I often feel so grateful that I was exposed to yoga philosophy when I was young , and began spiritual seeking as a teenager, so I was led to the practice of yoga far differently than most these days. I'd studied Vedanta in my teens, and only began asana/postural yoga practice in my late 20s; I ultimately found the Ashtanga vinyasa yoga modality in 1997 at Heartsong Yoga.
I fell in love with Ashtanga - its rigors along with its beauty - and began studying it passionately, primarily with first generation teachers of K. Pattabhi Jois. I have participated in close to a thousand hours of "teacher training" over three decades of practice, primarily in Ashtanga vinyasa yoga. I consider Beryl Bender Birch, Christine Hoar, Nancy Gilgoff, Manju Jois and Tim Miller as my most formative Ashtanga teachers. Kaya Mindlin is my teacher of yoga therapy/ŚRY and yoga philosophy, and Khushi Malhotra is my Vinyasa Krama teacher.
I was one of the few Mysore-style Ashtanga yoga teachers in Western Massachusetts for over a decade, serving students from all over the world who lived and studied in the Five College area. During that time, I logged thousands of hours of practical, hands-on experience through the two yoga communities I founded: Florence Yoga (2009-2014) and Ashtanga Yoga Northampton (2014-April 2020.) After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Ashtanga Yoga Northampton closed permanently, but I continue to serve as a yoga teacher in the Hilltowns where I live.
I've made three pilgrimages to India to honor the indigenous sources of yoga, most recently in 2019 at a yoga retreat focused on the Krishnamarcharya Mysore Yoga Tradition, featuring a variety of Indian teachers and Sanskrit scholars, some of whom were his direct students. I began studying Sanskrit in 2011 through the American Sanskrit Institute's study program, and trained in Mindful Yoga Therapy in 2015 to better serve students with trauma. (For more information on why I chose to not register with the Yoga Alliance, and why I don't have E-RYT 500 after my name, read here.)
During the pandemic, I began practicing and studying to teach a therapeutic modality of yoga with yoga educator and yoga therapist Kaya Mindlin, the founder of ŚRY (pronounced "Shree") a/k/a Supreme Release Yoga. ŚRY is a deep, but highly accessible approach to yoga, and an effective counterbalance to Ashtanga vinyasa yoga; it combines asana, pranayama, mantra and Vedic teachings to create a deep and nourishing yoga practice accessible to all. I have completed three teacher trainings (two in ŚRY and one in Yoga Nidra) with Kaya, and continue to study with her through her longer courses on the Devi and the Bhagavad Gita.
In 2022, I began studying Vinyasa Krama with teacher Khushi Malhotra, who has been instructing me in this deep and transformative, "late-period" methodology espoused by one of Krishnamacharya's last students, Srivatsa Ramaswami.
My personal practice and teaching is rooted in almost 20 years of studying Krishnamacharya-based yoga modalities, and especially in Ayurveda and following an Ayurvedic lifestyle, which honors the inherent wisdom of the microcosm of the body, and aligns awareness with monthly and seasonal rhythms that help maintain balance and harmony with the macrocosm of our universe. I completed Dr. Claudia Welch's and Dr. Robert Svoboda's Foundations of Ayurveda I & II in 2020, and Dr. Claudia Welch's Women's Health and Hormones in 2022. I also completed an Ayurvedic Postpartum Doula Certification with the Ayurvedic Center of Vermont in April 2023. In 2024, I completed the 650 hour Ayurvedic Health Counselor training with the Kripalu School of Ayurveda.
I fell in love with Ashtanga - its rigors along with its beauty - and began studying it passionately, primarily with first generation teachers of K. Pattabhi Jois. I have participated in close to a thousand hours of "teacher training" over three decades of practice, primarily in Ashtanga vinyasa yoga. I consider Beryl Bender Birch, Christine Hoar, Nancy Gilgoff, Manju Jois and Tim Miller as my most formative Ashtanga teachers. Kaya Mindlin is my teacher of yoga therapy/ŚRY and yoga philosophy, and Khushi Malhotra is my Vinyasa Krama teacher.
I was one of the few Mysore-style Ashtanga yoga teachers in Western Massachusetts for over a decade, serving students from all over the world who lived and studied in the Five College area. During that time, I logged thousands of hours of practical, hands-on experience through the two yoga communities I founded: Florence Yoga (2009-2014) and Ashtanga Yoga Northampton (2014-April 2020.) After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Ashtanga Yoga Northampton closed permanently, but I continue to serve as a yoga teacher in the Hilltowns where I live.
I've made three pilgrimages to India to honor the indigenous sources of yoga, most recently in 2019 at a yoga retreat focused on the Krishnamarcharya Mysore Yoga Tradition, featuring a variety of Indian teachers and Sanskrit scholars, some of whom were his direct students. I began studying Sanskrit in 2011 through the American Sanskrit Institute's study program, and trained in Mindful Yoga Therapy in 2015 to better serve students with trauma. (For more information on why I chose to not register with the Yoga Alliance, and why I don't have E-RYT 500 after my name, read here.)
During the pandemic, I began practicing and studying to teach a therapeutic modality of yoga with yoga educator and yoga therapist Kaya Mindlin, the founder of ŚRY (pronounced "Shree") a/k/a Supreme Release Yoga. ŚRY is a deep, but highly accessible approach to yoga, and an effective counterbalance to Ashtanga vinyasa yoga; it combines asana, pranayama, mantra and Vedic teachings to create a deep and nourishing yoga practice accessible to all. I have completed three teacher trainings (two in ŚRY and one in Yoga Nidra) with Kaya, and continue to study with her through her longer courses on the Devi and the Bhagavad Gita.
In 2022, I began studying Vinyasa Krama with teacher Khushi Malhotra, who has been instructing me in this deep and transformative, "late-period" methodology espoused by one of Krishnamacharya's last students, Srivatsa Ramaswami.
My personal practice and teaching is rooted in almost 20 years of studying Krishnamacharya-based yoga modalities, and especially in Ayurveda and following an Ayurvedic lifestyle, which honors the inherent wisdom of the microcosm of the body, and aligns awareness with monthly and seasonal rhythms that help maintain balance and harmony with the macrocosm of our universe. I completed Dr. Claudia Welch's and Dr. Robert Svoboda's Foundations of Ayurveda I & II in 2020, and Dr. Claudia Welch's Women's Health and Hormones in 2022. I also completed an Ayurvedic Postpartum Doula Certification with the Ayurvedic Center of Vermont in April 2023. In 2024, I completed the 650 hour Ayurvedic Health Counselor training with the Kripalu School of Ayurveda.
On the road to Gangotri, the "source" of the Ganges, Uttarakhand, India. 2015