"When I first stepped onto the yoga mat in 1999, I found what I had been searching for my entire life: A wonderful peace."

Actually, first I found I couldn't breathe correctly. So I learned how to breathe which was, interestingly, the first turning point in changing my life. I practiced vinyasa, ashtanga and the Forrest Method. I found that what I attained on the yoga mat I incorporated off the mat. This was point number two in changing the course of my life.

My biggest influence was one of Chicago's favorites, Paul Weitz, who not only taught me vinyasa like no other, but also fed me spiritual food for thought, giving me the yearning to travel further into what seemed at first like Alice in Wonderland.

My yoga practice led me to a holistic practice in every other aspect of my life. I practiced Macrobiotics and natural, whole foods cooking for the next two years, followed by Ayurveda, which has become my tandem practice to yoga and meditation. I left my work as a recruiter and started my own domestic services company, offering non-toxic housecleaning and whole foods cooking. It was as if this practice was in preparation for what was to come.

Starting about 2002 for the next three years, I experienced a series of traumas and losses. These years would test not just my character, but also the effectiveness of the tools given me through yoga -- meditation, and the discipline and commitment necessary to carry through a daily cooking sadhana (practice/discipline). These tools gave me the ability to take on these life challenges with grace and dignity. My practice gave me clarity, insight and unwavering compassion, and my trust in the Universe was taken to a new level.

I had embarked on a blissful and healing life path. And it was taken to an even higher level when I met yoga teacher Scott (Sat Atma) Adelman, who introduced me to Kundalini Yoga and Meditation. It took me beyond transcendence and compassion. It gave me the power to direct my life in today's world. And beyond even that, it is giving me the tools to conquer my inner world. I had found my calling… to impart the teachings of this amazing technology and contribute to the healing and betterment of the lives of others through these teachings.

I will complete International Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training with Shiva Singh and Shabad Kaur Khalsa, directors of Spirit Rising Yoga, Chicago, in June of 2006.

I live in Evanston with my family, which includes Joel and our two wise and beautiful children, Madison and Jonah.