My Calling?

Recently, in my adult Gentle Yoga class, one of the participants said to me after class, “You have found your calling! Do you know when you found it?” I thought this inquiry was so kind and one that offered me the opportunity to reflect. I thought I would share it with you as a way for you to get to know my background a little bit.  

At the age of 18, I was forced out of my beloved sport of figure skating before I was mentally ready. I had multiple physical injuries and my body was telling me that it was tired and had enough. Back then I didn’t know what I do now regarding how the body is always sending us messages.  I was so determined to continue to skate, that I ignored and even blocked out my pain until the messages got louder and the pain became stronger and could no longer be ignored anymore.

No one told me how hard it would be to leave my sport involuntarily. No one helped guide me into a life and world without the sport I had been so immersed in since I was six. I was emotionally a wreck. The highly-competitive life I had been living for my entire childhood and adolescence was over and I didn’t have the emotional or physical support I needed from the adults in my life. It was such a hard transition and honestly was quite traumatic for me. I wish I had the tools and the inner resources that I personally have now and am honored to share them with others. We don’t know until we know. I am grateful I was able to put in the hard work of getting to where I am today.

I stayed closely connected to my sport as it was what I knew and loved. So, at age 18, I began privately coaching a group of young skaters who wanted to take a competitive path. From the start, I knew I needed to reach each student both emotionally and physically in order to support them in the way I was not. I wanted my students to be able to feel good about themselves at every phase of their journey and for each of them to know that if, and when, they were ready to move on, they would be ok. I was young and learned as I went. I approached my coaching with compassion as I mentored and met each student exactly where they were. Navigating the highs and lows of competition in a sport that demands high levels of both physical and mental strength was not always an easy task! In order to meet those demands, my students needed to know I saw them not just as physical athletes but as emotional beings as well.  I taught my students from a place of personal experience and from my heart- it was the start of a lifelong journey of understanding how the body and mind work together. Little did I know this same path would lead me to heal myself from the inside out.

I also taught group classes to all ages, including adults, who just wanted to learn the sport recreationally. I was just so happy to share a passion of mine with others, regardless of what their intention was with the sport. Teaching came naturally to me. I loved seeing my students grow, learn, and thrive in the sport I was passionate about. It was more than just the physical aspect of the skills, I enjoyed the connection I co-created with my students no matter their skill level. 

Fast forward to today… I enjoy teaching and coaching children and adults on how to take care of their bodies and minds through the lens of yoga, movement, mindfulness, and social-emotional learning. When I teach, I try to reach the whole child/person.  I am so grateful to have found two passions in my life that share many parallels. Both have offered rich experiences and teachings that I infuse into how I teach today.  I’ve had many teachers and mentors along the way that have shared with me an extensive toolbox that I’m able to pull from. I’m grateful for those that have come before me and those I walk along with who are also doing this important work.

After years of self-study and various certifications and training, I now have a stronger understanding of the brain-body connection. In my teaching, I focus on the importance of building a foundation in order to strengthen the capacity for regulation, resilience, and restore health to the overall autonomic nervous system. We live in a world of dysregulation and high stress. There is a shift happening in how we view our well-being and the approach in how we get to the root cause of our internal imbalance. We are seeing the effects and impacts of an over-stressed human population across the board. I’m so happy to be a forever student of the latest and greatest research in neuroscience and how body-mind based practices play a role in our healing and maintaining balance.

Teaching brings me great joy. When I’m in my element, it feels so natural and it fills me up.  Ruth, thank you for noticing my teaching as authentic and something I am deeply passionate about. Thank you for asking the question, and prompting me to reflect!! A beautiful reminder of how far I’ve come and how grateful I am for all the experiences that have taught me so much-the highs and the lows, the joy and the suffering. My journey hasn’t always been easy. I kept showing up and doing the work. Once I invited a sense of curiosity and compassion to myself, I was able to come back to my true nature. And it is from this place that I approach my teaching with my whole heart. 

I look forward to partnering with you and continuing to be part of the paradigm shift and movement in helping humanity heal from the inside out.