Let’s start at the very beginning...

I was born in Cape Town, South Africa. For anyone who has visited, you would agree then that this has to be one of the most geographically spectacular places in the world! But, I grew up during Apartheid, a period of legalized segregation and discrimination based on the grounds of race.

As a highly sensitive and empathic person, I recall being confused as a child. I felt very much alone during my formative years and the only things that truly brought me solace and joy were drawing, music, and dance. These were the modalities that I tapped into for self-expression, processing, and healing. Of course, I was too young to know any of this at the time, but in retrospect, this was the beginning of me connecting to the healing arts and alternative ways to move energy, and be in alignment.

Dancing provided a safe outlet for me to express myself and gave me permission to excuse myself from the rest of the world which seemed so cruel and unjust. But as I moved into my teenage years, dancing became an unhealthy obsession. It was how I received validation. Rather than self-referral joy, I used my dance accolades to feel a sense of worthiness.

Although my dancing enabled me to attend prestigious schools and taught me great discipline, it also precipitated an eating disorder. I had very little respect for my body and had serious body dysmenorrhea which lasted for many years. I used dancing as a way to control my chaotic and distorted environment and attach myself to an identity that kept me safe.

I never thought I would attend university...

My formative educational experience was not a very positive one. As a kinesthetic and visually inclined learner, I did not conform to the regiment and structure of a British-based academic system; therefore, I had a deep childhood wound around never feeling very smart or academically inclined. I grew up with the limited belief that I wasn't intelligent enough to pursue a professional life in medicine or law, for example.

By the time I had immigrated to the United States, I was already on the path toward becoming a professional dancer and performer. I graduated high school at 17 and attended my local community college while dancing and teaching professionally. During this time, I discovered I had a deep curiosity for learning and fully embraced the world of academia. Community college was intimate and exploratory. My professors were accommodating and taught to the student's strengths. My perception of learning transformed, and my mind opened up beyond my wildest imagination!

I transferred to The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in my third year. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in World Arts and Cultures, focusing on Dance Movement Ritual. In my final years of university, I developed an autoimmune disease and had to quit my professional dance pursuits abruptly.

As an avid illustrator and lover of costume design, I applied to design school and relocated to New York City to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology. I completed my associate's degree in Fashion Art and Illustration at Polimoda in Florence, Italy.

I have never stopped being a student and have received a multitude of certifications as I navigate life and all of my professional interests. At the age of 47, while working as a coach, I am completing my master's in counseling psychology with a specialization in Expressive Arts Therapy at the California Institute of Integral Studies while interning as a clinical psychotherapist in an acute care hospital. 

Once I did the work, I was able to tap into my inner wisdom, only to discover that one is never too old to transform! Age is simply a number!

I had never felt more alive and aligned with my authentic self...

I thought I would move to New York and become a costume designer and design for musical theater, film, and dance, but the world of fashion design was much too exhilarating!

While living in Italy and traveling across Europe, I experienced a massive energy opening and I was creatively activated. I had never felt more alive and aligned with my authentic self. I was curious, open, and in a state of constant flow.

After being a dancer, I did not know it would be possible to feel divinity move through me again, but I was wrong. Inspiration came to me in ways I had never quite experienced before. This was a time of firsts for me. It was the first time I fell in love, the first time I read the Tarot, the first time I explored meditation, the first time I had experienced a multitude of cultures, traveled on my own, felt centered and strong, and believed in the possibility of pure potentiality. the law of attraction, and the power of manifestation.

I felt deeply grateful for my gifts, and the ability to transform. I was passionate and driven again. This was a period of great expansion and it was nothing short of magical.

My collection was a buzz amongst the celebrity circuit...

After an incredible experience in Italy, I moved back to New York and worked as a designer for some of the Garment District's leading fashion design houses. As it turns out, I was actually a really talented fashion designer and exceptionally entrepreneurial.

At the age of 26, I founded my own label and created my very first fashion collection as an independent designer. At 27, I joined forces with a successful business partner who became my financial backer, affording me the opportunity to participate in international design trade shows, travel all over the world, hire a brilliant sales team, and publicist.

I moved to Los Angles, and my collection was a buzz amongst the celebrity circuit. You could see my designs all over the red carpet, in editorial publications, on TV, on the silver screen, and in over 400 boutiques worldwide. Simultaneously, while producing my own collection, I also consulted many other design houses and those seeking to establish their own collections.

Being a mother is the most expansive experience of my life...

It is through my children that I learn and grow the most. We have walked through celebrations, illness, divorce, cross-continent adventures, and multiple moves together.

