Celebrate community this summer!

Dear friends,

I hope with all my heart that you will consider joining me on August 19 at the Dunes Club for an evening of live music and dancing under starry skies and luminarias in support of organization that is lighting up so much hope and potential in our community, Shri Yoga.​

Can't make the event on the 19th? Purchase a luminaria and help us light up the night! Click the image above and select Luminaria at checkout ;)

​Just yesterday I was teaching mindfulness to a group of 25 5th graders at the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket. Even though we're just a few weeks in to our summer program, I'm already seeing  a level of trust, respect, and rapport being established, allowing me to connect with them on deeper level. As I led them through a guided meditation at the end of class, it brought tears to my eyes to see their fidgeting and chit-chat subside as they focused on the rise and fall of their breath.

As simple as it might sound to teach kids about breathing and mindfulness, I believe it holds profound potential to enhance their lives and promote a kind of inner peace that radiates out into the world. I didn't discover this until my early 20's, and even then, my path was largely self-guided for the first seven years. More than anything else, the practice of learning how to calm my mind was what helped me recover from an eating disorder I'd struggled with since age 11. 

​Since yoga and mindfulness is something I've grown to believe in with my whole heart in its ability to transform lives, it is the greatest gift imaginable to be able to share these tools with such impressionable age groups. 

Teaching for Girls Leadership Collaborative summer camp!

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."
-Buddha

Along with my Pawtucket kids, I also witnessed inspiring growth with my transition students at North Providence High School over the past year. The increase in their self-confidence was visibly and audibly apparent in many of the kids, and it was a humbling honor to earn their trust, and to be a part of their growth as well as their joy.

My Monday night class of men from The Fogarty Center and Venture Community Services never fails to lift my faith in the power of community. The students and social workers in this class carry my spirits week after week. 

I've seen the power of Shri programming in every organization I've worked with, from The Learning Community to Girls Leadership Collaborative, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ocean State, Woonsocket Head Start, and more.... even as far as the LRI school in Nepal! 

I'm learning how it truly takes a community to support this kind of work, and we are grateful for every dollar invested in our programming. Additionally, the 6PM Wednesday night open class I'm beginning next week at Shri will support our mission, and I hope you'll consider attending a class and bringing a friend or two :)

I'm deeply honored to represent Shri, and grateful to Heather Bryant and Alison Bologna for creating a pathway for me to channel my passion into service while also also keeping the rent paid in what's grown to be the home art/yoga studio of my DREAMS here in East Providence, RI :) 

We hope to see you on August 19th!