.: how i came to this work :.
I started practicing yoga when I was in college at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. During my BFA Acting program, my professors noted that I was ungrounded, and they suggested I try yoga to see if that could help my heels stay on the ground. (Literally!)
I started going to yoga and Alexander Technique classes to find my ground. As I came into new ways of inhabiting my body, my relationship to others and my relationship to the world began to shift. I was finding deeper connections, more compassion, and more curiosity.
Following college, I moved to New York to pursue acting. What I found, however, was that I really wanted to deepen my understanding of yoga. It was at this time that I fully committed to yoga as my path and did my 200 hour yoga teacher teaching.
Following that, I trained in trauma sensitive yoga with Jenn Turner and David Emerson at the Center for Trauma and Embodiment at The Justice Resource Institute. I also found that understanding my queerness and connecting with other queer folks felt central to my life. I became curious about ways for queer community to gather and grow through a shared yoga practice.
Deepening my exploration of embodiment, I found my way to Reiki. From my first Reiki session, I was in awe of the experiences, images, and visceral changes I felt. I could clearly tune in to what different parts of my body were holding, and could feel subtle and big shifts as Reiki flowed. I received Reiki sessions for several years, then trained with my longtime practitioner, Reiki Master Marisa Sullivan through the lineage of Dr. Usui, Dr. Hayashi and Madam Takata.
While my work in yoga and Reiki could seem like a departure from my BFA in Acting and Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, that work very much contributes to how I approach all of my work, and in particular the creativity and imagination work that I bring to it. Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed greatly influences my work as well— using images and sounds to deeply explore and express our body’s story.
Social justice has always been central to my life, and that work intersects with my healing arts studies and practices. I am committed to learning and teaching through a decolonized lens and honor the lineages of these South Asian and Japanese traditions.
My true loves are teaching/practicing yoga within queer community, and learning/teaching about yoga for pelvic health. As a queer person with endometriosis, these practices and communities have shaped my life.
.: education + experience :.
Holding Space for Pregnancy Loss Training with Joanne Zerdy, 2024
Queer & Trans Reproductive Support Course with Birthing Advocacy Doula Trainings, 2023
Pelvic Floor Yoga Teacher Training with Leslie Howard, 2023
Reiki Certified level 1 and level 2. Currently mentoring with Marisa Sullivan to complete Reiki Master Certification in the lineage of Dr. Usui, Dr. Hayashi and Madam Takata.
Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed board member, 2017-2022
Abortion Doula Training with Birthing Advocacy Doula Trainings, 2022
Trauma Sensitive Yoga Program at the Center for Trauma and Embodiment, at the Justice Resource Institute, 2017
200 hour Yoga Teacher Training through Daya Yoga Studio, 2016
BFA in Acting and Certificate in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution through the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, 2014
I am on unceded Lenape land, colonized as Brooklyn, NY. Join me in breaking the ongoing violence of colonization here.
Photo by Kade Alpers