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Wellness & Boxer Wags 🐾
Healthy Living, Mindful Movement, Lessons in Teaching, and Life with Boxers
Welcome to Fitness & Yoga 👟🏋️🧘♀️
I have been a "fitness girl" my entire life. I played sports as a child, in junior high school, high school, college, and as an adult. I also spent years teaching and participating in step aerobics and all types of fitness classes. Back then, if you had asked me to take a yoga class, I would have given the classic excuse: "I can't do yoga, I'm not flexible."
The beautiful irony? Not being flexible is exactly why you should try yoga. But it took a major, life-altering detour for me to truly understand that.
A Sudden Detour & A New Path
I was diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm in 2019 after a Calcium Score test (a routine test my PCP recommended). My calcium score was zero (yay, me), but they found an aneurysm. At the time, it didn’t need surgery because it wasn’t large enough ~ until it was. (BTW, Everyone should get this test ~ it saved my life!)
In August, 2020, in the middle of COVID, I underwent major open-heart surgery for an aortic arch repair. The recovery was slow and humbling. When I finally recovered enough to return to regular exercise, I returned to my regular studio to look into light personal training. While talking with the owner, Pia, she gave me some advice that changed everything: "You really should try yoga."
A Sudden Detour & A New Path (continued)
Soon after, my health journey took another complex turn when I was diagnosed with Vestibular Migraines and PPPD (Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness). Navigating chronic dizziness changed everything. I quickly learned that intentional fitness and eating well weren't just about staying in shape anymore, they became absolutely vital tools for managing my symptoms and regaining control of my life.
Coming Full Circle
I stepped onto the mat, and it transformed how I approach movement. Yoga healed my body, taught me to honor my joints, and showed me how to find true strength in stability.I fell in love with the practice and I decided to get certified to teach. I completed both my 200-hour and advanced 300-hour certifications to become an RYT-500 Yoga Instructor.Today, in retirement, life has come full circle: I am teaching yoga and fitness classes in that very same studio where my recovery began.
What You'll Find Here
As both an RYT-500 Instructor and a Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT), my goal is to help you move with purpose. Here, I share expert-backed movement guidelines, vestibular-friendly adjustments, and routines designed to decompress the body, protect bone density, and build lasting core stability.
Whether you are here to build strength or simply roll out your mat to unwind, let's find your balance together.
Peace in our hearts • Love in our actions • Health in our minds & bodies • Happiness in our spirits • Balance in everything.
My “Five for Life” Philosophy
My Five for Life consists of five simple words: Peace, Love, Health, Happiness, and Balance.
Years ago, I started writing Peace, Love, Health, and Happiness on our family Christmas cards. Eventually, that phrase became my intention for every yoga class I took. Balance joined the mix soon after, born straight from my teaching days. As a high school Health and PE teacher, the core question posted on my wall was: "How do I live a healthy and balanced life?" Every health topic and lesson I taught came back to that question and, how the decisions we make can impact our ability to live a healthy and balanced life.
Eventually, it hit me that 'balance' belonged in my personal mantra, too. When I began teaching yoga regularly, all five elements beautifully fused together. True health isn't about chasing a flawless aesthetic or a perfect pose ~ it is about nurturing these five pillars of well-being every single day.
It is the exact reminder you will see anchoring the bottom of every page on this site, and it is how I close every single yoga class:
May peace fill our hearts, love guide our actions, health strengthen our minds and bodies, happiness uplift our spirits, and balance ground our journey.
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