I’m a Kinesthetic learner. I’m a mover. My dad called me the ‘Monkey Lady’ growing up because I was always using him and most objects as a jungle gym. I joined a competitive track team as a young kid and became a sprinter — I studied ballet, Pilates, played baseball, was always outside, and effectively passed time bouncing around. I experienced a lot of anxiety as a kid, and movement was a helpful way for me to process those feelings.
I became very serious about ballet as a teenager and spent my adolescence and college years rigorously studying ballet and modern dance with the aspirations of performing for a company. However, once I found yoga as a spiritual practice and movement discipline in my early 20s, the vision for my life’s path changed drastically. I went to India for my first teacher training in 2005 and have been an avid student of yoga, and other forms of therapeutic movement, ever since.
During my second teacher training at Om Yoga in 2007, I went too far in a twisted lunge pose, heard a pop in my sacrum, and my leg went numb for several weeks. After this experience, my practice shifted away from Vinyasa, for a while, and toward more alignment-based practices such as Anusara and Iyengar to learn how to stabilize my hyper-mobile body. I’ve continued to study Iyengar Yoga and entered a Pilates teacher training in 2015 at The Kane School, a phenomenal studio teaching people how to see proper bony alignment with x-ray vision and to think of Pilates as a creative and therapeutic tool.
I am fascinated by movement as a tool for problem solving and am deeply drawn to working with people who have injuries and physical limitations. I love helping people feel stronger, more balanced and free in their bodies. I have become a teacher sought-after by people dealing with issues such as multiple sclerosis, a fused spine, lower back pain, herniated discs, scoliosis, osteoporosis, hip dysplasia, and running injuries.
I’ve been influenced by Classical Hatha Yoga, Anusara, Viniyoga, Anatomy studies, The Feldenkrais Technique, Vipassana Meditation, Vinyasa and Iyengar Yoga, and Contemporary Pilates. I’ve had the fortune of studying with outstanding teachers such as Sharon Salzberg, Gina Sharpe, Genny Kapuler, Hugh Millard, Carrie Owerko, Rodney Yee, Gary Kraftsow, Frank Mauro, Joe Miller, Margi Young, Kelly Kane, among many others.
I’ve taught group and private classes in NYC since 2005 and am now teach primarily private yoga and pilates working both with people in their homes and at Kinespirit Pilates Studio on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. My group classes are at Equinox and the West Side Y where I weave my understanding of alignment and anatomy into fun, creative, challenging, playful sequences.
I hope to see you in class!