I fell in love with yoga in 2006. At first, I started to practice because I was interested in improving my flexibility, and also releasing tight neck and shoulder pain resulting from sitting all day, at times hunched over my computer. 

I immediately began to experience the therapeutic effects of yoga on my body and gradually came to practice 2-3 times per week,  experiencing a complete transformation. I realized that by practicing yoga regularly, I not only experienced improvements in my physical state, but my psychological state was much improved. The constant thoughts I had racing through my mind started to slow down, and over time float away. I began to feel more present in my everyday life, and experienced an improved mental state throughout the day. 

In 2015-16, I completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training with Bloom Yoga Studio in Chicago. I then studied Yoga Therapy with the Inner Peace Yoga Therapy program and will be a certified yoga therapist in 2020. 

My intention in becoming certified is to bring yoga into my clinical psychology practice. Medical and mental health professionals have for a generation documented the positive effects that regular yoga practice has on our mental and physical state. A recent review suggests that yoga may be suggested as an adjunct treatment for stress and anxiety. 

In my experience, clients who integrate yoga into their daily life are able to better manage their psychological, and physical, health. 

If you are interested in learning some yoga postures to help manage anxiety and depressive symptoms, I will be glad to incorporate this into our psychotherapy sessions. The postures that I will offer you include the use of simple yoga props, such as bolsters, blocks and blankets. I will teach you the postures in my office, and you can practice them at home in between sessions. I will also be offering therapeutic yoga classes at Serenity@Sauganash studio.