Hey There
Teaching yoga, training teachers, and leading coaching programs is my passion — it fuels my purpose: helping high-powered, ambitious women slow down, go deeper, and reconnect with what truly matters. I guide women who are used to achieving to rediscover the spaciousness of simply being… to face their shadows with courage… and to listen for that quiet whisper of joy dancing in the heart. Yes, it might sound a little “woo-woo,” but when I’m doing this work, I feel most alive — and my best self.
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And if you're still wondering whether I live in the "real world" — I do.
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I’m a high-powered, ambitious, career-driven executive with 30+ years of experience in community planning, environmental consulting, and water resource management. I’ve been a yoga studio and wellness business owner, a manager and shareholder in an engineering and architecture firm, and I currently serve as the Director of a County Department of Water and Resource Conservation — all while raising my son as a single, working mom. Busy much?
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I’ve walked with one foot in two worlds: the grounded, structured path of responsibility and leadership — and the soulful, meaning seeking path of yoga, inner growth, and personal development. And I’ve found that neither path is whole without the other.
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I believe passion fuels purpose, and that when you love what you do, you can do it all — with more grace, more laughter, and more joy… and a lot less stress, anxiety, and overwhelm (most days).
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If you're ready to learn, grow, reconnect with who you are, and shine even brighter — I’d be honored to walk with you.
More About Me
My Story
In 2008, I created the Integrative Dynamic Yoga (IDY) Method and launched my first 200-hour teacher trainings in Chico and Sacramento, CA. Yes, I taught two trainings every other weekend for nine months straight. Normally I would say "overachiever" but being in the mindful seat of the teacher for 20 hours over a weekend, well, it's transformative.... Today, I still serve as the lead trainer for all IDY Yoga Teacher Trainings. It took me eight years and thousands of hours of teaching before I felt truly qualified to train teachers (hello, imposter syndrome). Now, 25 years into teaching, I’m honored to be called a “teacher’s teacher” — and I still learn from every student and every class. I teach to learn. I learn to grow. I grow to become the best version of myself.
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My love for fitness and wellness began early — doing Joanie Greggains’ “Morning Stretch” at 6:30 a.m. with my mom, sweating through gym aerobics in high school and Jane Fonda in college, I eventually found yoga, meditation, and functional fitness in graduate school. These experiences are the foundation of the IDY Method.
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In 2000, I took the leap into full-time yoga. I quit my job, completed a 21-day residential teacher training with Integrative Yoga Therapy (IYT), and opened Santosha Yoga Studio — Chico’s first standalone yoga studio (outside of the fitness clubs). (Would I recommend doing it that way? Probably not.) I expanded my training with Anusara Yoga, became a Certified Massage Practitioner, and trained in Thai Massage to deepen my anatomical understanding. I also offered prenatal yoga, childbirth education, and doula services through my Joyful Birth program.
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After five transformative years, I sold Santosha in 2005 to study and teach abroad during a major life shift (aka: divorce). I studied Tibetan Buddhism at the Kopan Monastery in Nepal and taught yoga to support a nonprofit in Cusco, Peru. When I returned to Chico — now a mom and back in environmental consulting — I became Yoga Program Supervisor at In Motion Fitness, then a Savvy F.I.T. Academy Instructor, providing therapeutic movement for clients with serious soft tissue and musculoskeletal injuries. This work echoed my early efforts at Santosha: using yoga as therapy and a tool for healing.
Over the years, I’ve built IDY Teacher Trainings and Workshops into some of the most comprehensive, transformational programs available. Whether I’m leading a training, a class, or a workshop, my approach is always to honor, serve, guide, and inspire. I help students meet their edge, expand their limits, and connect to their inner wisdom, strength, and joy. My mission is to help teachers find their voice, embody their truth, and shine from the inside out.
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Coaching, Too
In 2018, I earned my certification through the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) — an ICF-accredited program — initially to improve my leadership skills in my roles at the engineering and architecture firm. True to form, I didn’t stop there. I continued with certifications in OOLA Life Coaching, Brendon Burchard’s High Performance Coaching, and Jay Shetty’s Life Coaching program. Why? Because I wanted to feel truly qualified (thanks again, imposter syndrome) — and because I believe in walking my talk.
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Now, I integrate all of this training into Mindset & Movement Workshops that help women align their lives with their values, build habits that become rituals, and show up as their whole, empowered, authentic selves.
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In 2026, I will launch Life on Purpose, a year-long coaching immersion that’s been three years in the making. This program fuses yoga principles with modern coaching frameworks and includes:
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An 8-day international retreat
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Weekly/biweekly live Zoom check-ins
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Daily 5–15 minute mindset, meditation, and journaling practices
Because growth doesn’t happen from an app. It happens with community, consistency, and connection.
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Real Talk
Yoga and coaching are how I bring my whole self into everything I do. They’ve helped me balance life doing "all the things." They’ve helped me be in both worlds: the path of performance and progress, and the path of presence and purpose.
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I've finally realized that these two paths don't have to be kept separate. Together, they give me the experience to guide others to live with meaning, purpose, and joy.
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Come learn, grow, and shine with me.
