My yoga story is not uncommon. I found yoga through physical asana first after years of committing my body to high intensity sports and struggling to find comfort in regular daily tasks like walking, running, or standing due to pain in my joints and back. I visited chiropractors and physical therapists regularly as a teen to no avail. My eventual deviation from soccer and rugby was paired with my ascent through college and post-graduate life. I unfortunately plummeted into a deep mental health crisis during law school and quickly decided that the legal life was not for me (thank Gaia, could you imagine me in a suit?!).

Yoga was my saving grace—the only thing I looked forward to each day, and the only thing to bring me any sense of relief from anxiety and depression. I was hooked. Yoga was and is my self-study—where I fall deeply in love with the process of getting to know myself better each time I arrive to my mat. For the first time in my life, I had broken free from thinking that aches and pains were normal. It is for this reason that my yoga practice and teaching style is rooted in anatomical alignment and injury prevention.

All of that said, physical asana is only one part of yoga. Now that I had removed pain and discomfort from my life, it was time to turn inward. As someone who was always health conscious and who valued a plant-based diet that still gave me everything I needed, I discovered Ayurveda and herbalism as a means to help with my microbiome, with better sleep, hormonal balances, mental clarity, physical strength, and more.

Regulating and balancing the physical body brought me then to seek spiritual balance and vitality.  I was captivated by energy work and spiritual healing. The concept of the Chakra piqued my interest through my yoga, and working closely with them in my meditation practice led to Reiki. There is no better state of bliss than after a mind-altering Reiki treatment opening the gates for self-realization. Reiki cleanses internal energy pathways to create space for lovingkindness, compassion, and self-love. It sheds my sense of ego so that my heart remains open to what the universe has in store for me. Being a Reiki practitioner means I get to be a conduit and guide for universal life force healing energy. Everyone deserves to feel seen and empowered.

Everyone deserves to feel strong, beautiful, and healthy. It is our birthright.