When my brother Danny died, I died with him. That was when I realized I was a phoenix. I was in the depths of an eating disorder that had escalated over nearly 20 years. I was depressed, lonely, creatively starving, working a desk job I hated, and had no idea what I was doing with my life. Then my brother committed suicide and everything changed.
I went straight to Southeast Asia where I allowed myself to grieve: to cry, to scream, to dance, to pray. When I was ready, I came back to the US to become a yoga teacher. Over the next year, I healed my eating disorder by choosing a plant-based lifestyle. It was an act of love toward animals and Earth, which allowed me to reflect love back to myself. I found the joy of being alive, the joy of being in a healthy body that moves freely. I learned to forgive myself for my past, for the ways in which I thought I wasn't good enough, and for the ways in which I couldn't save my brother.
Now I share my method Beautiful Badass: 7 Steps to Healthy Relationship with Food, Your Body, and Yourself. I support people in healing from compulsive eating, grief, anxiety, and negative body image. I teach meditation and yoga. I write. I give. I hope to inspire people to thrive. No matter where we are and what we've been through, we always have the choice to be the best version of our unique and beautiful selves. It's a choice we get to make in each and every moment.