Growing up in San Diego, my favorite place in the world to be was at the beach. When I was 20 I moved to Hawaii, but didn’t learn to surf until I was 50 (yes, you can learn to surf as an adult).

Attending the University of Hawaii and obtaining a Bachelors and Masters degree in Nutrition and Registered Dietitian status gave me the knowledge and credibility to coach numerous clients to achieve their personal wellness, nutrition and weight goals.

Along the way I had to stop running due to injuries, and a friend introduced me to yoga. Isn’t it amazing how the things you think are disastrous (no more running) turn into the greatest joys (teaching yoga)? I became a Yoga Alliance RYT-200 yoga instructor in 2014 under the inspired guidance of Brigitte Snyder, Heidi Hopkins, and Martin Doluz at Aloha Yoga Kula.

I began surfing in 2008 in earnest when I moved home to Hawaii after a failed attempt at a PhD in Biostatistics and Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. While it didn’t teach me what I thought I came for, the struggle and pain brought into exquisite focus that life is what we choose to spend our present moments on.

So… I wrote a wish list for the person I wanted to share my life with (a waterman, duh) and surfed, practiced yoga, surfed, meditated and continued to work as a dietitian/nutritionist in various settings. Ok, I might also have prayed (a lot) for all my dreams to come true 😉

I married my waterman on 11/12/13 and we surfed some more. In 2014 I was introduced to SUP yoga at the Wanderlust Festival at Turtle Bay. A deep love of the ocean and of asana were forever joined, and in 2015 at age 55, Purple Lotus Yoga, Surf and Wellness was born.

Now that I am officially a senior (55 is the new 25,ha ha), I choose to spend every day in the water and on the mat and enjoying foods that love me back. You are cordially invited to join me 😉