Yoga turned my whole life around. Before I found yoga, my physical, mental, and emotional health was a mess.
I had pain in my hips, back, shoulders, feet, calves, knees, legs, shoulders, neck, wrists, and fingers, and was diagnosed with Arthritis.
I began having symptoms of chronic fatigue and fibromyalia. Everything hurt!
I was smoking 2 packs of menthol cigarettes every day, and was down with colds and flu at least 4 times a year, year after year.
My skin condition was a mess.
I had no energy and my mental functioning began to suffer.
My relationships with loved ones were sometimes … less than loving.
My digestive system was in constant stress, and I was diagnosed with IBS and a number of other digestive ailments.
My body was out of balance and I was at the top end of a size 16 pushing into an 18.
My relationships with loved ones was… less than loving.
The reason my immune and digestive systems were always in distress, was because my entire life was in constant stress, and technology was exacerbating everything!
The expectations of a 24/7/365 responsiveness lifestyle created a number of imbalances that pushed me further and further away from my best and most healthful way of living.
Finding Yoga
After getting past my judgments and fears of yoga, I fell in love with the practice under the guidance of an exceptional teacher, Nesta Falladown, and with her interpretation of the Iyengar method.
I came to Gentle and Restorative yoga after experiencing chronic pain and suffering with many life-challenging symptoms of stress related illnesses.
After experiencing my own unexpected health miracle through the practice, I studied closely with Nesta and graduated with distinction, becoming a certified yoga instructor (RYT-250 hour) under my original teacher’s guidance!
Teaching
I began my teaching career on Dan, my husband, who is was an avid weightlifter. He was always in some sort of discomfort from over-bulking, chronic injury, or muscle spasm, and I was happy to help him with various yoga moves.
After graduation, an opportunity with my local hospice came up and I began a beautiful volunteering relationship with Charlene Cheng, who oversees the Wellness Warriors group.
I also now teach at Chrysalis Yoga in Burlington ON, the Art of Yoga in Waterdown ON, in addition to my work at the Carpenter Hospice.
This miraculous turnaround in my own health led me to leave a successful career in sales and marketing, to be of service to other by sharing this unique practice with those who are dealing with similar issues.
Since 2008, it has been an joy to accumulate over 1000 hours of teaching experience, in a variety of environments. These teaching experiences have primarily been in the Restorative and Gentle realms, and I have expanded the horizons of inquiry of my personal practice and directed my exploration into hotter domains.
I am happy to get my sweat on in a Hot environment once a week, and I teach a unique blend of hot practices balanced with awareness of the slower precision and endurance traditions of the Iyengar lineage of practice.
Since 2008 it, has been a sincere pleasure to work extensively with Charlene Cheng at the Carpenter Hospice in Burlington, as a volunteer instructor in the Wellness Warrior Program, enabling those dealing with life-limiting illnesses to improve their quality of life through the practice. These people are my heroes and remind me that this day is a gift, and that it’s my choice to enjoy today!
People who come to my classes enjoy the unique way I provide modifications, progressions, and variations through the classes, so they can experience all the benefits of the poses, regardless of their physical limitations.
My goal in teaching is to point everyone to their own healing through Yoga, mindfulness, loving-kindness, surrender peace, and joy.
My teachers include Nesta Falladown, Sue McLelland, Francois Raoult, Burt Peeters, Mac Swackhammer, Tony Murdock, Davina Parkinson, and Nishchala Joy Devi. Other important influences come from BKS Iyengar, Geeta Iyengar, Vanda Scaravelli, Ana Forrest, Swami Sivananda Radha, Judith Lasater, and the Feldenkrais method.