I grew up in Tokyo, Japan.  My grandmother taught me massage at a very young age, and she encouraged me to massage the elderly people at their mahjong parlor on the first floor of their house.  Their house was just minutes away from Asakusa Kannon Temple (pictured below).   My Japanese/Buddhist upbringing is the foundation of my massage, yoga and wellness practices. 

Somehow I ended up in Lubbock, Texas for college and walked (ran) onto the Texas Tech Women’s Cross Country team.  I learned a lot about training and physiology but decided that running day in and day out at a competitive level was not my jam.  Instead I wandered over to the Student Recreation Center, and ended up teaching aerobics.  I felt how rewarding it was to lead group exercise. There is something about the communal experience that is so good for our human nature.  I didn’t know it at the time, but I had wandered onto the path of my calling.

I took a very long way to get here.  I graduated with degrees in Spanish and International Economics.  My first job out of college was as a counselor, then I got a job as a research assistant in a molecular cardiology laboratory, then as a software engineer … and through all those jobs, I was always massaging everyone around me.  When I was pregnant I decided to follow my instinct, and enrolled in massage therapy school.  In 2006, 8 months pregnant with my first son, I passed my Florida licensing exam and began my journey as a hands on practicioner. Soon after my second son was born, I started practicing yoga.  I completed a 200hr Yoga Teacher Training program followed by obtaining Personal Training Certification from the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Full circle back to group exercise and wellness!