Born in Mexico City, I moved to the United States when I was six. I was mostly raised by my grandmother Sarah Penn Harris who was one of Austin’s original organic gardeners. I was lucky to have grown up eating the whole wheat bread she baked and the organic vegetables she grew in her amazing garden. I also had a fantastic mother who was the most creative artist I have ever known.
When I was thirteen, I had a very intense and realistic dream that I was at the Taj Majal in India with a large group wearing all white and standing in poses. Something about the dream told me this is what I was meant to do. It was 1973, and I did not know anything about yoga, so I assumed I was meant to do karate. I took several classes, and it never resonated with me, and I went on with my life. On a trip to Mexico with my mother in 1975, I met someone who showed me some basic yoga breathing techniques which helped me some when I went on to college. I got my degree from Texas State in San Marcos, focusing on Interior Design.
In the late 80’s I worked as an Interior Designer in Austin and San Antonio for a few years. In 1988 I got my real estate license and became a Realtor. I left yoga on the back burner and began working 60-80 hours a week and raising a family. I had chronic pain in my back, knees, and shoulders and at the end of 2013, I crashed. I could hardly get out of bed. I couldn’t get through the day without pain pills and anti-anxiety medications.