I come from Hazleton, Pennsylvania-a small, blue-collar town with a big heart and even deeper roots.

Growing up in a family where showing up for each other and having fun was just an everyday thing, We have been celebrating now 77 years of our Annual Schneider Family Reunion.

This upbringing taught me the importance of connection, grit, love, and loyalty. The values of family and community runs deep in my veins, shaping who I am, what I do and how I see the world.

At King’s College, I played basketball and earned my BS in Biology had fun and learned a lot about myself along the way.

After graduating, I followed the “prescribed” path, landing a job in Philadelphia as a microbial fermentation scientist at the illustrious GlaxoSmithKline, where I stuck it out for six long years.

But the most important lessons in life rarely come easy. At 27, heartbreak rocked me to my core - a “best-worst” moment that shattered my inherited worldview and woke me up.
Big time!

I started asking real questions:

- Who am I?

- WTF am I doing with my life?

- What am I really capable of?

- What am I truly meant to do?

Since this event, I’ve been on a relentless quest for skills, meaning, purpose, and growth.

A big shift came when I left my cushy pharma job and moved to NYC in 2003. This has been my home ever since.

My first step on this new path led me into ten years of creative self-exploration through acting: I trained with the best, auditioned, performed in theaters, on TV, and in films. I taught for years at the NY Film Academy.

I went deep and needed to dig deep within myself to make this all happen. It was a blast, very challenging and helped me develop a very thick skin.

It was this creative pursuit that led me to the practice of meditation. I was so anxious in this profession that I needed to relax and be present.

Meditation worked!

And there’s been no looking back.

I started meditating with Transcendental Meditation (TM) in 2007 and developed a consistent daily practice by 2009. It was a real struggle for me to get consistent.

My meditation has evolved since then through the work with dozens of great teachers, and what really locked it in was completing three 10-day silent Vipassana Retreats the their Center in Shellburn Falls, MA.

I still practice daily.

Yoga soon followed. I became a certified yoga teacher in 2009 and have since then taught yoga, breathwork, and meditation across the globe. In 2017, I was honored and recognized as one of NYC’s Best Yoga Teachers.