Then, I found yoga. For many years I practiced lightly, on and off, using it as a tool to strengthen my body and regain some ease of movement. Slowly but surely, it became a part of my daily routine that I depended on.
When I was 5 years old I was diagnosed with Idiopathic Scoliosis. At 11, I was fitted for my first back brace. Fast forward through three braces and breaking my spine (L4 vertebrae to be exact); I came to accept that my life would forever be shadowed by the awful, daily pain I had grown accustomed too.
At the same time, I entered a new chapter of my life that was dominated by travel. Although I grew up a very picky eater (mac-n-cheese and pizza were about all I ate from ages 6 to 16), traveling forced me into trying all sorts of new cuisines. My new favorite hobby became ordering the strangest and most foreign meal on the menu. Patient, waitstaff would kindly bring me the recipes to dishes I loved & answer every question I had.
When I would return home, I found that experimenting in the kitchen with the flavors of the country I had just visited was a great antidote for the wanderlust blues. At the age of 22 I transitioned to a vegetarian diet, challenging my cooking skills even more.
When the pandemic began and I found my career in shambles, these pieces of my life became more than simple hobbies. I dove deeper into my meditation and yoga practices, and read every book I could get my hands on about vegetarian and plant-based living. Finally, I decided it was time to take the leap of faith, and transition my professional life to encompass my passions; I enrolled at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York to get my certification as a holistic health coach.
When travel became a safe possibility again, I hopped on a plane to Guatemala to spend a month studying with Yoga East+West on Lake Atitlán. We experimented with breath work, Buddhist & Vedic meditation practices, and learned about Ayurvedic wellness practices. We dove deep into Vinyasa, Hatha & Ashtanga asanas, and my curiosity for the miraculous nature of movement was reaffirmed. I realized just how profound the power of yoga is. I left Guatemala with my RYT-200 certification, but more importantly, with a dedication to what I now see as my life’s work - spreading the wisdom of yoga.
In my free time, I can be found playing board games with my fiancé and son, roaming my beloved city of Boston, reading, painting and taking care of all 31 of my plant babies.
