My Story

For nearly three decades, I had the privilege of caring for women and families as a labor and delivery nurse. During that time, I also earned a graduate degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner at UCSF and worked in sports medicine and weight loss medicine. From the outside, my life looked successful. But like many people, I spent much of it believing that happiness could be found in working harder and achieving more.

It was while I was working both as a nurse practitioner and a labor and delivery nurse that I started to question whether I was actually happier.  And I realized that I wasn't. All of the long hours and hard work had left me feeling disconnected and empty inside. I had to make a choice. I left my work as a nurse practitioner and went back to working solely as a labor and delivery nurse.

I realized that my real passion was empowering and supporting others, and advocating for them during one of the most vulnerable events of their lives. Perhaps this resonated because of my own lived experience of having to be my own advocate from a very young age.

In 2003, I found yoga—or perhaps yoga found me. I came to the practice as a way to improve my physical health. Over time, I gradually began to realize how much it supported my emotional, mental, and spiritual health as well. I had moments of peace and ease during my yoga practice, moments that had eluded me throughout my years of striving and perfectionism. So, despite being exhausted and not taking a lot of time for myself, I maintained a consistent  practice.

As my yoga practice evolved, I became drawn to the slower forms of restorative and gentle yoga. I didn't need more striving and doing. I needed to refill my cup so I could be more present for my life and the people around me.

By the time my husband and I moved to Sebastopol in 2022, I had begun exploring meditation and mindfulness as well. Those practices gradually became a deeper part of my life. Slowly, I began to let go of who I thought I was supposed to be and allowed myself to simply be me.

Through both joyful and difficult experiences, I began to understand that well-being isn't something we achieve—it's something we cultivate. Mindfulness didn't teach me to simply accept everything as it was. It taught me to see more clearly: what needed to change, what needed to be released, and what deserved my attention and care.

Those experiences deepened something I had been witnessing throughout my nursing career: our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being are inseparable. When we care for one realm while neglecting the others, we often find ourselves feeling disconnected.

That understanding became the foundation of 4 Realm Health and Wellness.

Today, I combine my background in nursing with mindfulness and meditation to create space where people can slow down, reconnect with themselves, and cultivate greater awareness, compassion, and resilience. My role isn't to tell you what your path should be. It's to walk alongside you as you learn to trust your own inner wisdom.