Thank you for being here, I can’t wait to see where this takes you!

Experience & Training

My story begins in downtown Manhattan, back when it still had more of a grungy and funky neighborhood-vibe than the chic and corporate metropolis it is now.

I was raised by a highly empathetic Austrian mother who conducted 100’s of oral history interviews on Holocaust survivors over the span of her career, and a passionate Italian father who was deeply immersed in the art world and all of the beauty and chaos that it has to offer.

Despite having an innate and unrelenting creativity streak in myself, watching the popularity contests that come hand-in-hand with a career in the arts was not what I wanted to invite into my life. Instead, I imagined that I would combine my maternal interest in people’s psyche’s with my paternal artistry and end up pursuing a career in art therapy, —and I eventually did,— but it didn’t turn out the way I thought it would.

More on that in a moment.

To begin, I studied psychology, studio art, and ALANA (Asian-American, Latinx, African-American & Native American) studies at the University of Vermont as an undergraduate, and then, not really knowing what to do with myself after graduation, I ended up volunteering in a middle school and on restoration projects in New Orleans.

Life in New Orleans was equal parts beautiful and traumatic, and in order to keep myself balanced (and semi-sane) I started going to yoga classes at Wild Lotus Yoga almost daily. I was especially taken by Sean Johnson’s dynamic combination of vinyasa flow and music, which felt like therapy for both my body and my soul.

As the year drew to a close, I enrolled in a master’s program in art therapy, since that had been my plan for so many years and I didn’t know what else to do with myself at that point. But before that started I also enrolled in a yoga teacher training over the summer at Sonic Yoga in NYC, lead by Lauren Hanna and Jonathan Fields.

That summer changed everything for me.

By the time I was at the orientation for the art therapy program I felt in my bones that something was off. I remember crying to my mother that this was not it, this was not what I was supposed to do, but I didn’t know where else to go, so I stayed for a long and miserable semester, fighting against my intuition every day.

I finally reached my breaking point on a subway platform in front of an overflowing trashcan.

In that moment I realized that I felt like I was an overflowing trashcan myself, and I knew without a doubt that I needed to get out of there. I didn’t know where I was going, but the next steps quickly fell into place.

The first leg of my journey lead me down to Michoacan, Mexico. I spent 5 weeks at the Bosque Village building cob houses and living only with solar power and a handful of other travelers. There was a library of books that had been left by the previous owner, largely focused on holistic health, wellness, and spirituality. These books heavily influenced my direction in life.

After Mexico I flew up to the Pacific Northwest to do a 10-week work-study internship at the Herb Pharm, in Williams, Oregon, where I had the privilege of learning about medicinal herbs and holistic nutrition from teachers like Deborah Francis, Dagmar Goldschmidt, Mark Disharoon, James Jungwirth, and Tyler Wauters, amongst others.

I still didn’t really know what I was doing or where I was going, but I could feel I was finally on the right path.

After my internship at the Herb Pharm, I spent some time in Portland visiting a good friend who had moved there a year or so earlier. During my visit I received a free acupuncture treatment and something inside me clicked.

THIS was the direction I was supposed to go in.

It’s interesting looking back, because nothing profound happened during that treatment.I didn’t have a major healing experience. I didn’t fall in love with needles, (honestly, I’m still not the biggest fan.) But it felt right because it was a career that would allow me to combine my love of medicinal herbs, nutrition, movement, psychology, and hands-on medicine.

I landed at the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon, and completed a 5-year Master of Science degree in Chinese medicine.

There, I completed a mentorship in Japanese-style (a.k.a. gentle) acupuncture, moxibustion, shonishin (non-insertive pediatric acupuncture) and sotai bodywork with Dr. Bob Quinn, DAOM, LAc. And I participated in a separate mentorship with Dr. Sheila Murphy, D.C., who helped me deepen my hands-on skills with techniques like craniosacral therapy, myofascial release, and visceral manipulation.

Dr. Murphy’s teachings showed me that bodies and people are like pieces of art.

We feel good when balanced, and feel bad when we’re not.

Dr. Murphy taught me how to sculpt bodies with my hands to help them find greater balance, which I was delighted to learn influences how they feel on emotional and spiritual levels as well.

In addition to hands-on skills, I also experienced profound transformation in my body, mind, and spirit through the practice of Qi Gong (which I like to think of as Chinese yoga). Dr. Tamara Staudt, ND, LAc, Dr. Lauri Regan, ND, PhD, Bill Frazier, LAc, and Dr. Heiner Freuhauf, PhD, LAc, guided me through a series of ancient forms that helped me to cultivate my sensitivity and deepen my perception of Qi (a.k.a. Life force/Energy).

But my most profound experience came in Dr. Staudt’s Medical Qigong class, which taught me how to listen to my body’s innate wisdom to resolve blockages, heal, and transform from the inside out.

I now find this practice is inseparable from my yoga practice, so much so that I like to call what I do “Qi Yoga”.

Those weren’t the only teachers who changed my life and informed my practice.

Those 5 years were some of the most intense and transformative of my life.

It took me some time to adjust to the relative stillness that followed.

After graduating and passing my boards I began my hands-on clinic practice, primarily at Canyon Medical Center. I also began creating online courses and teaching masters and doctoral students at the National University of Natural Medicine.

The courses I teach combine my understanding of various healing traditions like ancient Greek medicine, Ayurveda, and Chinese medicine to provide personalized dietary and lifestyle recommendations tailored to a person’s specific strengths and imbalances.

My first son, Walden, was born shortly after I started my clinic practice and I became immersed in the world of full-time motherhood while still trying to build my business. I had my second son, Theodore (Téo), two and a half years later. Since then, I’ve completed Carol Gray’s training in craniosacral therapy and infant treatment, as well as deepening my medical qigong studies with master David Coon at Qigong Awareness.

I now combine all of these experiences to help people like you heal the root causes of stress and anxiety.

PHEW! That was a lot.

Did you just read all of that? Then it’s a good sign we should probably to get to know each other personally.

Please shoot me an email and tell me about yourself, how you found my work, and what you’re struggling with right now.

I can’t wait to hear your story!