As a college volleyball player, my coach pushed me to practice yoga. I argued that it would be too slow and went to frozen yogurt instead - at that age froyo with a dog seemed so much better than practicing downward dog. But one day I gave in. I attended class. And to my shock, I learned Coach was right. Yoga changed my life. Within the first few classes I felt secure enough for the first time in a long time to open up. And within a few weeks I couldn’t help but keep coming back. Eventually I figured doing a training could be a nice summer project before getting my masters degree. 14 years later and it turns out that training was the most important education I’d ever recieve. 

 

I am 200 hour yoga certified from Core Power Yoga. Where I began my teaching journey. I went on to train in Yoga Sculpt, Circuits, Spin, and Pilates from a number of different studios. Learning so much from each training and place, but a majority of my biggest lessons have come from my own practice. Which, when I look back, to the shock of me and my calculator comes out to more than 15,000 classes now taught. Thanks to a weekly schedule that often included five classes a day through my 20s… spin, pilates and yoga at three different times at three different locations... the best times, but looking back I could have drank more water and not partied on that one halloween...

​

I am so grateful for getting to work with so many great instructors and owners along the way. To have acheived my dreams of supporting the athletes I wanted to be like as a kid too: the Women's and Men’s National Volleyball teams, Chargers Football, Angels MLB, Cal State Fullerton Athletics, UC Irvine Athletics, Concordia Athletics, Long Beach State. And now, many of the best surfers in the world.

 

I will always love training athletes in particular and the ethos of training like an athlete is in all of our Den classes, but launching and growing The Den in order to bring hat mindset to everyone is what I’m most proud of.  A place where Olympians and eighty year old grandmothers train daily. Both welcomed equally and pushed to their own edges. 

 

My mission in starting simple: bring people together through world class workouts, good music and my dog Gryf. Everyday I get to continue to do that is  a day I'm grateful for. I love teaching the workouts I wish I had been taught growing up and look forward to continuing to watch the Den's community grow as I do. All of our instructors doing things the right way: with curiosity, kindness, skill and a slightly crazy drive to work hard. Thank you so so much for being a part of it. I look forward to seeing you in class.