I was born in Japan: to an ethnically mixed father, born into the United States' racial warfare in the 1960s, and a rural Filipina mother who was raised amongst the rice fields growing food with her family.

My father served in the U.S. Navy, and I moved to the States when I turned five. We relocated often, living in various places before eventually settling in the suburbs of Tampa, Florida. I think moving so much as a young person taught me how to be adaptable wherever I go. And wherever we lived, my mom kept her Filipina culture intact, which helped me always feel a sense of belonging. We sang karaoke at every large family barbecue, and there was one or two every weekend!

I grew up as a competitive cheerleader. Flying through the air with staccato movements and twisty backflips matched my exuberant energy. I was also a thespian, immersed in school musicals, pantomime, and one-act plays. I won critics' choice awards and gold medals for my talents, yet inside I contended with anxiety that manifested as severe eczema.

In my early twenties, my life drastically shifted. I stepped out of the conventional world I knew and dove into Ayurveda/Bhakti Yoga in Alachua, Florida, and Apache sweat lodge ceremonies in Taos, New Mexico. I fell in love with Ecopsychology, and found a fulfilling sense of Soul and Spirit through spending quality time in nature, authentic dance and ritual drumming. After graduating from Prescott College, I went straight to the Florida School of Massage to go deeper into understanding the language of the body.

It was during this time that my healing arts path began to take shape, as I worked to reconcile all I had kept hidden in my private world. Integrating these fragments with self-compassion and acceptance became my life-long intention — and that practice of integration grounded me in a felt sense of belonging within my own skin, while giving me the tools to guide others in weaving their own fragments into a beautiful, empowered whole.

As I deepened into my path as a healing artist, I trained in a dynamic range of modalities from around the world, including clinical trauma healing, integrative bodywork, feminine temple arts, world music, and Eastern embodiment practices like Yoga, Qigong, and Taoism.

Professional Highlights

• Almost two decades years of professional experience in the Healing Arts

• Traveled to over 25 countries (since 2017) offering healing arts–based services, trainings, and facilitation

• Licensed Massage Therapist (North Carolina #14646); NCBTMB-approved Continuing Education Provider; Certified Yoga Teacher

• International facilitator of Thai Yoga Massage trainings and Embodied Trauma Healing seminars and retreats, in collaboration with Ralf Marzen

• Studied NARM (NeuroAffective Relational Model) for developmental trauma healing in the Netherlands

• Bachelor of Arts in Expressive Healing Arts, with a focus on Eastern and Western philosophy and spirituality

• Guide of sacred feminine rituals worldwide, igniting Soul expression through drumming, movement, dance, and voice