Articulating how I work is as simple as separating the dancer from the dance or the musician from the music.

I was once asked to teach a three-hour workshop on how to teach one on one to a group of yoga teacher trainees. One day I will teach that workshop again but really, there are many questions to ask oneself before, “How do I teach one on one?”

Each time a person walks into my studio I am assessing where they at energetically by a combination of clues: what they choose to talk about, where they place themselves in the room, where they place their things in the room, their use of language, their appearance – skin colour (not ethnic)/complexion, how they walk, expression on their face, muscle tone, breath, physical alignment, how they manage that day with new as well as familiar exercises, and so much more.

Of course all of this interfaces with where I am at that day. Simple tasks from my personal hygiene to mantra and stretching and strengthening practices, as well as creating clarity with my family around my work hours, nourishing and hydrating myself properly. I cannot overemphasize the value of being as clear as possible a template within myself in order to serve my clients needs. To add to that, it is my wish that the personal template I work within be ever expanding and deepening. In other words, I strive to be open to learning new things/ideas in every situation. I also place myself in learning intensives once or twice a year where I get to be with and serve a master in the field of human potential.

I have been teaching movement disciplines for over twenty-five years. I danced through my elementary school years, rode and trained horses in my adolescence and travelled the world to pursue my studies in my early twenties.

Brain science has proven that we learn new physical skills, create new myelin pathways of movement skill in two ways – through repetition (a lot of repetition!) and through touch. This rings true for me because of my experience learning various movement forms and physical skills throughout my life.

We do not thrive without physical contact. There are valid reasons why touch can be a controversial topic, which is why I am very sensitive to each individual’s personal physical boundaries.

Our bodies speak a language that doesn’t know how to lie. We are all complex maps in need of a compass. My skill is in decoding this partially non-verbal, yet incredibly complex language. There is evidence that illustrates how our verbal language grows out of and with our physical movement experience.

It is my wish that more people are able to explore their realms of sensation where words, emotions, physicality, pain, pleasure, humour, boredom, curiosity all intersect. That is where some magical metaphors live that can be very real keys to moving each individual forward on a rich path of fully embodied self-discovery.