My Story

How this changed the way I teach fitness… What I thought to be the “peak” of my life was actually the beginning of a life-changing health crisis. I was teaching 5-10 high-intensity aerobics classes per week, so busy traveling for work that I barely squeezed in time to get married. My wedding was on the heels of organizing an international sport and fitness conference followed by a trip to New Mexico and then onto South Africa for another project. It was 9 days after the wedding that I found out that I was pregnant and the beginning of when I really started to feel “off”. My endocrine system— the system that controls our metabolism, development, sleep, mood, and a whole lot else was frantically pressing the “mayday” button. I didn’t realize that my naturally “go, go, go” body and mind were about to spiral out of control. I threw up for the next 9 months of my pregnancy and had to quit teaching altogether. Half way through my pregnancy, my doctor recommended I take a pre-natal yoga class— which, let me be honest, was the last type of workout I thought I would ever do. To my type “A” personality, yoga was for weirdos and people who couldn’t handle real workouts. It ended up saving my life. Yoga taught me the vital importance of slowing down, noticing and listening to what my body needs — bringing both my body and mind back into balance. This is the fitness philosophy my classes embody today. Instead of exerting ourselves to our limit, we can be attentive to when our bodies give us feedback to go slow, too. I like to say my classes bring together the balance of a mindful body awareness of the East, with an upbeat fitness energy of the West.

Here’s a lesson from yoga I still carry with me today…. It was 20 years ago that my journey with yoga began. It was my very first interaction with a wise and intuitive pre-natal yoga instructor that gave me the foundation of my teaching. She was a well-seasoned instructor that took one look at me as I entered her class and knew that the “yoga” I needed would be best executed lying on bolsters, cocooned in blankets in the corner of the room. You see, I had just thrown up in the parking lot and had not had a good night’s sleep in weeks. She took one look at me and just knew. She knew, much better than I, that what my body needed most was rest and a good cry. I was so used to overriding my feelings that I was completely out of touch with what I thought and how I felt. This well-seasoned yogic guide, held space for me and just allowed me to be. I left there feeling the best I had in months. It took several years to assimilate the lessons I learned that day. I knew I wanted to have the intuition to teach like her. This evolved slowly, over several years, to a place where I now teach my students to notice, listen and feel, to bring their body back into balance and alignment.

You hold the secret to your own health… Three pregnancies in 4 years and the frenetic lifestyle I had lived prior to pregnancy led to my health crisis. Shortly after the birth of my third child, I found myself unable to get out of bed, suffering from chronic fatigue, hair loss, unexplained rashes and a leaky gut. This was a “constellation of symptoms with no diagnosis” as they called it. Physician after physician wanted to put me on antidepressants, but I knew this wasn’t depression. This was my body attacking itself. I was afraid to slow down. It’s all I knew. I felt best doing, and packed my life full to suit what I thought I needed. Turns out what I thought was right for me was actually driving my body into an auto-immune deficiency. It took 19 years to learn to slow down, quiet my mind, and practice self-compassion. My symptoms miraculously disappeared. What I’ve learned from those 19 years of illness is that there is no one-size-fits-all diet, workout regime, or health coaching protocol. We all need to slow down and let this amazing self-healing organism do its handiwork. Optimal health is your unique story waiting to be told. As your health coach, I aim to give you insight into what you already know, deep down inside yourself, to help change the narrative in your head. With practice, creative inquiry, and lots of support we set goals for returning you to the best and most authentic version of you with self-compassion at every step of the journey.

The value of reflecting on where you’ve been… I’ve always said that the hardest times in our lives aren’t failures; they’re our greatest teachers. Our deepest struggles are meant to make us look inward and examine the kind of person we want to be. Moving 38 times in my life was a big pain point for me. I could blend in like a chameleon wherever I went, but I never experienced a true sense of community, true belonging. Always being the girl eating lunch alone made me never want to see anyone feel left out. I’ve made it a priority in my classes to encourage hugs and handshakes, conversation and connection - creating community. The 19 years it took me to recover from an autoimmune disease, has also been one of my greatest teachers. It made me dive deep into yoga and understand the true nature of health. Being sick for so long gave me time to peel back the layers and fully understand who I was and how I was perpetuating my illness. There are many quick fixes and pills to take to “achieve better health.” I take a different approach. I listen. I ask. I share. I believe people gravitate to those who are open and honest and vulnerable. That is what I hope to bring to you in my classes and my retreats— a place to reflect on the person you’re becoming, to see the good in where you’ve been and to use it as the fuel for unleashing your best, most authentic self.