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Welcome! I get it. Life is full of transitions! And if you are here exploring what else is possible beyond the experience of overwhelm and discomfort in body and spirit, I honor you for showing up and seeking. I'm passionate about helping self-aware women feel at home in their bodies and feel so alive, awake and connected to self, others, and all of life. |
Easeful living...even in the not-so-easy moments of life is truly possible!
And here’s the story that is behind my passion for this body and soul care work…
Shortly after growing our family from three to five through adoption in 2010, I found myself utterly exhausted.
I was scared that my compassion and patience were running out and I felt completely overwhelmed as a parent. I didn’t feel like myself, and I didn’t know if things would ever change. My body ached. May mind raced. My soul felt, well...dull.
Funny thing was that I was healthy…ish. After all, I was practicing and teaching yoga, eating healthy, walking, and exercising. But my digestion was off and my hormones were so out of balance. I felt distracted, behind in everything, impatient, and edgy. (Oh...and I was very good at hiding most of this from others.)
Before my husband and I adopted our two youngest girls from Ethiopia, I thought I was prepared. I’d poured my energy into research--books, blogs, adoption guides, anything. And then after the adoption I dove into anything that would support their health and healing--food, therapies, supplements, support groups, yoga, essential oils, and more--anything that would help them recover from what was (based on all the research and “expert” opinions, a traumatic transition and early malnourishment.
Through it all, my yoga mat was a refuge from my overscheduled, overwhelming life as a parent, wife, and yoga studio owner. But the calm I felt on the mat evaporated whenever I stepped back into the rest of my life. Worry and anxiety swelled as I stumbled through the storm of parenting, work, achy body and life disrupted.
And then one day...I remember I was yelling at my kids--really yelling. And I remember thinking, “I’m not yelling at them because I’m unhappy with them. I’m yelling at them because I’m unhappy.” And by “unhappy” I mean unhealthy, disconnected, completely exhausted, resentful, strung out, and depleted. The shame and blame and feelings of never being enough had become so great.
While that wasn’t a good moment, it was an “aha” moment--a turning point that led to more insights about the kind of parent and the kind of women I wanted to be. And I knew that the kind of parent and women I desired to be was TRULY ME. But that part of me--the essence of me-- was buried in so much yuck and muck--covered by everything I thought I needed to be and everything I thought I had to do to “get it right.”
Inspired and determined to demand something different from me I paused in presence and prayer, asking God/Source/Universe to show me what else was possible.
I took action and sought help. It led me to two amazing teachers, Dr. Claudia Welch and Cate Stillman. With them I began to explore Ayurveda, a practice I’d heard of before as a sort of “sister science” to yoga. But as I began to grow in my understanding, I really experienced Ayurveda to be ayur (life) veda (wisdom)--life wisdom.
I could go on and on about the benefits of this time-tested healing system of Ayurveda, but essentially, it helped me realize why I was feeling so out of sync. It’s because I was! Out of sync with my body, out of harmony with nature’s rhythms, and out of touch with my best true self--ME the gift who came into this world as a gift--just like you.
At the heart of it all, I began to realize that what I really needed was to take care of myself. Take care of my body, my spirit, my emotions. Let me be clear. My kids weren’t the ones wearing me out. It wasn’t my partner’s fault that I was unhealthy. It was me. I was wearing myself out.
And I was ready to change that!
So I made changes.
Some fast, some slow, and some still in progress. And I began to really live into some very basic, important principles:
I care for myself so I can care for others
I love my self so I can love others
I am kind to myself so I can be kind to others
I am in allowance of myself so I can allow others to BE who they are
I trust myself so I can trust others
I forgive myself so I can forgive others
I give to myself so I can give back to my family, community and world.
Now this is what I do. I help women who feel a little (or alot) overwhelmed by life and life transitions create more ease in body, life and parenting and THRIVE!
- I guide them as they explore the “life wisdom” of Ayurveda and discover their own inner wisdom.
- I support them as they develop radical self-care strategies that are simple and practical yet so dynamic!
- I help them reclaim confidence, grace, and a great night’s sleep.
- I empower them with tools and practices to create the life they desire and age gracefully. (And I cheer with them when they notice their children following their example.)
And I cheer with you when you notice your children following picking up habits of self-care.
Ultimately, I celebrate families as they discover what it means for them to thrive!
