I was born and raised on the island of O‘ahu. I grew up swimming in the ocean and dancing on land. Our kitchen floor was my dance studio, and movement was my language. English was really my second language and my style of learning really didn’t fit with the conventional school approach to learning. It wasn’t until 5th grade that I would meet my teaching hero, Mrs. Mabel Hefty. She had the passion and magic of being able to meet each student on their turf, nurture their gifts and make them feel extraordinary. I flourished under her radiance and was honored with the “Most Improved Student Award” that year. As testing became more and more the measure of intelligence, I carried Mrs. Hefty’s belief in me close to my heart.

When I began teaching dance and movement to kids and adults in 1981, I knew I had found my calling. College took me down the path of architecture and fine arts. It wasn’t until 1990 that I found my way back to the theatre, directing and choreographing in New Orleans. It took me until 1995, when I moved to New York City, to find my way back to teaching. I was teaching story creation, playwriting, play production and literacy in a public school, and had a short run as a substitute teacher (only to learn being a classroom teacher wasn’t my calling). I loved my work in the public schools. I was touched by the kids’ stories, only wishing that the parents were in the room to hear the hope in their stories. In classrooms often filled with 35 plus students, we moved and vocalized and imagined and played. I knew I had to bring adults and kids into the same room together learning from each other. It was about then I met Kevin.

By then, I had a strong yoga practice and began teaching yoga in 1998. Kevin and I also began practicing and teaching Flying Partner Yoga together. Our passion for this blending of yoga, partnering, acrobatics, and massage grew and grew. We found a community of teachers exploring this wonderful mixture in 1997 and continue to cross paths.

My passion for teaching deepened. I recalled myself as a kid and began asking myself how I would have learned best. I remembered Mrs. Hefty skillfully noticing where my learning got stuck and where it flourished. I wanted to do this for other kids and adults, who often still struggle with learning something new. I wanted to create a safe and playful environment for learning, where there is no right and wrong. A space free of judgement with a invitation to take a risk without the consequence of failure. I noticed in myself that these circumstances allowed me to flourish and discover unfamiliar, disenfranchised parts of myself. I wanted a place where we could hold questions without the need for an answer. I wanted a place where we could simply breathe and laugh and move and be foolish. I began to feel my world expand. CircusYoga is my offering to others, but it is also and offering to myself that I so deeply need.

Thank you, Mrs. Hefty.