Discovering yoga changed my life…

I fell in love with yoga the first time I stepped on a yoga mat in high school, but not for the same reasons I love it now. Growing up I was always the small, weak, skinny kid who was bad at gym class. Even though I was active and enjoyed physical activity, people often judged me by my appearance and lack of interest in team sports, so they made a lot of assumptions. I was very self-conscious about the way I was perceived, so I constantly felt like I had to prove myself and my physical capabilities to people.

Yoga drew me in because I thought it was my chance to get super flexible and do fancy shapes so that I could prove myself to other people. I am by nature a very competitive and intense person so I threw myself into yoga, practicing as often as possible and learning as much as I could.

After months of practice I began to realize that yoga did so much more for me than help me become strong and flexible. It helped me feel more connected to my breath and body, it became a tool for stress relief and self-regulation and I started to love the experience more than my physical goals. 

My mom got sick, my health struggled and I lost a lot of physical abilities. At that point I had started to develop an interest in strength training and cardio as well, so fitness and movement was a huge part of my identity. Losing the ability to move my body because of my health was an extremely difficult and humbling experience for me.

During this time, my yoga practice changed a lot and my focus became more on meditation, breathwork, and adopting a more yogic approach to life. I needed it in order to get through this difficult time and it allowed me to have a lot more gratitude for my body and physical fitness.

Since then, I have built back up my strength, overcome more health issues and injuries, graduated from my bachelor degree in music, dropped out of my teachers college program, I've learned that I am neurodivergent, and through all of this, my yoga practice only got stronger and stronger. And my purpose behind it was not for other people anymore, but for myself.

Becoming a yoga teacher was always something on the backburner that was a dream for me, but it wasn't until I experienced extreme burnout at Teachers College and had to remove myself from the program that I finally realized that yoga and fitness is my true calling and nothing else would make me feel fulfilled and complete.

I started my 200 hour yoga teacher training journey and in October of 2023 became a certified 200h registered yoga teacher! There is so much I want to learn and so many more certifications I would like to achieve, but I am extremely excited to finally be sharing my knowledge and passion with people so I can inspire them to fall in love with movement the way I have. 

Some amazing teachers that have inspired me are Jessica Richburg, Lena Starzynska, Adell Bridges, and Ness Baker. They have taught me how to balance challenging movement with gentle, feel-good movement, and that is what I strive to bring to you.

I want to help you reach your physical goals but also feel good in your body and feel connected to your mind, body and breath. I aim to guide you on your movement journey and give you the confidence, knowledge and tools you need to build your own practice that will sustain you in your daily life both on and off the mat.

Something else that is really important to me is making my classes accessible to you. I strive to offer many different types of flows, workouts, and programs that will cater to your goals and needs, and provide variety and balance to your journey in a way that works WITH you, not against you.

If you have any questions for me about my offerings or my personal journey, feel free to reach out!