One of my happiest and most vivid childhood memories is of me standing under the cherry blossom tree in our driveway with my arms stretched open as the pink petals snowed down around me. This tree was directly in front of my bedroom window so I felt a special connection to it, like it was my pet or my friend more than anyone else's in the house. I loved watching it bloom in the spring and loved even more when the petals drifted from the branches to the ground. This memory of me slow twirling under the petals also happens to be one of my parents' favorite memories. Unknown to me, they were watching me from the dining room window with just as much joy and wonderment as I had as I looked up at the flurry of pink against the bright blue sky and web of branches, in the peace and gentle sounds around me.

It is this feeling of joy, connection with nature and universal spirit, wonderment, mystery and love that I get when I teach and practice yoga, dance and express myself, feel and give love. It is this feeling that makes me feel alive and makes me happy and grateful to be alive and makes me want to share that feeling with as many people as possible. Although it hasn't always felt easy to reconnect to this feeling, I know it is always there to be experienced again and again, from different situations and new relationships. And although it isn't always a bright sunny day with gentle sounds around us and pink petals floating by, this feeling is always available inside of us and in between us. I am just as grateful for the challenges and the darkness that life creates as I am for the ease and lightness. There is beauty and wonderment and joy in all of it, equally.

It is my intention to continually create space for people to find this feeling within themselves, recognize it in one another and share in its beauty and grace. Day to day, I teach practical yoga sequences that address all kinds of physical, mental and emotional conditions. I apply yoga techniques (postures, breathing, meditating, movement) and Thai Yoga Bodywork to create an environment for grounding, healing and growth.