Born and raised in Central California, I came to Chicago from San Francisco for a graduate degree in Psychology in 1999 and fell in love with the city, the people, and the snow! After also falling in love with an amazing person, I got married, had 2 children and settled in Logan Square. During the few years I spent as full-time mother, I discovered yoga. I was drawn to it as way to reconnect with who I am as a person, not just the various roles that I played in my life. I was also drawn to the quiet reflection and the turning-inward that yoga encouraged.
In 2011, I felt a calling to open a yoga studio in my beloved neighborhood. I took a leap, found the perfect space and worked hard to make Tula a reality.
I purposely chose not to pursue a yoga teacher’s certification or training program before opening the studio because I wanted to make sure that I built the studio through the beginner’s mind of a student, still open to many ideas and interpretations.
In March of 2020, I felt a calling to teach this wonderful practice. I completed my 200-hour training with Tula Yoga Studio (under the exceptional tutelage of our Tula teaching team) . In August 2023, I completed a 500-hour SomaYoga (Somatics + Yoga) Teacher training with Yoga North Duluth. I also hold a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Level 1 Teaching Certificate with Brown University and offer MBSR sessions throughout the year and meditations sessions weekly.
I am extensively trained in trauma-recovery through yoga, somatics, Ayurveda, and mindful meditation.
I teach gentle, slow and mindful movements. My classes are trauma-sensitive, highly accessible and infused with underlying yoga philosophy and ethics. You may find elements of qigong, pilates, somatics, physical therapy exercises and functional movements interwoven with traditional yoga postures. I combine these movements with pranayama, mudras, meditation and mantra/intention to create well-balanced and experiential classes. They are designed to increase flexibility, strengthen the body and add stability to everyday movements. I also aim to cultivate curiosity, increase one’s interoception, emotional regulation and contemplative skills.
I believe yoga is a pathway for getting in touch with the higher SELF. I firmly believe, as Indu Arora often says, that “yoga is a work-IN, not a work-out”. Every student who steps into my classes, are my greatest teachers.
Beginning in 2024, I will be pursuing my 1000-hour Yoga Therapist Certification with YogaNorth Duluth and training in Dharma Yoga Mindfulness at Spirit Rock.
When I’m not at running the studio or doing/teaching yoga/meditation, I am hanging with my awesome teens + husband, traveling, playing with my 2 dogs, reading fiction/poetry, exploring my native Hawaiian roots, studying Buddhist psychology, listening to records, doing pottery, knitting, cooking or swimming/biking.
Teaching Experience: 4 years+ *
SNS Followers: 5k+ *
*As of Mar 2024
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Chicago, Cook County, IL, United States
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