About Me
I believe that every individual possesses the ability to heal themselves from within and be resilient in the face of life’s toughest challenges. Just as the lotus flower begins growing at the bottom of muddy, murky water, and slowly emerges toward the surface, bursting out of the water into a beautiful blossom; I aspire to guide people towards a beautiful life despite their story, despite their wounds, and despite their challenges and fears.
It took many years of peeling back layers, breaking through barriers, lots of struggle, heartache, life changing events, courage and hope for me to come to the place I am now. I had to dig deep and search my soul for answers and guidance to heal from within and create lasting change.
Yoga has been my saving grace. I started practicing for the first time over a decade ago at a local gym. I was starting a new chapter and looking for ways to keep busy and stay fit. I soon figured out that yoga practices helped quiet my mind and feel at ease. It forced me to slow down, be still, and be present in the moment. It helped me detoxify from the way I was eating and living, and break through the concrete wall between my head and my body.
Fast forward to today, yoga is now such an integral part of my life. I don’t know how I ever survived without it. It has given me confidence, strength, and balance. It has taught me a new way of looking at the world and at my own life. It has energized me, humbled me, and reminded me that truly anything is possible with patience, practice, and perseverance. Everyday yoga continues to teach me lessons and inspires me to face my fears so I can move past them to reach my highest potential. It’s led me down a path of holistic healing, nourishing foods, and spiritual enlightenment. Yoga helped me tune into my intuition and discover my dharma, or life’s purpose.
I feel passionate about inspiring lives and making a positive contribution to the world. I aspire to bring divine healing light and love and to help alleviate suffering in the world. My ability to guide, support, and coach others greatly comes out of my own life experiences, self-healing practices, and the world class trainings I've completed. My belief is that everything changes when we stop seeing our challenges as problems and rather, see them as opportunities for growth and expansion. I am here to guide individuals through the deep inner work required for healing, so they can experience unprecedented levels of joy, boundless love for life, and a brave reconnection with themselves.
Inspiration
One of my biggest inspirations to pursing a path in holistic healing is my sister, Olivia. She lives with cerebral palsy, a condition marked by impaired muscle coordination and other disabilities caused by damage to her brain shortly after birth. She was born ten weeks premature and weighed only two ounces. Two and half weeks after she was born she got a blood infection and became septic which went to her brain causing a lack of oxygen. For sixty two days while in the hospital I was only allowed to look at her through a window. She was the size of my hand, hooked up to ventilators, machines, and monitors in a tiny incubator, a sight I’ll never forget.
At nine months she was officially diagnosed with cerebral palsy, spastic dysplasia. At twenty two months she was diagnosed legally blind. At age five, gelastic seizures began and later she was diagnosed with quadriplegia, paralysis of all four limbs. Despite the challenges, Olivia's early childhood consisted of numerous therapies to help her develop and grow to her fullest potential. From hyperbaric oxygen therapy, hippotherapy, hydrotherapy, to vision and speech therapy, botox injections for muscle support, leg braces, walkers and wheelchairs, she's experienced it all.
As she grew into her teenage years, both hips dislocated due to spasticity. As a result, she had her right femoral head & neck removed at age fourteen. The following year scoliosis started as a ten degree curvature and rotation, and due to her removed hip the curvature quickly progressed greater than hundred degrees. Due to the scoliosis she was diagnosed with restrictive lung disease and chronic respiratory failure with hypercapnia.
Her immune system is weak and her body aches daily but she’s a fighter and continues to inspire everyone she crosses paths with. She is a ray of light, full of hope, courage, strength, and love. Her wisdom and positive attitude are remarkable. She is beautiful, deeply inspiring, and sets an example for all. And while the disorder affects her physical body, it could never destroy the strength of her spirit and the eternal beauty of her soul. I feel truly blessed and immensely grateful to be on this journey with her.
Olivia helped illuminate a path on which I will spend the rest of my life. She inspired me to raise awareness to children on nutrition education, physical activity and yoga, which have played an integral part in her own health and wellbeing. Through my personal experiences with Olivia and the specialized trainings at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and Asanas for Special Needs Children, I’ve acquired valuable tools that I feel passionately about sharing with children of all ages and abilities.
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