After several years I moved on and got into corporate life with FEDEX. I started as a courier and moved into operational management and worked for them for 10 years. It was an awesome experience! My son was born and I retired to enjoy each and every moment as a mom. I am married to my best friend and we share an amazing life together.
Yoga is a gift in my life. I can not imagine my life without it. It is interwoven into every aspect and once of my being. It is who I am and how I live. My purpose in life is to share that. I have been a student of Power Yoga since 1999. I have been living my yoga all of my life. I am excited to share it with you!
Through out the years I've been involved with and started several teen yoga programs. Here are a few:
OC Yoginis
The OC Yoginis is a team of high school girls from South Orange County. The Yoginis are from a diverse range of ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. The team is set up as a club format and meets weekly to practice asana (postures) and discuss lifestyle and fitness issues. Every season, the team identifies a community need and works together to implement a service program. With yoga practice as the foundation, the OC Yoginis helps teens cultivate important life skills such as stress management, healthy body image, hygiene, nutrition, self discipline, leadership and cooperation. Yoga is a highly effective way to challenge teens both psychologically and physically, while providing a safe environment for learning to explore and work through their difficulties. Through this process, teens develop the necessary tools to be calm and creative when dealing with the challenges of daily life.
Yoga for Teen Athletes
Currently I am teaching power yoga to the baseball team, girls’ softball team and girl’s lacrosse teams at Corona del Mar High School. They have one class a week on the field after practice. These teens are amazing! Headstands, arm balances, back bends….you name it and they are 100% there. These are a very dedicated group of teen athletes and it shows in their attitudes and behavior in life. The need for yoga for teen athletes is growing and my goal is to be able to reach and expand to help all students feel the benefits of yoga. Yoga empowering teens to live the best life possible.
Huntington Beach Teen Shelter
I teach yoga classes to the teens at the shelter. These are teens in crisis ranging from run-aways to gang members to suicide attempts. These are awesome teens with a need to get rebalanced into life. Yoga helps to challenge their need to be on the edge. I have them doing poses that bring an element of fear and awareness to their mats. Headstands are a very scary pose for many adults and teens alike. But once they are attempted they are very empowering. One of the most important qualities to bring to teen yoga as a teacher is to build self esteem and confidence; to empower them to start believing in their self worth and know that they are important. Yoga is also a tool to help teens focus and bring a sense of control back into their lives. Just learning to breath can reconnect one to their own personal power. As a teacher, this is the most heartfelt and rewarding class I teach. To be able to reach out and make a difference one on one is life changing.
Mentor to Senior Project at Corona Del Mar High School
A senior asked me to mentor her senior class project which is required in order to graduate. The project is her design and involves learning yoga from the basics on up and being able to absorb it enough to turn around and teach it to her peers. This involves learning the physical asana practice plus understanding the connection to taking yoga off the mat and into her life. Learning to live her yoga and share it to her peers. Quite the undertaking!
LIFT: Leadership Institute for Teens
LIFT asked me to become involved with their program and teach yoga and how it impacts and changes one’s life to teens in their leadership program.
LIFT has two week long camps in the summer. One is a SOKA University and the other is at Cal State Fullerton. This program has served nearly 500 Orange County High School students. In participating in the camps each student receives 20 hours of community service to be applied to the graduation requirements from High School. This is an amazing far reaching program to empower our teens to be future leaders. Please look at www.LIFTus.org for more details.
OC Yoginis
The OC Yoginis is a team of high school girls from South Orange County. The Yoginis are from a diverse range of ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. The team is set up as a club format and meets weekly to practice asana (postures) and discuss lifestyle and fitness issues. Every season, the team identifies a community need and works together to implement a service program. With yoga practice as the foundation, the OC Yoginis helps teens cultivate important life skills such as stress management, healthy body image, hygiene, nutrition, self discipline, leadership and cooperation. Yoga is a highly effective way to challenge teens both psychologically and physically, while providing a safe environment for learning to explore and work through their difficulties. Through this process, teens develop the necessary tools to be calm and creative when dealing with the challenges of daily life.
Yoga for Teen Athletes
Currently I am teaching power yoga to the baseball team, girls’ softball team and girl’s lacrosse teams at Corona del Mar High School. They have one class a week on the field after practice. These teens are amazing! Headstands, arm balances, back bends….you name it and they are 100% there. These are a very dedicated group of teen athletes and it shows in their attitudes and behavior in life. The need for yoga for teen athletes is growing and my goal is to be able to reach and expand to help all students feel the benefits of yoga. Yoga empowering teens to live the best life possible.
Huntington Beach Teen Shelter
I teach yoga classes to the teens at the shelter. These are teens in crisis ranging from run-aways to gang members to suicide attempts. These are awesome teens with a need to get rebalanced into life. Yoga helps to challenge their need to be on the edge. I have them doing poses that bring an element of fear and awareness to their mats. Headstands are a very scary pose for many adults and teens alike. But once they are attempted they are very empowering. One of the most important qualities to bring to teen yoga as a teacher is to build self esteem and confidence; to empower them to start believing in their self worth and know that they are important. Yoga is also a tool to help teens focus and bring a sense of control back into their lives. Just learning to breath can reconnect one to their own personal power. As a teacher, this is the most heartfelt and rewarding class I teach. To be able to reach out and make a difference one on one is life changing.
