About me
For as long as I can remember, I have always had a passion for dance, fitness, and health. I started dancing from the age of 3 when I had a tutu as big as my head. At our elementary school science fair I did a presentation on vitamins. I still remember researching all the different vitamins and presenting them proudly with colorful markers on a big white poster board.
I received my undergraduate degree in English Literature from the University of California at Santa Barbara. After graduation, while working a job that felt completely out of sync with my passions, I sought stimulation by wandering the aisles of the public library. I was always drawn to the books on herbs and natural medicine. One day I came upon a book on Traditional Chinese Medicine. I checked it out and was absolutely captivated. I knew that this was what I was meant to do.
Within just six short months I was enrolled in a Masters program of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Yo San University in Los Angeles. During this four year program I would learn the foundations of Chinese Medicine as well as acupuncture, herbal medicine and the healing movements of qi gong and tai chi.
As a result of my struggles and challenges in learning the hundreds of acupuncture points I identified a gap and a need in the market place for a learning tool to assist with this. I thought to myself, "I should create this tool!". The gods laughed. Little did I know what I would be getting into.
What started as a fanciful idea led to four challenging years creating a 450 page acupuncture handbook. I even lost all my work after three years into the project due to a computer software issue and had to start all over again. Nevertheless, I prevailed and self-publish "A Personal Acupuncture Handbook" and it became a helpful tool used by acupuncture students in colleges all over the country.
After five years practicing acupuncture I wanted to explore and develop my passion for fitness and so I got certified as a personal trainer through National Association of Sports Medicine (NASM). I was a personal trainer for about four years and I loved helping my clients become more fit and functional in their lives.
During all these years the one "through line" and constant has always been my greatest passion- belly dancing. This passion and desire was planted in me when I was only 8 years old when I saw a belly dancer perform for the first time.
My dad took us to a Moroccan restaurant in my home town of Las Vegas and I remember the belly dancer coming out and moving her hips with the swaying shiny beads of her costume. I was mesmerized. When she came over to our table afterwards I must have looked in awe, because she took off her beaded exotic green necklace and gave it to me. I still have it to this day.
It was many years before I would learn belly dance but once I did I was absolutely hooked. It was as though something had been awakened in me and my soul remembered how to do this dance. I poured my heart and soul into it and took as many classes and workshops as I could. Within a couple years I was doing it professionally, performing in restaurants and at private events and teaching regularly in dance studios.
My dream has always been to share my love of belly dancing with other women so that they could feel the joy and freedom that I feel when I dance. Embedded in my love for dance, movement and fitness is my experience of my body as a sanctuary and refuge from the challenges of life and the painful emotions that come with that. I wanted to help other women experience movement as a powerful healing tool as well.
In 2019 I fulfilled my dream of helping women through belly dance by creating The Belly Dance Solution. The inspiration for this program was a student of mine who came up to me after class one day and told me that since she had been taking belly dance she longer suffered from a leaky bladder. This was many years ago, but the memory was reignited when I contemplated what kind of belly dance program to create.
Thousands of women have joined my program and many of them expressed their desire to learn belly dance more comprehensively, aside from just resolving a health issue. I wanted to make belly dance as simple, easy and approachable as possible. I didn't want any women to feel that she wasn't coordinated or skilled enough to learn belly dance because I wholeheartedly believe it's a skill that can be taught.
So I created Feminine Fire, which helps women to not only learn belly dance but how to DIY their own belly dance routines so that they can become creators in their own bodies. But Feminine Fire is so much more than that. It's a portal and a tool to unleash your Inner Goddess and connect with your feminine essence.
I received my undergraduate degree in English Literature from the University of California at Santa Barbara. After graduation, while working a job that felt completely out of sync with my passions, I sought stimulation by wandering the aisles of the public library. I was always drawn to the books on herbs and natural medicine. One day I came upon a book on Traditional Chinese Medicine. I checked it out and was absolutely captivated. I knew that this was what I was meant to do.
Within just six short months I was enrolled in a Masters program of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Yo San University in Los Angeles. During this four year program I would learn the foundations of Chinese Medicine as well as acupuncture, herbal medicine and the healing movements of qi gong and tai chi.
As a result of my struggles and challenges in learning the hundreds of acupuncture points I identified a gap and a need in the market place for a learning tool to assist with this. I thought to myself, "I should create this tool!". The gods laughed. Little did I know what I would be getting into.
What started as a fanciful idea led to four challenging years creating a 450 page acupuncture handbook. I even lost all my work after three years into the project due to a computer software issue and had to start all over again. Nevertheless, I prevailed and self-publish "A Personal Acupuncture Handbook" and it became a helpful tool used by acupuncture students in colleges all over the country.
After five years practicing acupuncture I wanted to explore and develop my passion for fitness and so I got certified as a personal trainer through National Association of Sports Medicine (NASM). I was a personal trainer for about four years and I loved helping my clients become more fit and functional in their lives.
During all these years the one "through line" and constant has always been my greatest passion- belly dancing. This passion and desire was planted in me when I was only 8 years old when I saw a belly dancer perform for the first time.
My dad took us to a Moroccan restaurant in my home town of Las Vegas and I remember the belly dancer coming out and moving her hips with the swaying shiny beads of her costume. I was mesmerized. When she came over to our table afterwards I must have looked in awe, because she took off her beaded exotic green necklace and gave it to me. I still have it to this day.
It was many years before I would learn belly dance but once I did I was absolutely hooked. It was as though something had been awakened in me and my soul remembered how to do this dance. I poured my heart and soul into it and took as many classes and workshops as I could. Within a couple years I was doing it professionally, performing in restaurants and at private events and teaching regularly in dance studios.
My dream has always been to share my love of belly dancing with other women so that they could feel the joy and freedom that I feel when I dance. Embedded in my love for dance, movement and fitness is my experience of my body as a sanctuary and refuge from the challenges of life and the painful emotions that come with that. I wanted to help other women experience movement as a powerful healing tool as well.
In 2019 I fulfilled my dream of helping women through belly dance by creating The Belly Dance Solution. The inspiration for this program was a student of mine who came up to me after class one day and told me that since she had been taking belly dance she longer suffered from a leaky bladder. This was many years ago, but the memory was reignited when I contemplated what kind of belly dance program to create.
Thousands of women have joined my program and many of them expressed their desire to learn belly dance more comprehensively, aside from just resolving a health issue. I wanted to make belly dance as simple, easy and approachable as possible. I didn't want any women to feel that she wasn't coordinated or skilled enough to learn belly dance because I wholeheartedly believe it's a skill that can be taught.
So I created Feminine Fire, which helps women to not only learn belly dance but how to DIY their own belly dance routines so that they can become creators in their own bodies. But Feminine Fire is so much more than that. It's a portal and a tool to unleash your Inner Goddess and connect with your feminine essence.