What brought you to yoga?
My quest for healing and self-discovery shaped my journey to yoga. After enduring years of chronic anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and physical pain from conditions like spondylolisthesis, scoliosis, and a pinched ulnar nerve, I found myself stuck and dissatisfied with my life. Although I practiced yoga, it wasn’t until I was overwhelmed by persistent negative thoughts that I fully embraced it as a means of mental focus and healing. Yoga became my sanctuary, helping me calm my mind, alleviate anxiety, and relieve physical pain. Through this practice, I developed self-love, built strength, and shifted my nervous system from stress to relaxation.

What is your approach to teaching?
As a yoga and wellness practitioner, my approach is grounded in mindfulness. My goal is to help students learn how to connect with and honor their bodies for where it is at now, not where they think they need to be. I encourage students to tap in and listen more closely to their intuition and learn how to trust their heart-mind and grow in their yoga practice without judgment or self-criticism so that the experience of yoga feels safe and approachable.

Why did you choose to teach at 5KY?
I chose 5 keys because their philosophy and values align very closely with my own. Plus, I like the cozy intimate setting, which is helpful for those who prefer a smaller class size.

What makes your soul sing?
I am an amateur singer. In a literal way, singing makes my soul sing. Haha! Singing and performing have always been a part of my life. It makes me so happy to belt out the big soaring notes and just let my heart feel free. 

What brought you to your yoga practice?
     I had been interested in Buddhism and eastern spiritual practices since I was in high school but became more fully interested again in my late 40s when I started a regular meditation practice. My interest in meditation is what actually led me to yoga. As I read more about meditation, it became clear to me that the practice of yoga could enhance my meditation practice.  

What benefits did you notice once you started practicing consistently?
First I learned that yoga was a wonderful way to become more centered, focused and calm in a way that was different from meditation but also a complimenting it . I also learned that yoga was good for my body.  As I practiced more regularly, I found that my body became both stronger and more flexible.  As I have aged, this has been a wonderful benefit.  If I don’t practice regularly at this point, I really feel it in my body.  Apart from Asana practice, the more I have practiced, the more I have learned about the other aspects of yoga including the precepts of the yoga sutras.  These have helped to provide a compass in my life that I did not expect at all.  
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What would you now tell yourself before you started practicing yoga?
That yoga has so many benefits beyond the obvious ones of helping you stay in shape!  More importantly, I would  tell myself that yoga is a constantly evolving endeavor - a practice and not a goal.  I used to hope that I could eventually do poses perfectly but I realize now that perfection is not the goal nor is it really attainable.  It is the process of evolving toward any given pose or any given mindset that is the focus.