My yoga journey started in acting school when I lived in NYC. I was attending the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in the late 90s. My acting teacher would begin each class with sun salutations and breathwork, specifically lion’s breath. I could barely touch my knees, I was so stiff. However, the movement, the breathwork, the adventure into discovering how my mind and body work together in unity was an inner awakening that has ceased to slumber. I was a working actress in NYC for 8 years having voiced several cartoon and video game characters and performed in a few horror movies. The work I was doing was cool, but I felt I was being called to do more. My soul longed for more yoga, and my family.

I moved back to NC in 2007. I began working at a gym that held group fitness classes called “Les Mills.”  They were looking to expand with a new class called BODYFLOW; a tai chi/yoga/pilates class that was choreographed to music. My heart began to pound, my eyes widened, and I gay-gasped! Clutching my proverbial pearls I exclaimed, ‘I CAN TEACH THAT!’ I worked unbelievably hard and wound up receiving what was called a “with-held” on my training weekend because I was not considered “BODYFLOW fit”. I had to take modifications because I wasn’t ‘strong’ enough to demonstrate the more intense variations that the higher-ups preferred their instructors to be demonstrating. I was crushed, and also, it lit a fire in me. I wound up receiving a Distinction for my final certification grade. It’s the highest level one can receive as an instructor through Les Mills. From there I became certified in BODYVIVE (low impact/HIIT), CXWORX (core), BODYJAM (dance), and Raised Barre (pilates/barre). 

Finally in 2019, 20 years after my introduction, I was able to receive my 200 hr yoga teacher training through Bella Vita Yoga in Charlotte. It was everything I had hoped it would be and more. Each month was a deep dive into our bodies and minds, and an even deeper dive into our Selves through the philosophies of the Bhagavad Gita and The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. I craved more and went straight through my 300 hr in 2020. Not being able to perform or to teach classes because of Covid was a pain, but my yoga teacher training group that met virtually through Zoom one weekend a month saved my life. Our training focused on trauma, anatomy, body mechanics, yoga for alcoholics, yoga for the incarcerated, adaptive yoga, the therapeutics of yoga and the science of yoga. Like life, it was beautiful, and flawed, and perfect.

I no longer teach Les Mills. I no longer believe in a hierarchy of abilities. I believe that if you have a body, you can practice and/or teach yoga. I love teaching Chair Yoga. I believe in yoga for all! I strive daily to break the stigma that yoga is focused on placing the body in unattainable positions. Yoga is not just for able bodies. I believe each class and each practice is a journey in our bodies. With each adventure, I strive to offer people autonomy and independence in their own bodies, even if only for a brief moment. Let’s take a journey together, let me be your guide!”