If you know something else is possible and are ready to thrive, start with a free thrive session.
Gain clarity on where you want to go and receive a tool to put into practice. We can also explore if working together is a good fit.
Life transitions will keep coming. What if you could feel nourished through them?
I have experienced many more in recent years, including a cross country move with our family of five, a very difficult transition for one of my daughters, the stage four cancer diagnosis of my partner, and navigating the changes of aging parents and memory loss.
I am so grateful for the tiny self-care habits I put in place years ago that keep growing, evolving and sustain me through thick and thin.
I am grateful I chose invest in me, to seek support and community.
I am so grateful for energetic tools and empowering questions that allow me to change so much in the moment to moment, breath to breath.
I am so grateful I get to share these tools and coach women who also know something else, something greater is possible. Together we are creating a new normal--where self-care is part of daily living so we can show up present and awake in all that we do and BE.
If you know something else is possible and are ready to thrive, start with a free thrive session.
Gain clarity on where you want to go and receive a tool to put into practice. We can also explore if working together is a good fit.
Life transitions will keep coming. What if you could feel nourished through them?
I have experienced many more in recent years, including a cross country move with our family of five, a very difficult transition for one of my daughters, the stage four cancer diagnosis of my partner, and navigating the changes of aging parents and memory loss.
I am so grateful for the tiny self-care habits I put in place years ago that keep growing, evolving and sustain me through thick and thin.
I am grateful I chose invest in me, to seek support and community.
I am so grateful for energetic tools and empowering questions that allow me to change so much in the moment to moment, breath to breath.
I am so grateful I get to share these tools and coach women who also know something else, something greater is possible. Together we are creating a new normal--where self-care is part of daily living so we can show up present and awake in all that we do and BE.
I’m grateful to have worked with people of all ages to help restore a sense of balance, ease, and peace to their daily lives. A life-long learner, I have gathered many certifications, studied various modalities, and created opportunities to expand and share along the way. Here are a few of those areas of study and experience.
Master of Divinity from McCormick Theological Seminary
Registered Yoga Teacher Training with Poonam Gupta
Living Ayurveda and Yoga Health Coaching with Cate Stillman of YogaHealer
Certified Prenatal Yoga Teacher
Workshops and trainings in pranayama, yin and restorative yoga, kids yoga
Core Functional Fitness™ with Hope Zvara
Access Consciousness Bars® Practitioner and Facilitator
Co-founder YogaRootsRacine, Wisconsin
Creator of Discover Your Center, LLC
As I’ve moved through this life, I’ve had the honored that has put me with people of all walks of life.
From waitressing and retail, to working in a community center in Hollywood, to being a young adult mission volunteer in Argentina for a year, directing a shelter for homeless and runaway youth, teaching English as a Second Language to Migrant workers on apple farms of Michigan, teaching pottery to kids and adults, and faith-based community organizing around worker's rights issues.
So many people have contributed to what I offer today.
I am a teacher and a connector. I truly enjoy sharing what I know or connecting others to something if it contributes to their lives. Then, it is so incredibly fun to watch them run and thrive and evolve and create in their own way, receiving their own wisdom.
Master of Divinity from McCormick Theological Seminary
Registered Yoga Teacher Training with Poonam Gupta
Living Ayurveda and Yoga Health Coaching with Cate Stillman of YogaHealer
Certified Prenatal Yoga Teacher
Workshops and trainings in pranayama, yin and restorative yoga, kids yoga
Core Functional Fitness™ with Hope Zvara
Access Consciousness Bars® Practitioner and Facilitator
Co-founder YogaRootsRacine, Wisconsin
Creator of Discover Your Center, LLC
As I’ve moved through this life, I’ve had the honored that has put me with people of all walks of life.
From waitressing and retail, to working in a community center in Hollywood, to being a young adult mission volunteer in Argentina for a year, directing a shelter for homeless and runaway youth, teaching English as a Second Language to Migrant workers on apple farms of Michigan, teaching pottery to kids and adults, and faith-based community organizing around worker's rights issues.
So many people have contributed to what I offer today.
I am a teacher and a connector. I truly enjoy sharing what I know or connecting others to something if it contributes to their lives. Then, it is so incredibly fun to watch them run and thrive and evolve and create in their own way, receiving their own wisdom.
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You can find free resources I share on Facebook and YouTube as well.
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I would love to hear from you.
Let's connect! |