Wife.  Mother.  Sister. Friend. Survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Everyday woman.

I believe that as a trauma informed facilitator and Teacher, I have a responsibility to recognize trauma and it’s widespread impact, to actively resist retraumatization in my work and to offer practical real world tools, practices and resources that are that are supportive to post traumatic growth and resilience. I actively pursue ongoing education and training to continually expand and update my tools, experience, and resources. And the truth is - I also happen to love it! It holds me accountable as I continue to grow as a Coach, a Teacher, and a Trainer.

Here’s the short version: - my experience and education:

S Factor Licensed Teacher, Lead Teacher Trainer. Actively teaching professionally since 2009 - over 10,000 teaching hours to date.
Certified Trauma Recovery Coach
Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness Practitioner - Adv. (pending)
Mental Health First Aid certified
Movement for Trauma certified
Transcending Sexual Trauma through Yoga - Certificate of Completion
THRIVE Trauma Informed Yoga - Certificate of Completion
Polyvagal Institute - Applied PVT in Yoga - Certificate of Completion
Foundations of The Trauma Informed Approach - Certificate of Completion
Building Safety Anchors
Somatopia - Somatic Approaches to Healing Trauma - Certificate
Certificate in Somatic Embodiment & Regulation Strategies, Level 3
Jungian Somatics Foundations

AFAA Certified Group Fitness Instructor, focus on Women’s Fitness, Peri and Post Natal Fitness
XPole XPert Certified, XPole Flexibility Flow
Flying through Pregnancy - Antenatal & postnatal training for pole & aerial fitness
Functional Assisted Stretch Therapy certified & manual stretch therapy trained
DEFINE certified - Ball Rolling and Aerial Hammock

Experienced. Certified. Licensed. Insured.

And if you’re still reading, and curious - here’s my story behind all of the stuff above:

I don't dance to be fit, or to be strong, or to be sexy, or to get my "summer body."  I don't have a style, a technique, or a category.  I dance because it simultaneously soothes and ignites my soul, and connects me to my feminine body in a way that nothing else can.  It's really that simple, that beautiful, that uncomplicated.

I didn't start out with a background or formal training in dance or fitness.  Heck, I was a band kid in high school (flute, piccolo, and French horn, thank  you very much).  I took my very first S Factor class in 2006 because I wanted to learn how to pole dance, how to "be sexy" for my husband.  Pole dancing was in it's absolute infancy as an industry, and the few pole dancers that I had seen on the internet seemed otherworldly, ethereal, mysterious, taboo, and sexy.  I heard it was a really amazing workout.  Ok, there's a class for that?  Sure, I'll try.  (I also purchased my very first home pole, a Lil' Minx.)

In a room full of women I didn't know, had never met, I knew something was very different about this when the the lights went down, the teacher asked me to close my eyes, and thick, delicious music seemed to curl itself around my body like a blanket.  The combination of Andee's voice and the music was like warm viscous honey being poured into my ear and down my neck, my shoulders.  She coaxed us into the movement and cued me into my body and into a state of emotional bliss that I was totally unprepared for.  I literally cried (very quietly, mind you) at one point in the workout and I thought to myself that I must be insane - who in the world cries in a pole dancing class?

Of course, I signed right up for the membership.

Over the next two years as I sat on that purple mat every week, I discovered that it actually wasn't about the pole itself (although I did learn a few bad-ass pole tricks along the way).  This feminine movement practice led me to a profoundly emotional, grounded connection to the very body that I lived in - and for the very first time in my ENTIRE life, I began to have a healthy and loving connection to my own body.  What began as a personal erotic movement practice within small private classes became a personal journey of the most intimate kind.  It became a practice that seemed to affect every aspect of my life.  Nothing was untouched, no part of my life didn't feel more vibrant.   I felt empowered, liberated, literally more alive, more awakened than I had ever been in my life.  I was stronger, healthier - and I felt like I was a completely new version of the woman I was.   It was the first time in my entire adult life that I identified with something that was singularly ME.  I was peeling back emotional layers, boundaries, and conditioning.  I was uncovering things about myself that absolutely astounded me.  I wasn't only Keith's wife and Anthony's mother - I was a woman that I thought I knew, but really didn't.  I was completely unraveling, in the most complicated and beautiful way.

I felt fiercely drawn to this in a way that I simply could not articulate - nor could I ignore.   It was more than a hobby, more than a passion, and I was drawn like a moth to a flame.  I could only describe it as a calling from my soul.  I simply had to have more, a bigger piece of this magic.  I completed the 8-week Teacher Training program and began teaching in 2009 - and in early 2012, I felt like the beautiful life I had created for myself just didn't FIT me anymore.  I felt called into service in a way that I never had before.  I felt my world, my perspective, my place, my relationships, my everything shifting like a small earthquake.  Something bigger was rumbling in my bones.   I felt like the absolute best version of myself that I had ever known.

