Nurturing a loving relationship with your body and its wisdom.
As a spirit-body-mind counsellor and coach, I support women in nurturing loving relationships with themselves and the wisdom of their bodies, so 
that what is painful and difficult can be transformed into meaning, space and new life. In my practice, I apply the tools of Nonviolent Communication, Focusing, yoga, mindfulness, Reiki and the Tapas Acupressure Technique. I have a Masters of Counselling and Spirituality from Saint Paul University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. I am also a certified Focusing teacher and guide, and have passed my assessment for certification as a trainer in Nonviolent Communication.
I nourish myself with Focusing, self-empathy, meditation and yoga; I have practiced yoga since I was a child and am now a certified Kripalu teacher. I Focus every week with my dear Focusing partner of 4 years and wouldn’t miss a session for all the tea in China. I like to go to group yoga classes in my neighbourhood and sit meditation or practice mindfulness with the Online Meditation Crew.
Even though I’m a teacher of these practices, like almost everyone, I struggle to find a consistent daily practice that fosters balance between doing and being. I fall on and off the mat over and over again. Fortunately, as the sages teach in Pirkei Avot (The Ethics of the Fathers), what makes us righteous is not whether we fall bur rather whether we get up. My biggest guide in being friendly toward my mishugas (neuroses, so to speak) these days is Tara Brach’s RAIN.
I’m a member of a Reconstructionist Jewish congregation in the city where I live. I identify as Jewish and am moving toward orthopraxis (as opposed to orthodoxy). A the same time, my spiritual journey is heavily influenced by 12-step recovery, Buddhist psychology and earth-based practices. I’m currently learning with the perfect-for-me spiritual director, Frumma Gottlieb, who has a background in Eastern spirituality and returned to Yiddishkeit through Chabad. I am looking forward to integrating the indigenous Jewish teachings of the principles I have learned through mindfulness and yoga.
You are welcome here
Politically, I identify as an anarchist and feminist and see person-centred counselling, Focusing and NVC as anarchic practices. Embodying inner and outer nonviolence on a daily basis is at the heart of my political action.
I live with my beloved husband, Ian, who is a freelance translator and horse-lover. He’s working on driving horses and dreams of the day when I can play with him and his horses on a little piece of land in the county. We share a goofy cat whose name is Bizzy (see right). I am also mother to an 19-year-old daughter; she and my beloved have been my greatest teachers. Cliché, I know, but so very true.
I love that I have a private, cozy space on the ground floor of my home where I can welcome clients. It’s also my sacred space where I practice yoga, meditation and carry out other self-care and learning activities. I am grateful that the natural world is so close by.
In the past I have worked as a radio journalist and a translator. I love languages (French, Spanish and English are all I speak currently, although I have plans to master Hebrew and Yiddish one day); I actually read dictionaries and look up etymology for fun. Listening for and conveying information and meaning have been the focus of my professional experience and training. Since experiencing a serious illness in 2002, compassionate authenticity has become my guiding principle and life practice.
Learn about my services:
To find out what happens in a session, click here.
For information on Focusing, Nonviolent Communication, Yoga, mindfulness, Reiki and the Tapas Acupressure Technique, click here.
Powered by FireStats