My health journey really began in 2003 with a terrible explosion of eczema. A dermatologist told me “it just happens.” Well, something about that exchange didn’t sit right with me. I’d previously given up dairy products (after learning about their mucogenic effect) to see if it’d help with the constant stuffy and runny nose I’d had my entire life with huge success. With the swelling in my sinuses gone, I also didn’t have any more allergies to pollen and cats and was dumbfounded at how a dietary pattern could relieve so many symptoms. So when my eczema morphed into a hive pattern that affected the delicate skin around my eyes, I was once again drawn to how I could solve the mystery on my own through diet. “Gut health” and the microbiome was really taking off back then, and I read as much as I could and eventually found a study from the University of Texas medical center about a skin condition called dermatitis herpetiformis. When I read that iodine can exacerbate the hives of this “celiac disease of the skin” presentation, and realized that my eye hives flared up every time I had shellfish, I felt a lightbulb go off. I tried an elimination diet of gluten and my hives retreated and never returned. Until many years later when I tried to reintroduce gluten wondering if I my gut was healed and I once again wound up with hives. My PCP did diagnose me eventually with dermatitis herpetiformis.
My curiosity in how powerful an ally food can be led me to 3 different health and wellness coaching certifications (from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, Functional Medicine Coaching Academy, and the National Board of Health & Wellness Coaches.)
In addition to health and wellness coaching interests, I am hugely passionate about the human body from an anatomy, physiology and exercise science perspective. I attended the Swedish Institute: College of Health Sciences after my undergrad at NYU to get a license in massage therapy with a dual degree of associate’s in occupational therapy. I’m also certified in group fitness. I love the hands on healing approach of clinical massage for chronic pain, postural issues, and injuries. I blend a clinical approach with energetic ones I learned from my Eastern medicine training and Shiatsu while in school. I try to create a space that feels safe, loving, compassionate and energetically supports a client’s nervous system for release, reflection, and restoration.
Finally, I was and am forever a dancer, having graduated from the pre-professional program and life long training I received at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School. From there I went on to Tisch School of the Arts at NYU where I received my bachelor’s in dance. I danced in New York City while working in wellness for nearly 10 years until I relocated with my husband back to Pittsburgh to buy a house and start a family.
In my free time, I perform in local theater companies, sing in the kitchen and with a choir, cook a lot of food for my family, and try to listen to the little things my body gently shows me it needs.