I left my 16-year career in the corporate world to pursue teaching feminine movement full time.  I had fallen in love with the feminine body in motion, the beauty of breath in the body, and most of all, emotional expression through sensual movement.  I have a deep thirst for continued learning in the areas of women's health and fitness, somatics, flexibility, sensual classic pole, yoga trapeze/hammock, self-myofascial release, and restorative stretching.  

My teachings are influenced by over 16 years of teaching and taking as many classes, trainings, certifications, workshops, courses, and retreats as I possibly can, from as many people as I can.  My students inspire me deeply, and I learn from every single class and every single woman I have the honor of teaching.   I am a perpetual, hungry student of the language of the feminine body throughout all the stages of a woman's life, and I continue to learn, grow, study, dance, explore, and move my own body every chance I get.  

When my (then franchised) home studio closed unexpectedly in November of 2016, I was completely blindsided by the whirlwind of emotion, and the profound sense of loss of the idea of not having a studio.  It was so much more than a job to me - it was my home, my playground, my safe haven, and a part of my identity as a woman.  It was suddenly extremely clear to me that in order to continue to do what I was completely driven to do, I had to find a way to continue on as an individual, an independent.  I could either go back to the corporate world - or keep teaching.  I didn't know what that looked like - I had no idea how to go about it.  All I knew was that I HAD to find a way to continue this journey that had taken me so far off the road already traveled.  It was terrifying.  I had no road map, no template, no business model, no studio.   Just my passion, and the unshakable knowing in my very bones that somehow I simply had to make it work.  Not doing it, whatever "it" was, was not an option.  So I became licensed, and insured.  I rented space, and I continued to teach my classes.

I am still finding my way.

I'm not a performer.  I'm not a competitor.  I'm certainly not a pole "trickster," and my movement is deeply private to me.  My deepest passion is to lead classes that inspire women to physically and emotionally connect to their bodies, to own that body without shame or apology, and to fall in love with the body they live in, right now, the way she is this very moment - even as I continue to learn to do that for myself. It’s a practice. A journey.

What I have learned about myself is that meaningful, authentic, connection with other women is important to me, and it makes a powerful, positive difference in every aspect of my life.   I've also learned that I'm not alone in that search.

Every woman has a story that matters.  How a woman feels about herself and the relationship she has with her own body matters.  How a woman feels when she is a part of a loving community of sisterhood that values and cherishes her AS SHE IS matters.  It has a powerful ripple effect though not only her own life, but into the lives of everyone she touches, everything she does. 

As a woman shifts, so does the world around her. 

The movement I teach goes beyond a physical technique or the “mastery” of a physical skillset or movement. No choreography here. No steps to follow, or 8-counts to keep up with.

I believe each woman's feminine movement is not something she learns, or forms, or creates.  She uncovers it.  Breath by breath, moment by moment.  Your body has a distinct voice if you can stand still long enough to let it whisper to you.

There are so many amazing studios and classes that cater to a specific style, technique, or to the technical and experienced student - but that's not what you'll find in my classes.  My classes are all are about moving your own body and finding your very own authentic feminine movement that is deliciously sensual, celebratory, and unapologetic.  About self discovery, empowerment, and authentic connection to the women we share our space with.  No judgment allowed.  It's physical, sure - but it's also emotional and spiritual.  It's a process, a journey. 

My wish for you is to leave each class a little wild, a little messy, and with your soul completely lit up. 

Other classes and studios may teach you how to look or "do" sexy - but with this journey, I can promise you that you'll discover that YOU ALREADY ARE.

There is no choreography in my classes.

Your feminine movement is not something that you learn, or form, or create, or master.  It's something you discover, and then cultivate.  It's not a singular class - it's a journey.

I truly believe that every single woman who walks this Earth has an innate, raw and unapologetic beauty that belongs only to her, that's just yearning to be discovered, and breathed life into.  It's not a shape, a size, a look, or a skillset.  It's in the brilliance of her eyes, the curve of her hips, the wisdom and singular beauty of her unique body.  It is like no other -  it is stunning, fierce, brave, vulnerable, it is complex and ever-changing.  It's her soul, her truth.  If you learn to listen to your body... she'll whisper just loud enough for you to hear it.

I invite you to join us - a community, sisterhood, a tribe of supportive and amazing women who are everyday women, just like you and me.