I first stepped on a yoga mat 20 years ago when I was twenty-two. One of my best friends and I went to the Himalayan Institute in Glenview, IL, where my journey began unbeknownst to me. Why are people drawn to yoga? I, like many, fell in love with the grace in which postures where held, the strength that is developed over years of dedicated practice, and positivity and over all good feeling that you receive both during and after each practice. I was really drawn to Yoga because I was born with a weak back and the only thing I knew how to do in life was to fight back and make the rest of my body as strong as I could. Seven surgeries later, I am here to tell you that yoga has made it possible for me to work through my depression surrounding this issue, helps me manage by pain, allows me to feel that I am doing something positive for my body and mind, has taught me humility and grace, and this is only the tip of the iceberg.
During periods of complete activity bans, I explored sound healing as an additional tool to assist me with finding balance in my life. Another tool found that helps transmit me to another place, a place in which I do not feel pain. If only briefly, at least it's all-natural. Meditation, what can I say about this. This has been a life changer for me. Where have you been my whole life and why am I only finding out about you at 40, for real? Once I dove into this world, I was never the same. This transcendence allows you to heal in yet another powerful way. A more euphoric experience does not exist in the natural world; at least I have not found it. Holistic Nutrition got my attention as a way to heal my autoimmune disease naturally. This is something that I have always been fully aware of, but it was not until I studied it in school did I come to the conclusion that we are exactly what we eat. If we want to be healthy, we can eat our way there. It would be my privilege and honor to be able to give this energy and education back to others, and to guide people on the healthy, natural path we were born to live.
I have a undergraduate degree in Leadership and Advocacy from Kendall College located in Evanston, Illinois from which I graduated Cum Laude. From there, I went on the earn a Masters in Education from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and was in the field of financial aid for over a dozen years helping students achieve their dreams. After the birth of my child, Lucas, I co-wrote a multilingual educational children's book series (Luca Lashes) with my family in which my son is the inspiration behind the 9 titles. Years later, following my lifelong passion, I went back to school and attended Southwest Institute of Holistic Arts in Tempe, Arizona to receive my Holistic Practitioner degree, specializing in Advanced Yoga Training (500 hour certified), Yoga Nidra, Sound Healing, Restorative Yoga, Holistic Nutrition, and Life Coaching.