I discovered yoga in 1989 when I wandered into a tiny fitness studio on Montana Ave in Santa Monica. I was attending UCLA at the time, earning my BA in Art History. I had spent my teenage years studying ballet, and I was simply looking for a way to move and exercise. What I found was so much more. Yoga became a way for me to connect with my breath, to move with consciousness and intention, and to calm and quiet my inherently anxious mind. I was hooked.

 

I decided to switch to a studio dedicated solely to yoga. YogaWorks on Montana Ave in the early 90's was fertile ground for some of the most influential yoga teachers of our time. I was fortunate enough to begin my practice taking classes from Erich Schiffmann, Rod Stryker, Shiva Rea, Sarah Powers, Max Strom, and the founders of YW, Maty Ezraty and Chuck Miller. 

 

Yoga began for me as an opportunity to move with focus, and to strengthen and stretch, which were all familiar to me from my ballet background. And yet, what set yoga apart as something more fulfilling, was a mindfulness and a compassion and acceptance of myself that I had never experienced at the ballet barre. 

 

After 10 years of studying with Natasha Rizopoulos, it became clear to me that it was not so much which poses I did or did not attempt. The essence of yoga was the consistency of my practice...the return to my mat again and again...the showing up and being present with whatever was revealed to me on any given day. 

 

I took my first teacher training in 2010 with Birgitte Kristen and Annie Carpenter. I decided I wanted to learn to teach what had become an essential part of my life. In 2013, I was honored to become a teacher on the YogaWorks schedule, teaching classes at the very studio where I began my practice 20 years before.

 

I am first and foremost always a student. I am indebted to Birgitte Kristen and Olivia Barry as two of the most influential mentors on my journey as a teacher.

My classes are a reflection of my practice: alignment based, thoughtfully sequenced, and ultimately a safe space for each one of us to feel more at home in our own bodies.

 

Thank you for being here on this journey with me.