About
I began practicing yoga in 2002 as a way of turning inward during my Peace Corps service in West Africa. I continue to work in public service as a clinical social worker and regularly return to the yoga mat to find peace within challenge. I’m very interested in exploring the intersections of social service work, dedication to the yogic path and expression through visual art. I have particular interests in post-traumatic stress and other forms of stress and passionately feel that yoga is a powerful tool for healing.
I was certified by Yoga Alliance at the 200 hour level in 2005 after completing a teacher training at the Alabama Yoga School in 2005 with Jennifer Wolfsey in the lineage of Sri Dharma Mittra. I am currently undergoing a second yoga teacher training with Bob Smith and Ki McGraw at the Seattle Hatha Yoga Center. In 2009 I gained certification as a Street Yoga instructor, which brings yoga to homeless youth as a tool for moving through past traumas and will soon be taking an in-depth course on Trauma-Sensitive Yoga at the Trauma Center in Boston which is directed by Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk.
I teach Hatha-Vinyasa style asana practice, encouraging dynamic flow with careful attention to alignment and the breath. I am extremely grateful to my teachers and to yoga for bringing profound change, self-acceptance and joy into my life. It is an honor to share this knowledge with others.
Credentials:
BFA, Studio Art. 2000. University of Idaho.
Peace Corps Service, 2001-2003. The Gambia, West Africa.
RYT, 200 hours. 2005. Yoga Bliss Studio, Alabama.
MSW, Clinical and Contextual Practice. 2007. University of Washington, Seattle.
Street Yoga Instructor. 2009.
Other training in: Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral therapy, Working with children with sexual behavioral issues, Historical trauma, Social justice from an anti-racist perspective, Developmental Trauma Disorder.
