About

Although I endured chronic illness throughout my childhood, my Open Heart Adventure didn’t truly begin until a major upheaval in my early 30′s turned my world upside down.  Up until that point I had been going through the motions of life, constantly trying to get some ground beneath me, never really feeling good enough, and certainly not living an authentic life.

I felt exhausted and frustrated.  I was trying so hard to prove myself, to be happy and find fulfillment, but it always seemed to be out of arm’s reach.  One more degree, one more promotion, one more marathon… and then I’d get there.  But somehow it was never enough.

It wasn’t until my best-laid plans completely failed, and the rug was pulled out that I began to wake up to my life.  In the midst of a deep depression, debilitating anxiety, and not much to lose, I started looking for answers.  My search led me to meditation, life coaching, and ultimately Somatic Experiencing.

It was also during this time that I had my first significant Open Heart Adventure.  I took the leap, quit my job, and realized a life-long dream to live in France for a year.  During that trip, on a still, starry night in the French countryside, I realized that my life had been waiting for me all along.  I only needed to step into it, exactly as it was, to find my Open Heart Adventure.

While it took something of a major meltdown to realize the answers had been right in front of me all along, I also know that I was doing the best I could do with the cards I’d been dealt.  The unresolved and unconscious trauma stored in my system kept me in a holding pattern despite my best mental efforts.  I know this today because after doing my own coaching and Somatic Experiencing work, I feel more at home in my body and in the world than I ever thought possible.

Since beginning this work I’ve experienced more and more Open Heart Adventures, such that today my life feels like one big Open Heart Adventure.  Of course, with some rough patches along the way.

Training & Education

I’m a certified Martha Beck Life Coach and have been coaching since 2008.  I’m also a long-time yoga practitioner and certified teacher, meditator, and student of Buddhism, all of which help inform my practice.  I am currently studying Somatic Experiencing, an invaluable tool that I use regularly in my coaching practice to help clients move through unresolved trauma that often shows up in the form of overwhelming or “stuck” emotions.  I hold a bachelor’s degree in biology, a master’s degree in education, and love teaching my clients to tools they need to transform their lives.