I mostly grew up with my mom and sister in suburban Northern Virginia and was well versed in the art of survival. I studied Fashion Merchandising at VCU and waited tables at too many places to count. By the age of 25, I had interned in New York City, traveled across the US and Europe, married my husband Jared, moved to Key West, opened a catering company, and gave birth to my first daughter Haley - a uniquely special child.

 

For more than a decade, I juggled motherhood, navigating the complex and often heartbreaking world of parenting a child with special needs, all while listening and pursuing an inner calling toward spirituality. I gave birth to my second daughter Izzy, studied religion and eastern philosophy, completed yoga teacher training, opened Ashtanga Yoga Richmond, volunteered at school, drove carpool, managed Haley’s plethora of doctors, therapies, tutors, IEP meetings and so on, dragged my family all over the country to practice with my teachers, made trips to India in search of credentials, and woke up at the crack of dawn most days to teach and then physically contort my body beyond what should even be possible. I was tirelessly seeking to feel better, but mostly coming up exhausted with a nagging sense of "not good enough" playing on repeat.

 

It wasn’t until I met my meditation teacher Pat Buxton on the heels of an intense bout of depression in 2010, that I really began to wake up to my habit of overdoing and recognize that the energy behind all of my efforting was actually perpetuating my dis-ease. It became clear that I needed to stop looking outside of myself for validation and for 'things' to make me happy, and muster the courage to sit right in the middle of my life and trust that the peace and freedom I was searching for were within me.

 

I have been undoing myself ever since. Peeling back the layers of who I thought I was, listening to my body compass, creating space for stillness and essentially learning how to rest and live more fully in each moment. It isn't always easy or comfortable, and I am often going against the grain of what our culture values. But I continue to use the material of my life - the ordinary moments to the most challenging conditions - as a vehicle to create change and experience myself differently. Life will keep giving you what you need for transformation. Have you noticed?

 

I am eternally grateful to my teacher Pat and the tribe of humans that support me on this path. Teachers show up in the most unexpected places and my daughter Haley has taught me more about my humanness than any amount of meditation, therapy, books, silent retreats, degrees, certifications and workshops combined. She is a constant whisper for me to "soften", a mantra that I have been carrying in my heart for many years now.

 

In 2022, I completed Martha Beck’s Wayfinder Life Coach Training which aligns with what is most important to me - living in integrity, connecting authentically and hopefully finding some compassion and humor for myself in the process. My intention is to create a safe and inclusive space for my clients to get curious about themselves. Working with the inner landscape has the ability to greatly influence our perception of the external world and I am here to support and encourage that journey.