My life’s journey is reflected in my teaching. An immigrant and incorrigible globe-trotter who has lived, traveled and worked in dozens of countries, I deeply value and welcome cultural diversity. I strongly believe yoga and mindfulness should be accessible to everyone – regardless of race, nationality, age, physical ability, socioeconomic status, gender or sexual orientation – and strive to cultivate an inclusive and safe environment for everyone to practice. Also, as a trauma-informed mental health counselor-in-training, I emphasize the healing properties of these practices over rigid adherence to physical form or posture. Mindfulness – or purposeful attention and nonjudgmental present awareness – is at the core of all my classes and what, I believe, distinguishes yoga from other practices. I primarily teach Gentle Vinyasa Flow, Restorative, and Yin styles of yoga as well as yoga focused on women’s hormonal balance and Yoga Nidra Meditation in the iRest methodology.

I offer customizable one-on-one and group classes taught in person or virtually:

• 45-minute Yoga Nidra Meditation sessions
• 1-hour or 90-minute yoga classes
• Integrated classes and workshops combining yoga, meditation, and energy work (usually 2+ hours)

The idea for RnR Yoga and Wellness was born at a point in my life when I was slowly recovering from a severe job-related burnout that had left me depleted physically, mentally, and emotionally. My story is not unique. A recent Gallup study found that 23% of employees reported feeling burned out at work very often or always, while an additional 44% reported feeling burned out sometimes.

You don’t have to dislike your job to experience stress and burnout. In fact, people deeply invested in their work – especially those in helping and service-oriented professions striving to make the world a better place – are particularly vulnerable. After nearly a decade of fast-paced and demanding service-oriented career in foreign assistance and global development that had me traveling and working around the world, my body’s inner wisdom and preservation mechanism brought me to a screeching halt. It was time for deep rest.

As I nurtured myself back to health through the gentle practices of Restorative Yoga, Yoga Nidra, and Reiki (hence the name RnR), a genuine desire was born within me to help others restore themselves to radiant health and vibrancy. Better yet, I was determined to support people in seamlessly building these practices into their daily lives to manage stress and avoid burnout in the first place.

If any of this resonates with you, reach out for a free 20-minute consultation so we can come up with an approach that best suits your needs:

• Private, in-person or distance yoga, yoga nidra, or reiki sessions
• Worksite/offsite yoga and meditation classes and retreats for groups
• Stress reduction and management workshops

The very first time I experienced an energy session, “soul massage” were the words that came to mind to describe the experience. At the time, I had little understanding of energy work, zero expectations, a healthy dose of skepticism, and a lot of curiosity. What I experienced was tangible, felt-sense relief in the body and mind. How could anyone elicit such deep levels of relaxation and emotional release without touching me or verbally guiding me in any way? I was determined to find out. My exploration led me to discover and, later, train as a Reiki practitioner in the Usui Shiki Ryoho tradition.

Reiki – developed in Japan as one of the many energy healing modalities – simply means “Universal Life Energy.” It is the energy that animates every living being. Not affiliated with any particular religion or belief system, this non-dogmatic practice is premised on the understanding that all matter – including the physical human body – is condensed energy, vibrating at a particular frequency. As we go through human experience, the normal “wear and tear” of life can disrupt the healthy frequencies of our energy bodies, leading to feelings of physical, mental, or emotional unease and imbalance. But we can recalibrate these imbalances at the energetic level by tapping into the Universal Life Energy to achieve homeostasis. As a Reiki Practitioner, I act as a conduit for this Energy to team up with the energetics of your body-mind to restore whatever needs restoring.

How does it work exactly? The truth is we don’t fully understand yet. While enthusiasts will point to quantum physics or quantum entanglement theories as the scientific basis, we’re only beginning to explore and understand how and why these energy practices work. The good news is that there’s openness in scientific circles to study and generate evidence about the benefits of Reiki and other energy healing techniques. (You can explore some of these studies funded by reputable scientific institutions here, and here).

If you are curious and would like to experience Reiki or energy “soul massage,” get in touch:

• 30-, 45- or 60-minute in-person or distance sessions
• Small group standalone Reiki sessions or Reiki integrated with Restorative Yoga and Yoga Nidra (limited to 10-12 people max)