Hello! I'm Rachel...

I'm so happy to meet you, learn about your wellness aspirations and begin to help you reach your health and happiness goals!

My path to facilitating healing for others started when I was quite young.  As a young mother, I supported us by working as a teen substance and domestic abuse counselor serving at risk youth in the San Francisco Bay Area. Realizing the incredible impact of this work, I threw my whole self into studying and obtaining formal Certification in Drug and Alcohol Counseling from UC Berkeley.  With these credentials, I served as both an individual  and group counselor within the Juvenile Justice System where I worked with adolescents convicted of violent crimes  who struggled with co-occuring mental health and substance abuse. I quickly realized that helping others liberate themselves from trauma and grief was a calling for me.

While  utilizing  skills such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)  helped my  clients  make progress in their behavioral adjustment goals, I found that I was missing the tool that felt most integral - something that could diffuse the well grooved neural pathways of hopelessness and self hatred. It was then that I discovered and became a student of Lovingkindness Meditation. Through the Stanford University Compassion Institute, I studied the practice and facilitation of Lovingkindness Meditation and have helped many cultivate for themselves this simple, yet profoundly healing practice.

As I raised my child, and made progress toward my bachelors degree, I served as a caseworker, and then eventually a regional director for a non-profit dedicated to empowering unhoused individuals to improve their own circumstances and give back to their communities in the process.  This meaningful work gained me the 2020 Congressional Woman of the Year Award from California’s 3rd Congressional District. 

This career path, though very important, could be very taxing at times both emotionally and physically.  To maintain my own health and wellness I cultivated a self-care regiment that included yoga asana, yoga nidra meditation, and ayurvedic nutrition.  The immensely beneficial results I experienced personally from this "self-care tool kit," compelled me to dive more deeply into understanding how these valuable practices could bring about such immense healing, and how I could share that healing with others.

Numerous other professional trainings and certifications in Trauma Informed Care, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Nutrition for Mental Health eventually lead me to pursue professional development in the facilitation of Ayurvedic Health Counseling.

I am now a Certified Yoga Nidra Teacher having completed my training with the California College of Ayurveda, and I'm already enjoying sharing all the ways Ayurveda has transformed my life and can transform yours, too as an Ayurvedic Health Counselor Intern! 

It is so wonderful to meet you and share my journey to optimal health and happiness.  I look forward to walking beside you and encouraging you on your own journey toward healthiness and happiness!