This is ME- a small human on this big beautiful earth! My name is Amanda, however some of my favs have many nicknames for me and I love them all. I am a Libra, which is probably why I feel my best when all parts of me are balanced. My love for Superheroes runs deep. I am a natural born extrovert and relish time alone to bring me back to me. Truth, communication, connection, compassion and commitment to feed my soul are some of my values. I am a Yoga Teacher, Yoga Therapist, a mum, a partner, a lover of nature, a lion, a light, everything and nothing at all 💜

I was always someone who moved through life, even at a young age I was helping my dad lift logs, cut trees, on my bike or just running around. My nana gave me my first book on nutrition when I was nine years old and immediately I loved learning about food (sounds pretty funny, I know). As I grew, I played some sports, however, I found a love for running especially trail running. And that's when it happened. I was 16 the first time my feet touched the mat and I felt something I couldn't explain. All I knew was it felt good and hit places inside that led to more- more curiosity and learning about myself and this world than I ever could have imagined. Despite me leaving out many childhood experiences that helped mold me to the person I am today. All this, is what I believe set my foundation. 

A couple years later, I hit a few potholes and maybe fell into a sinkhole. There was no shortcoming of struggles, the odds were not in my favor and I was living on another universe. Fast forward a few years and the girl looking in the mirror was not me anymore. So, I looked deeper, I pushed, I screamed, I cried, I kicked, I screamed some more, said F this and moved forward. Some days felt like I wasn't going anywhere. Those days I continued to remind myself of how far I had come, which direction I wanted to move and focused more on myself. My focus- run more, fuel my body, go outside everyday, practice yoga and eventually enroll back in school. Back then, there wasn't many options for yoga. Although, I tried as many as I could and practiced at home. Then, those feelings came back just like hearing a song with a fond memory- once again, I was hooked.

Since that moment, I craved more- more of all of it. So, I continued to read, learn and practice as often as I could. After studying Psychology, Nutrition and Community Health from UML, I graduated. Interview after interview I would knock them out of the park, but I was turned down due to lack of experience. Our hearts took us to California for a short while and the decision to go to the birthplace of it all and complete my first Hatha 200 YTTC was in the works. India opened my mind and soul in a way I thought, actually I never thought possible. After two months, I flew home and started teaching locally downtown for a short time. My partner and I decided to move to Oregon and I dove into 100 hour trauma-informed yoga and worked at a detention center for young males 18-24 years old. Then, I completed another 200 YTTC in Vinyasa. Eventually, circling back to east coast I started teaching yoga, teaching bootcamps, personal training locally and became a TRX Coach. I studied 170 hours of Kundalini at Yoga at the Ashram. I later enrolled in a 805 hour Yoga Therapy Course in India and registered with the IAYT. Just recently, I did a training on teaching children. 

A large part of my experience has been in mental health; working at a children's facility, a male's detention center and Emerson hospital. I have spent time teaching both preschool and high school and volunteered for The Center for Hope & Healing. Through all that experience I had shared physical yoga, meditation, Yoga Nidra, journaling and mindfulness practices. 

The last 18 months have been much different- we had a beautiful fire cracker named Ella and she lights up our sky! My practice or the lack of physical practice was not what I expected, meditation was limited to one time a week- most aspects of my practice were heavily altered except pranayam. If all I could do was breathe, then thats all I could do. To not be physical, for me, was a challenge to say the least. However, I made a commitment to nurse and for 17 months I did. That is not to say, someone cannot be physically active while nursing.  I struggled to come close to the activity level my mind and body were used too. So, I surrendered everything else and chose to be present in my breath, with our baby and for our family. Since our nursing journey has ended I have committed to myself-  the new me with the same old soul, a bigger fuller heart with new eyes and a greater understanding for mothers.

And, here I am, ready to share with you a practice that has shed skin, freed my soul and expanded my mind.