Writer, Yoga Teacher & Yoga Therapist, Research Psychologist.
Mindfulness & Creativity for Self-Awareness & Self-Acceptance.
Unconditional love for your autistic / disabled / aging self.
Advocate for BIPOC & LGBTQIA2+.
My Vision:
I am guided by three primary philosophical principles:
First, doctor, philosopher, and Auschwitz concentration camp survivor Viktor Frankl’s:
“The last of the human freedoms: to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” (From Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning).
Second, from American Mythologist Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces:
“Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world.”
And finally, from the modern Saint Mother Teresa:
“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”
The modern-day world feels like a mess. Our governmental officials become fighting politicians more and more, and leaders less and less, every day. The world is literally both on fire and flooding. Pandemics rage, diseases that were once eradicated due to vaccines are raging back. World War III seems to be brewing. And in America, whether you are on the side of more gun control or more open carry of guns, no one can argue that gun violence continues to increase, and that childhood is no longer a refuge of innocence. Daily life in the world is anxiety provoking, and if you have friends, parents, children, or a spouse on the opposite side of the political divide, even your own home can feel less safe than it once did. I have no answer. I have no solution. In spite of all my advanced degrees and decades of professional experience, most days, I feel like I know less than I used to.
But I know this: all we can do, is what we can do. All we can control, is what we can control. And the one thing we can always control is ourselves: our attitude, our willingness to participate joyfully, and our decision to act with love.
We can’t necessarily control our thoughts or our emotions, because they are, like the waves of the ocean and the phases of the moon, ever changing, ever evolving, always in reaction to the world around us.
But our inner core – the self that observes – and the self that decides what we do with our emotions and our actions, that is within our control. We can choose to have an attitude of love. We can choose to participate joyfully. We can choose to do every small thing we do with love.
So that’s my choice. That’s why I’m here. To share love with you, to help you participate joyfully, and to give you a few moments of yoga, exercise, meditation, breathing, stress management & self-care in the spirit of great love. I can’t change your life. I won’t save your life. But I will be here: your oasis in the desert of modern crazy, to offer you a moment of rest and a moment of calm. Whenever you need me, I’ll be here, helping you to focus on the one thing you can always control: your breath.
My Education and Experience:
I have a PhD in Sport and Exercise Psychology from Florida State University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Texas – El Paso.
I’ve been practicing yoga since 1989 and teaching yoga, meditation, and fitness and wellness since 1996.
My Yoga Credentials:
With Yoga Alliance, I am an Experienced-Registered Yoga Teacher, a Continuing Education Provider, and a Certified Youth and Prenatal Yoga Teacher.
With the International Association of Yoga Therapists, I am a Certified Yoga Therapist and an Approved Professional Development Provider.