Often, one’s passions and purpose emerge from the many chapters life writes, each experience shaping a unique story. I’m grateful you're here, and I’m delighted to share a glimpse into how I’ve arrived at this point in my journey through the physical experience we call life. The three main themes I’d like to explore in my story are finding self-worth, mental health, and my journey with yoga.

In my early 20s, I felt a deep need to prove my worth. I believed that in order to be valued, heard, and seen, I had to succeed. It seemed like the only way. I clung tightly to external markers of success, and a major one was pursuing an education and a career that would make others proud of me—one that would bring acceptance, respect, and financial stability. I didn’t have the grades in high school to apply for the program I initially wanted (a Bachelor’s in Nursing), so I decided to work my way in by taking additional courses. I applied to the program four times, and each time I experienced a whirlwind of excitement followed by lost hope and deep feelings of unworthiness. After the fourth rejection, I applied one last time, and on the fifth attempt, I was accepted. Everyone told me this was the right path for me, but deep down, I knew it wasn’t.

During this time, I was in an unhealthy relationship and struggling to make it through nursing school. Despite studying for hours on end and pushing myself to extreme lengths—like driving to exams on just 45 minutes of sleep to "prove" myself—I couldn’t find balance. My perfectionist, Type A personality clashed with weekends of partying and substance use. I wanted to take school seriously, but my self-sabotaging tendencies and disbelief in myself were just as strong.

By the end of my second year, I was held back due to unforeseen and unfair circumstances. I fought the decision, even taking it to the union, but "unsurprisingly," my case didn’t succeed. I tried to return, but my anxiety was overwhelming. Eventually, I quit. At the time, it felt like my biggest failure, and for years, I carried a heavy burden of shame, guilt, and embarrassment.

In the years that followed, I felt lost. I started cleaning houses, trying to fill my time while searching for a new direction—some program that was short, offered good money, and carried a degree of status. Eventually, I enrolled in the Health and Safety program at BCIT, graduated, but remained unfulfilled and just as lost. Nothing seemed to fill the void of self-worth. Over the course of the last 19 years, I’ve held countless jobs and pursued many fields of study that led nowhere. Yet, I’m a firm believer in optimism, and I can now see that each experience was a stepping stone leading me to where I am today. Along the way, I’ve met incredible people, and for that alone, I wouldn’t change a thing about the path life has given me.

Ever since I was little, I’ve had a creative side. I loved to write poetry, draw, dance, and sing. Yet, I also found comfort in solitude, as it was the place where I felt safe. Throughout my childhood, teenage years, and into adulthood, I spent many years in dissociation and survival mode, trapped in a nervous system that felt constantly on edge. It was a place that mirrored that solitude—shutting everything and everyone out due to the hurt and inner turmoil I was experiencing.

My journey with anxiety led me to shut down, self-abandon, and develop unhealthy habits, such as biting my nails, picking at my eyelashes, and leaning into unsafe or emotionally abusive romantic relationships. I often felt lost, uncertain of my path, and disconnected from every aspect of my life.

The one constant and solid foundation throughout those years has been my yoga practice. Interestingly enough, it is yoga that connects me to that inner, playful, innocent child within—one who just wants to be loved. Yoga allows me to embrace creativity, to feel what I need to feel, and to let go of the tendency to shut down or block out emotions.

I am deeply grateful to have been practicing yoga—for both my body and mind—for the past 15 years. It has held space for me when nothing and no one else could, not even myself. Yoga has provided the support I needed during challenging times, neutral times, and moments of joy. It helped me manage my insomnia and come off sleeping pills. It guided me through the pain of an emotionally abusive relationship. And, most importantly, it has helped me come back stronger than I ever imagined possible.

Life will always throw us curveballs, but how we handle them is what truly matters in living each day with more ease, freedom, and grace. My yoga practice eventually led me to take my yoga teacher training in Goa, India, in February 2020—right before the world shut down. The timing was both lucky and ironic. Originally, I had planned to do my training in Canada, even putting down a deposit, but after going through the most traumatic experience of my adult life, I canceled the deposit and booked a trip to India instead. I needed to get away and re-center myself.

It was in India that I discovered Yoga Therapy, and that experience has now brought me to where I am today: a certified Yoga Therapist, equipped with years of personal growth, wisdom, and experience. These elements have shaped me as a healer, guide, and forever student.

Life truly has a funny way of working out, doesn’t it? After all those years of trying to prove my self-worth, I’ve realized it was never about external achievements or pieces of paper validating my success. In the end, it was about discovering my passion and purpose, learning to love myself for who I am, and going inward. Through the healing modalities I’ve explored over years of self-study, yoga, and yoga therapy, I finally heard the quiet truth in my heart: I was worthy all along.