Mentor to Senior Project at Corona Del Mar High School
A senior asked me to mentor her senior class project which is required in order to graduate. The project is her design and involves learning yoga from the basics on up and being able to absorb it enough to turn around and teach it to her peers. This involves learning the physical asana practice plus understanding the connection to taking yoga off the mat and into her life. Learning to live her yoga and share it to her peers. Quite the undertaking!
LIFT: Leadership Institute for Teens
LIFT asked me to become involved with their program and teach yoga and how it impacts and changes one’s life to teens in their leadership program.
LIFT has two week long camps in the summer. One is a SOKA University and the other is at Cal State Fullerton. This program has served nearly 500 Orange County High School students. In participating in the camps each student receives 20 hours of community service to be applied to the graduation requirements from High School. This is an amazing far reaching program to empower our teens to be future leaders. Please look at www.LIFTus.org for more details.
Education and Training:
• Yoga Alliance Registered 200 - Yoga Teacher 2002
• Baron Baptiste Power Vinyasa Certified Teacher Student and teacher 2003-present
• Yoga4Teens Teacher training - Christy Brock - June 2007
• At Risk Teens Yoga Training - Hala Khouri - August 2008
• Badass Advanced Baptiste Teacher Training - Hilo, Hawaii - February 21-28, 2009
• BS Degree from the University of Minnesota - Psychology
Work Experience:
• The Bodhi Tree Power Yoga Retreat, LLC - Opening August 2009
- Sheboygan, WI
- Owner
- Baptiste Power Yoga Affiliate Studio - June 2009
• Yoga Shakti Studio
- Irvine, CA
- Teach yoga classes
- July 2007 to July 2009
• CSP Huntington Beach Youth Shelter
- Huntington Beach, CA
- Teach yoga classes to teens in Crisis
- September 2007 to July 2009
• YogaGolf
- Pelican Hill Resort
- Golf Academy
- Fall 2007 to July 2009
• Corona del Mar High School
- Newport Beach, CA
- Teach teen yoga to athletes
- September 2007 to July 2009
• Corona del Mar High School
- Newport Beach, CA
- Yoga teacher mentor to Senior Project
- School year 2007-2008
- School year 2008-2009
• OC Yoginis for Teens
- Newport Beach, CA
- Director of Teen Yoga Program
- July 2007 to July 2009
• Baptiste Power Yoga Institute
- Assistant at Yoga Journal Conference in Lake Geneva, WI
- May 2007
• Sports Core/ American Club
- Kohler, WI
- Taught Power Yoga and Ashtanga
- 2002-2007
• Acuity Insurance
- Taught Power Yoga classes in their facility
- 2005-2007
• YogaGolf
- Kohler Golf Academy
- 2004-2006
• Yoga without Walls
- My Karma Yoga program
- Donated to Silent Auctions 3 hour packages of Yoga
- 2002-2007
• Yoga for Teens
- My Karma Yoga program for teens
- Donated free instruction to area High Schools teaching Power Yoga
- 2002-2007
• Community Workshops
- Summer Solstice, Snow Yoga, Baptiste 40 Days Program, Yoga on the Beach
- All workshops offered free to public to generate interest in The Sports Core
- 2002-2007
• Yoga Alliance Registered 200 - Yoga Teacher 2002
• Baron Baptiste Power Vinyasa Certified Teacher Student and teacher 2003-present
• Yoga4Teens Teacher training - Christy Brock - June 2007
• At Risk Teens Yoga Training - Hala Khouri - August 2008
• Badass Advanced Baptiste Teacher Training - Hilo, Hawaii - February 21-28, 2009
• BS Degree from the University of Minnesota - Psychology
Work Experience:
• The Bodhi Tree Power Yoga Retreat, LLC - Opening August 2009
- Sheboygan, WI
- Owner
- Baptiste Power Yoga Affiliate Studio - June 2009
• Yoga Shakti Studio
- Irvine, CA
- Teach yoga classes
- July 2007 to July 2009
• CSP Huntington Beach Youth Shelter
- Huntington Beach, CA
- Teach yoga classes to teens in Crisis
- September 2007 to July 2009
• YogaGolf
- Pelican Hill Resort
- Golf Academy
- Fall 2007 to July 2009
• Corona del Mar High School
- Newport Beach, CA
- Teach teen yoga to athletes
- September 2007 to July 2009
• Corona del Mar High School
- Newport Beach, CA
- Yoga teacher mentor to Senior Project
- School year 2007-2008
- School year 2008-2009
• OC Yoginis for Teens
- Newport Beach, CA
- Director of Teen Yoga Program
- July 2007 to July 2009
• Baptiste Power Yoga Institute
- Assistant at Yoga Journal Conference in Lake Geneva, WI
- May 2007
• Sports Core/ American Club
- Kohler, WI
- Taught Power Yoga and Ashtanga
- 2002-2007
• Acuity Insurance
- Taught Power Yoga classes in their facility
- 2005-2007
• YogaGolf
- Kohler Golf Academy
- 2004-2006
• Yoga without Walls
- My Karma Yoga program
- Donated to Silent Auctions 3 hour packages of Yoga
- 2002-2007
• Yoga for Teens
- My Karma Yoga program for teens
- Donated free instruction to area High Schools teaching Power Yoga
- 2002-2007
• Community Workshops
- Summer Solstice, Snow Yoga, Baptiste 40 Days Program, Yoga on the Beach
- All workshops offered free to public to generate interest in The Sports Core
- 2002-2007