I was four year’s old when my parents told me they were getting divorced. It wasn’t until my early 20s that I started to process the emotions that landed on me that day and all those years I spent trying to navigate between two families and my own thoughts and feelings (I had a ton of stomach issues and headaches growing up!).  It was a yoga class in college that helped me access my body and mind and allowed me to begin untangling the web I had created to protect myself.

Years later when I became a mother myself, we sent our children to the Laurel Hill Co-Op Preschool and were exposed to a whole new way of parenting. A play-based, child-led school, our kids learned how to explore their feelings (the happy ones and the sad and angry ones). They learned how to deal with conflicts with other kids and build negotiation skills. Most importantly they were in an environment that promoted their self-esteem, built resilience and fostered self-compassion. And we learned how to be more supportive parents during the ups and down of growing up.  Now as a teacher myself, I bring the same philosophies into my practices when working with children.

At some point in our lives, something may unroot us so deeply that we may feel lost, alone, afraid and ungrounded. Yoga and mindfulness offer practices that give children full access to the resources of their body, breath and mindset, and do so within the context of compassionate, respectful relationships. My goal is to help kids thrive in the world regardless of circumstances, and navigate the many challenges they face with a sense of personal power and self-awareness.