My yoga experience started in 2012 with a regular (5 days/week) vinyasa practice at Samadhi Yoga Studio in Glenview, IL. Two years later, I attended True Refuge (a retreat focused on self-compassion) with Tara Brach at Kripalu. I developed a passion for a regular yin practice while living with my host family in Wellington, New Zealand. The teachers and practitioners at Pranava Yoga Center in Colorado Springs, CO supported the cultivation of my regular hatha yoga and meditation practice. I completed a Yoga Alliance RYT 200 certification at Pranava. I particularly resonated with workshops about pranayama, the yoga sutras relevance in relationships, Yoga Nidra, chanting, and the Bhagavad-Gita. This past summer, I went to workshops with Seane Corn, Annie Carpenter, and Rod Stryker. Then, I lived in Cambodia from July-October 2017. Since moving to Santa Barbara, I completed the Empower Your Teaching: Skills to Expand Your Craft workshop at Santa Barbara Yoga Center with Kat Connors-Longo. Then, I completed the TM (Transcendental Meditation) course with Mark Hersey. I now practice the TM technique (two, twenty-minute seated meditation sessions) daily. Currently, I teach yoga at the University of California Santa Barbara. I also facilitate an environmental education program at the Wilderness Youth Project. We engage kids in place-based education. The student-centered exploration program develops self-awareness and sustainable gratitude for the natural world.
I appreciate combining environmental education with yoga.