Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Emily moved to New York City in 2004 to pursue a career in acting.  Soon after her arrival, she realized that a life of auditioning and waiting tables was not what she had set out to do.  Unsure of her true calling, she spent the next few years working a corporate job, using this time to explore.

Something about her yoga practice kept calling to her, and in 2007, she enrolled in renowned yoga teacher Kelly Morris’s very first Conquering Lion Yoga teacher training program.  In early 2008, she quit her job to teach yoga in New York City full time.

Emily quickly built a following around her classes, which she owes to the expert training and guidance she received from Kelly and countless other teachers.  Her classes are known to be tough but joyful, incorporating a strong vinyasa flow backed by an eclectic mix of music, powerful hands-on assists, bhakti, love, insight and humor to help bring her students closer to their ultimate goal--full and total enlightenment for the sake of all beings.  Emily firmly believes in using both the outer and inner methods of the yoga practice to achieve this goal.

In March of 2009, Emily moved back to her hometown of Albuquerque.  She used this time not only to teach, but also to travel to study with her teachers and spend time in deep solitary retreat. 

In October 2010, Emily happily relocated to Portland, Oregon, where she is excited to continue growing as both a teacher and student.

Emily continues to study the classics of yoga and Tibetan Heart Yoga through the Yoga Studies Institute (YSI), and graduated from the YSI 300 hour teacher training program led by Kimberley Theresa, Ted Lafferty, Mira Shani and Kristina Pao Cheng in September 2009.    She serves as a member of the YSI Essentials Staff.

Emily is a close student of Kimberley Theresa and Doug Veenhof, masters of both the Indian Yogic and Tibetan Buddhist lineages.

“What happens when your soul

Begins to awaken

Your eyes

And your heart

And the cells of your body

To the great Journey of Love?”

-Hafiz

Photos by Rebecca Vinacour