first yoga class was one of those moments, when you know your world is about to change . . . for the best . . . and that is exactly what happened. When I left that class, I knew I found the perfect practice which synthesized my love of movement, energy, spirit, and people.

I often tell my students that my first years in yoga were not so much about the physical practice, even though I loved the asana. I was more enchanted with the breathing and energy practices, the chanting, the meditation, and the philosophy. For me, studying yoga was about coming home to my authentic self. I felt so at home inside after a good yoga practice. Strong, settled and more compassionate.

My yoga training really began with my first teacher in 1987 who was a student of Sri Tirumalia Krishnamacharya’s and T.K. V. Desikachar. Over the years, I have studied many styles; including Iyengar Yoga, Anusara, Ashtanga, Yin, and most recently the Yoga Works method which is an alignment-based flow style practice. I began teaching yoga in 1992.

The teachers who have influenced me the most in my yoga teaching are Donna Farhi, Judith Hanson Lasater, Sarah Powers, Sianna Sherman, and in recent years the late, Maty Ezraty whom I credit for infusing my yoga asana practice with so much skill. In 2015, I completed an Ayurvedic Wellness Counselor training with James Bailey/Sevanti Institute as a supplement to my yogic studies.

I began meditating in my early 20’s with my spiritual teacher and mentor, Erica Knowles who was a disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda (Autobiography of a Yogi). Since that time, under the guidance of a handful of teachers, I have studied and practiced meditation daily. I cannot emphasize enough the value of a consistent sitting practice.

Meditation is the heart of my daily self-care practice. I often tell people that to really cultivate a regular meditation practice, you need to fall in love with meditation. To deepen my meditation teaching skills I completed a 2-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher training program with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach in 2019.