Education Milestones

I've studied with many teachers, and I'm grateful for each of them and their respective contributions to making me a better person and the world a better place. My deepest gratitude goes to the plants for their continued healing presence and loving, generous example.

2005: MA English

2009: Integral Yoga Teacher Training

2010: PhD Human Development

2023: Studied w/ Corrina Wood

2024: Hedgecraft School with Rebecca Beyer

2024: Thai Yoga Training

2025: Yin Yoga Training

2025: School of Evolutionary Herbalism w/ Sajah Popham

2026: Apprentice to Lauren Cooper, RH at Green Star Farms

2026: Mentorship with Pam Montgomery

2026: Foundations of Ayurveda (Ayurprana)

My Philosophy:

I believe that we are each on a soul journey. I believe that throughout human history, the wisdom keepers of many cultures have developed methods of helping individuals and communities work through our "next step" on our soul journey. I believe that our soul journey will lead us to honor the natural world of which we are a part.

Specifics: The hatha yoga I practice and teach tends to be slow and accessible in order to calm the nervous system. Yin yoga specifically addresses the connective tissue to help increase mobility and release stress stored in the body. The herbalism I practice could be best described as Bioregional Ayurveda. I forage abundant local plants, such as bee balm & goldenrod, so that my herbal practice is connected to tending the land. I also have a garden where I grow herbs beloved in "western" Vitalist and Ayurvedic traditions, such as lemon balm and tulsi.

My offerings are simply to share some of the methods I've learned to move through old traumas, to build integrity, and to live a meaningful life deeply connected to Nature.

More than you ever wanted to know:

I grew up in a little coal mining town in southern West Virginia surrounded by nature and a large extended family. The land is situated in the Guyandotte River Valley and historically had been tended by the Shawnee and Cherokee and others at the time of colonization, with evidence that the area was once occupied by the Fort Ancient Culture in the greater Ohio Valley.

My people were early settler colonists mostly of Scots-Irish, Welsh, Irish, and German origin (with a dash of French Huguenots). Like so many others in the region, my families have been in the mountains for generations. They were farmers, merchants, loggers, moonshiners, school teachers, miners—generally doing whatever they could to get by. They knew the Bible verse to recite to stop a bleed or a toothache, and which plants to pluck for croup and which ones to poultice for a sting. They told stories of haints and boogers and lobbysals and wampus cats—warning children against dangers to body and soul. The world I grew up in was inhabited by old magic even as TV and politics further colonized the region.

Despite my deep roots, I was one of those kids who couldn't wait to get away and left home as soon as I graduated from high school, working whatever pink-collar jobs I could get.

By my early 20s (after a series of romantic misadventures- someday I will write a book!) I decided to go to college and get serious about my education. At the time I lived in Blacksburg, Virginia--home of Virginia Tech. I applied for admission and was accepted. While working a multitude of hourly wage jobs, eventually I finished a masters in English, and then a PhD in Human Development and Family Science. During my PhD work I began practicing yoga to help relieve back pain. Yoga helped me align my spine and my life; I wanted to share this art and science with others! So I completed teacher training for Integral Yoga at Yogaville Virginia in 2009.

Throughout my educational experiences I felt compelled to explore the ideas of home, healing, and love. The primary way I do this is through working with plants and connecting with nature, which is foundational to yogic lifestyles. Working with plants also connects me to my own Appalachian traditions in a way that honors diversity and community.

Plant Energy Yoga brings all my training under one umbrella and is based out of Blacksburg, VA where I live. In my spare time I do a lot of cooking for my three growing sons, and enjoy hiking with my pooch and my partner.