Experience & Training
I am a lifelong learner. If I’m not currently taking a class, I’m lining up my next educational opportunity. Below you’ll find a sampling of highlights from my experience and trainings.
Experience
Love Your Brain Yoga
Love Your Brain yoga is a 6-week series created by the Love Your Brain foundation. It is a mix of gentle yoga, breathwork, guided meditation and facilitating a group discussion on a topic specific to using the tools of yoga to cope with the outcomes of a brain injury. This is one of my favorite classes to teach because the combination of the community and the tools offered make a real and immediate difference in the lives of the participants.
1-on-1 Yoga Therapy
I have been seeing Yoga Therapy clients one-on-one since 2018 and I’ve seen a wide variety of clients. The majority of clients I work with are dealing with anxiety, insomnia, or pain, but I’ve also worked with individuals with depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, lupus, physical injuries and joint replacements. I specialize in working with the nervous system in order to bring about relaxation and peace of mind. I love bringing in yoga philosophy to my Yoga Therapy sessions
Legacy Pain Clinic Yoga
In 2016-2017 I volunteered through the Daya Foundation to teach a weekly chair-based yoga practice to participants with chronic pain and limited range of motion. Teaching this class reinforced my desire to become a Yoga Therapist. I was amazed every week to see how gentle movement, breathing, and community connection had profound effects on the participants’ mental and physical health.
Online Library Yoga
In 2020 I began teaching yoga workshops online for the public library. I have worked with Fort Vancouver Regional Library District in Vancouver, Washington and Hood River Library System in Hood River, Oregon. These workshops have been focused on providing yogic tools for stress-relief and coping during this difficult time, as well as a general introduction to yoga and the different styles of yoga. It has been so sweet to combine my love of accessible yoga and the public library!
Therapeutic Yoga Series
I love working with small groups over a period of weeks or months, focusing on a specific topic/ailment. I have offered therapeutic yoga series at Ajna Yoga College in Victoria, BC, at Breathe in Portland, Oregon, and through the Parks and Recreation system in Victoria, BC. My most frequent series include: Yoga for Anxiety, Yoga for Better Sleep, and Yoga for Back Care.
Linfield College Yoga
In 2015 I taught yoga to nursing students at Linfield College’s Portland campus.. I was responsible for planning the term, creating and distributing the syllabus, and connecting with and grading the students. I regularly subbed that same class from 2014-2017. My mum is a retired nurse and I have a bit of insight into the physical and mental challenges of being a nurse, and it was a pleasure to provide these nursing students with some relaxation and stretching during their very busy schedules.
Education & Training
Yoga Therapy
In 2018 I moved to Victoria, BC Canada and studied Yoga Therapy at Ajna Yoga College. I completed my practicum and received my diploma and certification from the International Association of Yoga Therapists in Spring 2019. I had the honor and the privilege to learn from Jules Mitchell and Michelle Schroeder and a host of talented teachers and professionals. The 800-hour training included therapeutic applications of yoga to help with physical, mental and emotional pain and specific conditions; weekends on yoga nidra, yin and restorative yoga; the therapeutic relationship; koshas, vayus and chakras as tools for evaluation and treatment; working one-on-one and in group classes; trauma-informed yoga teaching; meditation; yoga philosophy and psychology; Eastern and Western medical perspectives; and a mentored practicum.
Specialized
I trained with Love Your Brain Foundation in 2017 and 2020, learning how to best use yoga to help individuals who have suffered a traumatic brain injury and their caregivers. The 2020 training was specific to offering yoga to this demographic online. In 2016 and 2017 I completed levels 1 and 2 of Molly Lannon Kenny’s Integrated Movement Therapy training, a precursor to my yoga therapy training, which provided a strong foundation for working one-on-one with individuals in a therapeutic setting. And in 2013 I completed the Street Yoga trauma-informed yoga teacher training program.
Yoga Teacher
I completed my yoga teacher training in the therapeutic Viniyoga style at The Yoga Shala of Portland. I studied there for two years and accrued over 400 hours of education in anatomy, teaching methodology, philosophy, Sanskrit and more. Notable guest teachers included yoga philosophy and therapeutics taught by Chase Bossart; Sanskrit, philosophy, and asana taught by Nandini Ranganathan; weekends with Leslie Kaminoff and Gary Kraftsow; and Body-Mind Centering anatomy.
University
I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and Religion and a Master of Library and Information Science degree. I worked as a librarian in the public library for nearly 20 years and the values of public librarianship, equity, confidentiality, and service inform my work as a Yoga Therapist as well. I have a lifelong love of learning about religion and spirituality, and it was the life-transforming philosophical underpinnings of Yoga that made me want to share the practice with others.
Current
From 2020 to the present I have been studying online with Kaya Mindlin, including courses on teaching Yoga Nidra and the fundamentals of Supreme Release Yoga, and studying The Bhagavad Gita and The Yoga Sutras.
Equity training
As a public librarian, equity training has been a part of my work and my priorities for 20+ years. After leaving the library, I have continued my studies and I look for ways I can continue to dismantle white supremacy, patriarchy and capitalism in my own life and through my work. Recent trainings include: Understanding Whiteness with EB Ferdig, Courageous Conversations for Yoga Teachers with Michelle C Johnson, Gender Identity & Expression with Living Yoga and Seminar on Systemic Oppression with Kenya Budd.