“Grounding and settling in body and breath opens possibilities for personal growth and transformation.”
Yoga has helped me gain perspective, inner strength and serenity. Its effect on me have been so profound that I made it my career. I’m passionate about learning and creating connections and believe that the practices of yoga should be accessible to everyone. My classes emphasize somatic awareness, alignment, introspection and adaptations. I love to teach the nuances of the poses, not simply their finished physical products. I believe that the transformative power of yoga is revealed not only through what we do but through how we approach the practice. Yoga has changed my life and the life of many of my students.
My journey teaching yoga began in 2014 after 12 years spent abroad doing international development work. I did my first teacher training in 2010 while living in Nepal and obtained my 200h Yoga Teacher Certification after moving to the US in 2013. I started working with people living with mobility restrictions and chronic health conditions in 2014 and decided to specialize in Adaptive Yoga. I became an Opening Yoga Instructor (OYI), a Mind Body Solutions Certification, in 2018 and completed a 300H Advanced Yoga Teacher Training focused on Adaptive Yoga at Phinney Ridge Yoga in Seattle in 2019.
I love working one on one with students. I’ve been doing yoga with individuals living with spinal cord injury, MS, forms of muscular dystrophy, brain injury, back and shoulder injuries, lung and kidney transplants, arthritis, osteoporosis and with people living with anxiety and depression. I’m grateful for the connections and learning that happen through these privileged relationships. Over the years, many of my students have reconnected with their bodies, learned how to move safely, regained a sense of agency and preserved their independence and ability to do their day-to-day activities. These stories of transformation nourish my motivation to share yoga’s healing principles and practices with everyone.
I am grateful for the guidance of my teachers, in particular:
Chetnath Adhikari (Chetana Yoga and Natural Treatment Foundation, Kathmandu, Nepal) with who I have done my first teacher training in 2010 and who introduced me to the whole of yoga, Laura Yon and Christy Fisher (Phinney Ridge Yoga, Seattle WA) who have helped me deepen my knowledge of safe and evidenced-based movements and deepen my personal practice, Matthew Sanford (Founder of Mind Body Solutions, Minneapolis, MN), who has a unique understanding of the healing power of yoga, Doug Keller and Djuna Mascall, for their deep understanding of anatomy and their ability to bring embodiment to the precious principles contained in ancient Yoga and Buddhist philosophy. My thanks extend to many Seattle based teachers who I have practiced and have learned from over the years: Megan Carroll, Adi Turner, Denise Benitez, Annie Stocker.
Qualifications
9+ years of experience teaching yoga, working privately or in group settings with a wide range of students (individuals living will disabilities and health conditions, seniors, college students, beginners of all ages)
Certified Yoga Teacher (E-RYT 500) registered with the Yoga Alliance since 2013 (3000+ hours of teaching experience).
Certified 300-Hour Yoga Teacher Training, Phinney Ridge Yoga, Seattle 2019
Certified Opening Yoga Instructor (OYI) with Mind Body Solutions (MN) 2018
Certified Yoga for Amputee Instructor with Yoga for amputees, Marsha T Danzig 2015
Certified 200-Hour Teacher Training, The Samarya Center, Seattle 2013
Yoga Teacher Training Certificate, Chetana Yoga and Natural Treatment Foundation, Kathmandu, Nepal 2010
Working with Seniors and College Students since 2014, Part-time Faculty at South Seattle College since 2017
Collaborative member of Adaptive Yoga Northwest (AYNW), a group offering adaptive yoga classes and teacher training in the Pacific NW
6+ years of additional teaching and guiding experience in various settings (French Teacher at Alliance Francaise de Seattle and South Seattle Colleges, Guide-interpreter for Parks Canada, Sports Instructor-Quebec City, Canada)
MA Political Science (International Relations and Comparative Politics) from Laval University, Canada
Fluent in English, French and Spanish
