My Yoga Journey
My practice has changed and evolved a lot throughout the years since I first started practicing yoga in 2012. I am grateful for the profound impact it has had on my life but it was not love at first step on to the mat. The first time I took a yoga class, I felt so awkward and uncomfortable in my body and with the experience. (A gentle reminder that we all start somewhere).
I stayed open and curious about the practice, especially when yoga started to alleviate nearly all of my lower back pain (which was brought on by a minor car accident in 2008 and some abnormalities in my spine) and it gave me an opportunity to quiet my thoughts that were usually on overdrive. I became more and more comfortable in my own skin and further explored my spirituality, something I had previously avoided or rebelled against. (That is a story for another day).
My curiosity also led me to a more nomadic lifestyle ~ traveling long term and moving a lot. Around 2014, I was traveling throughout Southeast Asia and Europe and I stopped practicing yoga as consistently. I struggled to have discipline and structure, I was lost in an adventurous flow. Although I look back at these adventures around the world very fondly, I was ultimately quite disconnected from myself, particularly spiritually and creatively.
Yoga became my physical, emotional, and mental safe haven from a stressful, fast-paced work and city environment.
Eventually settling in San Francisco in 2018, yoga became my physical, emotional, and mental safe haven from a stressful, fast-paced work and city environment. The deeper I committed to my practice, the more I could approach my days and difficult situations at work or in my personal life with ease, just as I did on my mat.
Alongside therapy and coaching, my practice eventually helped heal many spiritual and creative wounds I carried. My spirituality and creativity flourished after years of being stagnant. A greater sense of clarity, self-awareness, and compassion (for myself and for others) emerged. Yoga was a new way of living, being present, and most of all, connecting, and I wanted to experience more.
Yoga was a new way of living, being present, and most of all, connecting.
"Yoga” from the Sanskrit word “yoke” can be translated to connection or union ~ a connection or union to yourself and to the Universe around you. I felt a call to explore a deeper connection to my practice and to be in service to others. I set my intention and in 2020, I became a certified yoga instructor with the goal of bringing more love and creativity in the world through yoga.
Always a student, I expanded my knowledge by specializing in yin yoga, restorative yoga, meditation, breathwork, reiki and joined a supportive yoga community in Sonoma County, California. Each and everyday I am grateful for yoga's ability to connect my physical, mental, and emotional energies ultimately cultivating more balance, joy, creativity, ease, and compassion throughout my days.
My goal as a yoga and meditation instructor is to create healing spaces for communities and individuals to find a greater sense of self-awareness, connection, and creativity. You can expect a holistic approach combining yogic philosophy and tradition with thoughtfully planned sequences / meditations, intentional themes, and unique playlists.
If change is the only constant, yoga has been and continues to be a mirror and a reflection to my life..
I feel it important to share my story to encourage others that no matter where you are on your journey, this practice has the ability to meet you wherever you are at. If change is the only constant, yoga has been and continues to be a mirror and a reflection to my life. It ebbs and flows and I can’t wait to see where it goes…
Thanks for being a part of the journey with me.