I am a yoga teacher in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Love Your Scars Movement started with my journey to recovery when I tore my ACL and then shortly after was emitted for Emergency Open Heart Surgery that started with COVID pneumonia and ended up being a blood clot on my left lung, a mass on my heart, and an infection in my bloodstream.

It’s not often that we get a second chance.

I’m here today because I got one of those magical second chances.

I remember waking up in the hospital after surgery, alone, devastated, patiently wondering if that was it. I was terrified to die alone before having the chance to live that dream-life that always seemed too far out of reach.

I let fear run my life for so long that it brought me to that moment. I was one of the lucky few who got a second chance at life.

Now is the time I'm finally ready to go after that, unattached to the result, yet falling in love with the seemingly insignificant process.

I want to share my story — my experience that I've finally learned to own and face. To be grateful for. To unapologetically love. To share (nervously and shakily).

There's a reason I was given another shot. My personal mission is to make a difference, and by sharing what I've been through and what I am currently going through... It allows others to do the same and know they, too are not alone.

When I see the scar across my chest, I’m reminded daily of that difficult time in my life. I’m reminded of the mass, the addiction, the blood clot, the infection that almost killed me. I’m also reminded of the physical pain I endured and the emotional wounds that I still carry.

It speaks of my pain, my darkness, my resilience, my strength, and love.