I have always enjoyed movement. By 1966, I began a daily yoga practice. In university, I added classes in ballet, jazz, and modern dance. On a visit to San Francisco in 1978 I observed tai chi chuan for the first time. I added the tai chi to my yoga practice, while I pursued a career in management with the City of Portland.

Nine years later, with 4 bags between us, I had the opportunity to move my daughter and me to Taiwan for three years. Heaven! I supported us by teaching managerial, financial and technical language to the Taiwanese Ministry of Finance and various international corporations and still had five hours per day of training with Grand Master Chu, Chi Kung Master Wang, and sword and saber masters in Cheng Man-Ching’s school! I tested to the master teacher level (sifu) when I left and was presented the phoenix sword the year my first sword teacher was presented the dragon sword.

Back home, I continued my practice and teaching of tai chi chuan while pursuing a career in teaching in universities, colleges and business. In 2000 while at an international teaching conference in Vancouver BC, I suffered a knee injury that threatened to stop my practice of tai chi.

STOTT Pilates rehabilitated my knee, but I experienced improvements in other old injuries as well. It was a dramatic enough improvement that I studied for teaching certification, and for over 6 years I taught clients full-time at the certification center I had attended. I taught one more year at another studio, and now have had the opportunity to open my own.

I grew up in Dallas, Texas, where I began my ballet training when I was three years old. I enjoyed performing for many years and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in dance in 1992 from the University of Utah. I discovered Pilates in 1990 while recovering from a dance injury. I was amazed at the strength and awareness of movement I developed, and how quickly I recovered from surgery.

I was privileged to complete a Pilates instructor training program with Elizabeth Larkam, who is internationally recognized as an innovator in mind body movement and a Pilates Master Teacher with Balanced Body. I worked with her at the Center for Sports and Dance Medicine at St. Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco, CA. In 1992, I joined the faculty of the Ballet Department at the University of Utah and the Ballet West Conservatory where I began teaching Pilates and Dance Conditioning in addition to Ballet Technique and Pointe. My emphasis was injury prevention, kinesiology, and technique improvement. I was a member of the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science, and my collaboration with sports medicine specialists greatly enhanced my ability to see and understand movement patterns.

I live in La Center with my husband and two children. I continue to feed my passion for Pilates and dance with classes and workshops through Pilates for Life Northwest. I focus on the integrative aspects of Pilates, centering on strength, flexibility and mind body awareness. I am committed to continually developing my own skills and knowledge as a teacher to better create a class environment in support of the deep transformations that happen within my clients.