My own journey to becoming an Integrative Health Coach was because of my son’s fight against a very serious, and at the time, not a well-understood autoimmune disease, PANDAS. It was through the combination of Western and Functional Medicine, as well as learning more about alternative treatments, energy, nutrition, and the esoteric, that I was able to nurse my son back to optimal health.

I credit my children for my life transformation and for giving me an opportunity to seek, probe, and dig deeper than I have ever gone before. Being a mother has increased my own self-awareness, connection to my intuition, and the ability to trust my own innate wisdom.

My daughter’s sensitivity, creativity, open heart, and strength, alongside my son’s resilience, intelligence, humor, and kindness inspire and guide me daily. I am so blessed that these two souls chose to be with me on this journey and I am touched by them each and every moment of my life with so much grace and infinite love.

This was the “accidental” business that really created itself...

After closing the doors on my fashion house, I moved to San Francisco with my 9-month-old and connected with a mothers group. It was there that several women approached me about my style sensibility, and depth of knowledge for quality, fit, and color. Almost by night, I became a fashion stylist and image consultant, working with over 300 clients across the San Francisco, Bay Area, Los Angeles, and beyond.

While this was a fun and fulfilling endeavor for over a decade, and it gave me great joy to see my many clients grow in confidence and transform their forward-facing selves, I was also becoming acutely aware of the body dysmorphia, low self-image, and lack of self-acceptance my clients had for themselves. These very destructive embodiments were clearly propelling a very toxic industry forward. As data was becoming more transparent, it was apparent that the “fast-fashion” model was having drastic effects on the environment and its inhabitants, and I was helping to fill deep-rooted wounds by encouraging retail therapy and consumption.

At first, I attempted to slow fashion down and encourage my clients to purchase less, but this didn’t make for a productive personal shopper. Instead, I vowed to hold myself to a higher standard and to accept the gift that the universe was presenting: a new purpose as a Life Stylist and Transformation Life Coach.

Having style can certainly grow self-esteem and confidence, however, if your mindset is driven by old subconscious childhood wounds and narratives, your habits are self-sabotaging, and your energies are out of balance, you will not manifest a centered and aligned foundation for a joyful life well-lived.

My awakening was spontaneous and was triggered by trauma...

I had no idea what was happening to me. From one moment to the next, everything that I had believed to be true, no longer resonated with me. I had released all of what I thought I had known and how I made sense of the world and was left in a pile of ashes.

This was both the most painful experience of my life and fiercely liberating. This deeply sacred time of reclamation and manifestation was the catalyst for many losses and some deep heartbreak. It resulted in the purging of relationships, possessions, professions, income, and antiquated embedded limiting belief systems.

I had no one to talk to and this is what led me on my path of seeking, massive amounts of expansion, and eventually my journey towards becoming a Life Stylist & Transformation Life Coach.

The awakening process takes a considerable amount of time to integrate, and without consistent practice and guidance, one can feel very ungrounded, lost, and at times a bit crazy. You see, we are born into a matrix of customs, systems, and societal expectations, and along the way, we somehow forget who we are and what we came here to learn and be. When one awakens, we begin to recall our truest essence, unconditional love, and acceptance for ourselves and for the collective.

Butterflies earn their wings through great effort...

Up until 2015, so much of what I focused on and revolved my life around was appearances, social status, and accumulated luxury possessions. I built an entire business and lifestyle brand around it.

Inspired by my clients, I started to seek modalities and strategies that could help support them to feel more self-loving, and this led me towards my own metamorphosis. I began to understand that even if I looked and felt fabulous on the outside, it wasn't helping to heal the brokenness on the inside.

In exploring various therapies, I found myself magnetically drawn to being of greater and more profound service, especially to teenagers and women. I wanted to share everything I was learning and experiencing with anyone who had curiosity and seeking like myself. As I found my alignment, I awoke to my calling. I became acutely aware that everything I had gone through up until this point was meant for my growth and prepared me for the work that I was truly here to do.

Each action has a ripple effect that begins at the source of everything... within each of us.

Until I started to heal, I never quite understood the impact my habits and behaviors had on my family, community, and environment. As I became more conscious, I felt less separate from the collective and started to take greater responsibility for every decision I was making.

Every day I continue to do my work and there are still times I find myself struggling with self-compassion. As a daughter of the patriarchy, I have learned to "perform" in order to belong and I know that this will be a never-ending peeling back and uncovering. I walk my path with two legs firmly planted on this earth and with both arms dancing in the skies, embracing both the esoteric and the practical.

I believe that when we awaken to our spiritual selves, we have an obligation to embody and ground the wisdom so that we can leave the world better than how we have found it. As I support others to heal and guide them to live a more holistic and integrative lifestyle with clarity and in alignment with their truest nature, I continue to heal myself.