Author, Yoga Instructor, Teacher, Wellness and Mindfulness Coach…

In addition to being a published author, I am also an elementary school teacher with 29 years of teaching experience, as well as a certified Yoga Alliance RYT200 Yoga Instructor.  I am devoted to helping young children develop social-emotional skills to handle life’s challenges through yoga and mindfulness in the classroom.  I created a framework of social-emotional learning and yoga for the classroom teacher, called The Heart Centered Classroom. The Heart Centered Classroom is based on the concept of creating heart brain coherence through the act of mindful intention and a practice of stillness. Research shows that children learn better when they are in a state of brain regulation. The Heart Centered Classroom teaches students to learn to regulate their emotions. I have also been fortunate to bring this wellness to schools by sharing this foundation for wellness with other educators through my past workshops in my school district. It is a philosophy and framework any classroom teacher can use in the classroom on how to create a heart-centered learning environment.

Inspired by my love of nature, I have authored a children’s book called Animal Magic.: A Yoga Tale of Love and Unity. Animal Magic is my first children’s book. Animal Magic is an additional framework in which teachers and children can draw upon the themes from the natural world to inspire wellness. 

In my holistic healing practice, called Sacred Earth, blending yoga practices with Ayurveda, an ancient approach to health that recognizes that the elements within the body need to be balanced in order to maintain optimal well being. Nutrition and lifestyle are the key components in maintaining an Ayurvedic approach to wellness. Ayurveda corrects imbalances within the body and helps a person align with their natural physiology. I understand that we are part of the natural world and not separate from it.

Many of my life experiences have led me to acquire much wisdom and knowledge that have been beneficial for myself and my students in the classroom. My personal yoga practice has been a pivotal force for the work I conduct in the classroom using a heart centered approach to learning. I continue to have a regular practice of yoga within my own personal life and I am pleased to continue to share these concepts with my students in a fun and friendly manner.

I also teach after school yoga club at my elementary school and children’s yoga classes in my local community, and I am a core yoga instructor with Big Bear Yoga Festival.