In 2010, I had just become a mom for the first time, was heading the Iranian Studies division at the NELC Dept. at Harvard University and publishing my first book-lots of exciting new developments, but also an overwhelming time. When I came across a flyer advertising The Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program offered by Dr. Jon Kabat Zinn through UMass, I knew this was something I needed. It changed my world to learn this gentle, curious approach to body and mind. It was like I was befriending myself. I knew how to be kind, reassuring and supportive to friends and family but now here was a way to show up for myself.

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Little did I know that this program and the book Full Catastrophe Living, also by Jon Kabat Zinn, would get me through a dark period. During this time, my mom was given a stage four cancer diagnosis, we abruptly moved back to  LA (after seven years of calling Boston home) to help her through treatment and I started experience my own health problems-undiagnosed chronic pain and a series of emergency surgeries that left me physically weak, in a mental fog and depressed.

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Then in 2017, I woke in the middle of the night feeling strange, unable to pin point what I was experiencing. I made my way to the bathroom and fell unconscious on the tile floor, breaking my nose and fracturing my C2 vertebra. I spent eight weeks in a special brace, not knowing whether I would be permanently physically impaired. I knew I would have to accept the reality of my situation and that no matter the outcome, going forward I would need an inner refuge to see me through life's challenges. Once again, I turned to mindful meditation and movement; this time, I made it my daily practice. Sitting, I used my breath to keep me in the present moment and every time my mind was distracted with thoughts of the past or worries about the future, I acknowledged what was asking for my attention. I named the thought with a single word-"worry" or "planning" and then gently, without judgment, I brought myself back to notice my breath entering and leaving my body. Sometimes I would cry through the session and just being kind and avoiding negative self-talk gave relief and space to heal.

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Fortunately, the break DID heal and I tailored a rigorous rehab program for myself that included Feldenkrais, yoga, pilates, weight training, boxing, swimming and a revamped diet. I felt firsthand the connection between mindful meditation, movement and diet and the benefits of approaching well-being with an integrative approach. The body-mind connection has been known for millennia and yet every time one of us taps into it, it's nothing less than revolutionary!

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Mindfulness is a kind of waking up to life. In my case, I realized how cerebral I was and how I was not attending to my heart. I'd forgotten the little things that were fun and gave me joy, my need and ability to connect with others. I realized how much of what I did and didn't do was fear driven. I owe my relatively new found attentiveness to myself and to family, my career change and good health to it.

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My work with clients in mindfulness, fitness and nutrition integrates these crucial aspects of mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.

Choose from Private, Semi-Private, and Group instruction
In Person, Virtual and Hybrid options are available

I'm happy to meet you in a space you feel most comfortable or come visit my home studio!

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NASM Certified Personal Fitness Trainer and Nutrition Coach
GGSC Certified in Mindful Meditation
CPR/AED Certified