Our sense of touch is understood to be the first sense to develop in humans. My earliest memories had no words, no thoughts, or stories, yet  embodied such a clear unspoken feeling of palpable curiosity. I remember when a teacher emphasized,  “Ask the question that can change your life. Dare to ask the question of your heart. It will change not only your life, but it can help others here who are also listening.”

The ones I loved survived worlds of pain and violence. I grew up with intimate knowledge of war’s horrific impacts and what lingers on in the reverberating echoes of history. Yet miracles still bloomed. Every day. If only: in a dewdrop, a dandelion, or a single grain of rice. I learned early how we carry on, but a wound does not stop speaking just because time has passed.

When body stores (in)tense memories with protective vigilance:
Sometimes in our shoulders.
Sometimes in holding exhale with stifled breath.
Sometimes in clenched jaws when we bite our tongues.
Sometimes gripped with white knuckled stoic fearful silence.
What happened, happened.
What now? What still aches? What hurts and needs attention?
What is here can still be tended with loving care breath by breath.

Questions of the heart inspired me to listen to the deep yearning inside to understand life, the nature of our shared human experience, and the power of healing transformation. An exuberant spirit of inquiry and love of learning led me to explore multidisciplinary perspectives in education and global culture communities in addition to conventional university programs. My most essential insights into compassionate change were not learned in books or classrooms, but through collective wisdom traditions, ongoing counsel in community practice, uplifting attuned relationships, and directly through (surviving) life.

I survived multiple traumatic brain injuries, a near-death experience car accident, physical disability, and complex trauma. I am in awe of spines and how we can’t buy new bodies or brains. I had to train and learn how to look up, see, sit, stand, walk, and open doors again without shocking agony. I weathered these substantial, excruciating lessons through years of post-traumatic growth and healing debilitating chronic pain, moral injuries that shook the soul, and relentless harm of oppressive systems that sought to subdue, silence, fragment, and erase. Each of these ruptures became my fiercest teachers in healing, insistently calling me deeper into responsive, radical care. Pain can become a portal to presence.

My holistic approach stems from zen mindfulness and somatic practices integrating relational neuroscience, embodied anatomy, developmental psychology to create a supportive space for transformative growth and personal expression. My journey has been one of navigating the intricate relationship of body-mind-spirit in polycrises. I’m passionate about guiding others on their own paths of wellbeing and wholeness in a world on fire. I listen from my whole being to what is invisible to the eye, honoring the wisdom and complexities that lives in each person.

My diverse interests, which include creative arts, ethnobotany, cultural neurobiology, sociopolitical history and indigenous psychology, inform a nuanced and integrative therapeutic practice. I'm dedicated to empowering you to navigate life's challenges, cultivate self-compassion, and nurture lasting change. This humanizing therapeutic approach fosters liberating embodied connection that encourages expansive emotional harmony with trauma-informed care.