My relationship with yoga began when I was six or seven years old. My mother cleaned houses for a living, and one afternoon each week after school I would join her at a home where I was allowed to watch television. I would turn on PBS, where Lilias Folan was teaching yoga. I found her lovely, and I looked forward to those afternoons with her.

Yoga remained a fascination throughout my teens and early twenties, but it wasn't until my late twenties—fresh from studying philosophy and religion—that I discovered a yoga lineage that truly spoke to me. It felt like coming home. The thing I had been searching for through all those years of study had somehow found me.

I was fortunate to study with teachers who gave me a strong foundation and encouraged me to keep looking deeper. Doug Keller was an important early influence, expanding my practice beyond asana into pranayama, meditation, and a deeper exploration of Eastern philosophy. Over the years, Buddhist teachings became an especially meaningful part of my path. The teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh continue to profoundly influence both my life and my work, while Hindu mythology, Ayurveda, and Five Element Theory have each found their way into the way I understand and share the practice.

For me, yoga has never been something that ends when we roll up the mat. I believe we are meant to live our yoga. The teachings matter most when the rubber hits the road—when life is complicated, uncomfortable, uncertain, or simply very human. I don't want to offer beautiful ideas that remain inside the walls of a yoga studio. I want to explore how we actually practice them in our relationships, our choices, our bodies, and our everyday lives.