No one is just one thing, and we all live so many lifetimes in our short time here. I am no different and a human just like you, and have chosen to spend my life in practice. I was raised in a household with buddhist parents, with a mother who made it a point to not only bring me with her, starting as an infant, to her meditation retreats, but also to teach me a sitting meditation practice starting at 5, as she somehow knew it would be my ally and at many times in my life my saving grace. I have continued on this path, through the death and loss of my first love when I was 18, who was shot and killed, the loss and death of my mother to cancer, abusive romantic relationships, marriage, divorce and the constant reminder through many other painful experiences that all is temporary. I hope the wisdom I have gained through these experiences can offer insight to help you on your own journey of inquisition, discovery and healing.

At the same age as I started my mindfulness practice I also began to dance and perform on stage. Movement to me is an integral part of working with the mind as I do believe it is where the subconscious lives, and is needed to ground the practices of the mind. Without learning to come down into the body, mindfulness practice can become too much about “figuring it out” and not about feeling it, and then living it. My dancing lead me to traveling the world in a touring show, and dancing and living in places like New Orleans and Los Angeles. And as every dancer experiences, I started dealing with injuries and overuse of joints and connective tissues, and after going from chiropractor, to personal trainer to massage therapist I finally found Pilates.

Pilates I can honestly say also saved my life as it was the first time in my movement career where I had zero pain, more mobility and a new found strength that I can only describe as the deepest and most stable I have ever felt. After practicing for 5 years I decided to get my certification through a comprehensive, classical training program; www.josephpilates.com in 2009, and have taught in the San Francisco bay area, Los Angeles, New York City and now back in my home town of Sebastopol CA. During my 13 years of sharing this method, and I believe because of my background in Buddhist studies, I attracted many people in dire need of healing. I found myself working with clients that were in debilitating pain everyday and through the Pilates method I was able to help them find relief and often times out of pain all together. These clients ranged from professional athletes to people who hadn’t moved in a conscious way in years. From people in no pain and just needing to build strength and flexibility, to ones that were told they may never walk again. Never underestimate the capabilities of the human body, my clients amaze me and I am so proud of them. Our bodies and our minds want to be in balance, we only need to show them the path, to open the door and to trust that we are innately whole.