About Me

IMG_0898.jpg

I don’t specifically recall my very first yoga class but I believe it was in 2008 (age 33) - it didn’t stick!  It took me over a decade, dealing with a personal health issue, leading to a move and career shift to discover the healing power of yoga.  

Five years later (age 38), finding myself financially abundant after working hard to build my personal chef business I decided it was time to invest in my health.  I bought a package of personal training sessions and was determined to get fit, no matter what.  I did everything that my trainer asked me to do and it worked!  I lost the pesky 10 lbs that had been bothering me since my teenage years. I remember waking up in the mornings feeling happy because I felt thin.  I built some muscles and became a gym rat.

Unfortunately the start of 2015 (age 40) brought on debilitating symptoms from uterine fibroids.  I had hemorrhaging and almost non-stop menstrual cycles.  I was not only tired from low iron, but emotionally traumatized.  My workouts at the gym became infrequent as I desperately searched for a solution.  After trying many natural/holistic remedies for months, I decided on a minimally invasive surgery.  It seemed like overnight I had a new lease on life and was able to return to my workouts.

Shortly after I returned to the gym, I peered into a yoga class in the group fitness room.  What caught my attention was the teacher and how effortless she looked in the poses so I decided to try yoga again.  This class was different from my previous yoga experience.  She once had us close our eyes and just listen.  She didn’t speak much, but rather asked us to just observe anything we could hear.  Of course I heard noises in the gym, weights clunking down and grunts from weightlifters but when I listened more intently I could hear bird noises outside the gym.  I was really intrigued by this!  I went to class regularly with this yoga teacher, including taking private classes for over a year.  I was determined to look effortless like she did in her poses.

During the months I struggled with the fibroids, I read a lot about health and wellness.  I was so intrigued by how little I knew about what being truly healthy meant.  I realized how much tremendous stress I had put upon myself building my business.  At the end of 2016, I decided it was time for a new chapter in my life. I moved from New York City (where I had been living for 15+ years) back to my hometown of Toronto, Canada and I enrolled in a health coaching program. 

At the start of 2017 (age 42) I attended my first Iyengar yoga class upon recommendation from my last yoga teacher that this style of yoga would be well suited for me.  For almost two years I attended classes weekly as I wrestled to settle into life back in Canada.  It was a challenging time of acquainting myself with old friends (some that I no longer had anything in common with) and rebuilding a new network.

The beginning of 2019 was a turning point.  I started studying at The School of Applied Functional Medicine to broaden my tool kit as a health coach and found a beautiful community of like-minded health practitioners. When a job became available at the Iyengar yoga studio, I jumped at the chance.  I loved being more immersed in the yoga community and especially helping out in the therapeutic classes.  Unfortunately when Covid hit, the studio closed permanently at the end of 2020.  

As unfortunate as that situation was, Covid brought me other opportunities.  I was able to complete my Applied Functional Medicine Certification in 2021 and discovered online yoga classes with Lois Steinberg.  My first introduction to Lois was actually from her women’s book to learn more about how to practice for uterine fibroids.  I was surprised by how my periods became completely pain-free.  I was already in love with yoga but Lois helped me to fall in love with my own practice.  As my own practice took center stage, my confidence soared.  I knew early on when I found Iyengar yoga that I wanted to be a teacher someday. It wasn't until I embraced my personal practice that I truly felt prepared to step into the role of a teacher.

Credentials