I have taught yoga for 29 years and practiced for 31. I specialize in combining the yoga tradition with Body Mind Centering, and provide support with my knowledge of yoga; my intuition and insights; my in-depth knowledge of the body; and from the love that I have cultivated in my heart. In my work, I teach students from all walks of life, encouraging them to find the truth of their own experience. My areas of expertise include yoga therapy, pain management, embodied anatomy, developmental movement patterns, healing through the breath, body-focused meditations, and embryology in relationship to yoga.

I was born and raised on a cattle ranch in Northeast Oregon. Yoga was nowhere on my radar. When I found this practice, it not only began to heal my body, it opened my mind and healed my wounded soul. I was fascinated by how this practice taught me to listen to my inner wisdom and to trust my breath. I loved how it combined teachings around social justice, non-violence, truth, breathing exercises, body therapies, meditation, and much more. In my daily practice, I watched as my body, mind, and soul began to heal. I came to know myself, not through my wounds, but from the abiding Love that existed in and all around me.

I began studying with Donna Farhi in 1991. She introduced me to the teachings of Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, who developed Body Mind Centering. I continuously expanded my education over the next decade, attending trainings with the leading Yoga instructors of the time, including Rodney Yee, Angela Farmer, Aadil Palkhivala, Donna Farhi, John Friend, and Bonnie Baindbridge. I was hungry — and in love. Eventually, I went to Mount Madonna to get my teacher certification. I began to find my own teaching voice, and became committed to taking the teachings of yoga to the small towns I had grown up in. I have been practicing, studying, and teaching yoga now for 29 years. I am grateful for all the teachers and students who have supported me on this path.

When I decided to offer retreats, workshops, and teacher trainings around the world, I wanted to share the beauty of this practice with others. It is a goal of mine to maintain and pass down the importance of connection, quality instruction, and having an in-depth knowledge of the body in our endeavors as students and teachers of yoga.

• Mind-Body Centering: Embodied Anatomy and Yoga Certified Teacher, 500 hours. Certificate received.
• Donna Farhi: Yoga Teacher Training, (4) 150-hour trainings. Certificates received.
• Joseph LePage: Therapeutic Yoga Teacher Training, 200 hours. Certification received.
• Sarajoy Marsh: Anusara Yoga Teacher Training, 200 hours.
• Camille Thom: Iyengar Yoga Teacher Certification, 200 hours.
• Embodied Anatomy and Yoga Certification program. Served as assistant to Amy Matthews, Mary Lou Seereiter and Wendy Hambidge.
• Practicing Thai Massage Therapist, 6 years.
• Physical Therapy Clinic Therapeutic Yoga Specialist (La Grande, Ore.), 4 years. Worked with pain related to headaches; back; hip, knee, and shoulder replacements; brain injuries; sports rehabilitation; surgery recovery; stress related tension; and worked with the elderly.