From Athlete to Seeker to Teacher

I was raised on a llama farm in a small , rural hand-built two-bedroom home in Western Massachusetts and grew up as a competitive athlete in the rolling hills of Vermont.  In my adolescence years I struggled immensely with using my voice, being seen and being heard. I was shy, yes, but there was a self consciousness that was palpable. I never raised my hand in class, hid behind others on the field, I hunched my shoulders to make myself seem small. My internal voice was hypercritical, I wanted be perfect. Always.

I felt inadequate, even when I was winning. 

In high school, I received a full scholarship to train in a four-year Olympic downhill ski racing program. I traveled the world and trained with elite athletes. My body became a tool for performance.  If there had been a gold metal for effort, I would have been triumphant time and time again. The pressure intensified the drive I placed on myself. Most days felt like I was barely holding everything together.

I was strong, but deeply uncomfortable in my own skin.

The Turning Point: Movement as Medicine

In college, a sweet friend asked me to go for a run. I was gasping for breath and counting the seconds until it was over. Afterward, something shifted.

I felt Present. Awake. Alive.

For the first time, movement wasn’t about performance — it was about choice. Running became a way to meet myself.  The physical space around me allowed my mind the space to work out the kinks, just like a fine toothed comb. Running helped me to move emotion. To clear mental knots. To find ease in movement and room between thoughts.

My senior year I took one yoga class before deciding i wanted to become a yoga teacher. As I impatiently tried to touch my toes and pay attention to my breath, I remember looking up at the instructor.  I watched the way she held herself in front of a room. Being unapologetically seen and heard. She looked bright and full of life, loud, luminous and carefree. I wanted that.

That space changed everything.

The Long Walk Home

I pursued a 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training from Kripalu Center for Health and Wellness shortly after graduating in 2013 and began searching. My month-long intensive training blew the doors wide open. All of a sudden i had the language, tools, guidelines and structures for the things I was searching for. I began seeking experiences to augment in the evolution of my teachings. Yoga gave me my first change at a new way of living, and through hiking gave me my second. In 2013, I set off alone on the Appalachian Trail.

My first thru-hike sparked a decade-long love affair with long-distance trails. Each summer became a pilgrimage. I would choose a trail and disappear into nature — at first to find myself, and eventually to come back to myself. Through-hiking simplified life to its essentials: walk, eat, sleep, repeat. I used my body in a way that felt strong but kind. I was forced into the present moment over and over again. I met other seekers. I built friendships around the world.

By 2026, I had walked over 10,000 miles across the United States and spent more than 400 nights sleeping under the stars.

Long trails and time immersed in nature shaped my teaching as much as any formal training ever could. 

In 2018 I ended up in Durango, CO via the Colorado Trail. Since then, I have begun another sort of through hike. Except this one involved stability; a home, possessions, relationships, dogs, community, steady jobs and reliable friends. My perspective began to shift as my needs shifted.

Whats Next?

As my commitment to my community has grown so have my roots. Building a life rooted in connection is the next long distance hike at hand. 

My Teaching

I blend athletic intelligence with emotional depth.

I understand high performance. I understand burnout. I understand what it feels like to be strong on the outside and disconnected on the inside.

My classes are designed to help you:

Feel at home in your body

Build strength without self-compromise

Practice non-judgmental self awareness

Strengthen the nervous system 

Develop emotional steadiness

Move with clarity and choice

Take up space

Be seen and heard 

Yoga, for me, is a lived-embodied experience.

Let’s get started.