Contemplative Studies

I met contemplative practices through postural yoga as a sophomore in college. It took some years for me to slow my pace enough to develop an interest in the quieter, more still practices of meditation -- but the importance and value of embodiment work has stayed with me and remains a vital piece of my practice and teaching. My pursuit of yoga teacher trainings across the U.S. in 2009 unexpectedly landed me in the good care of teachers offering philosophical and practical teachings from the Geluk and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. It is in this style of study and practice, and in the rich lineage of Indian yoga, that I have since found a personal, contemplative home - although I maintain a rich appreciation and curiosity for contemplative perspectives/practices from a great many traditions.  

I earned a Master's degree at OSU in Applied Religious Ethics, completed and taught several advanced yoga teacher programs, trained in the secular, research-based curriculum of mindful self-compassion (MSC) and in 2018, had the profound privilege to spend a year in a solitary, largely silent meditation retreat. There, I pursued a dedicated trajectory of resting my nervous system, gently stabilizing my attention, and increasing perceptual clarity through shamatha (calm abiding) and vipassana (inquiry/insight) practices. Now, I work as OSU's Contemplative Studies Initiative coordinator, I teach courses in REL and PSY, and juggle the dynamic balance of dedicated meditator and busy householder. I contribute to curricular development and assist in carrying out meditation-related research as a staff member of John Edwards' Social Cognition Lab. 

The discussion and inquiry of life's big questions and the joy of quietude are the pursuit of my heart and the fire in my belly. Broadly, I continue to investigate and inquire about the impacts and presence of systems of oppression in the domains of teaching, learning, and contemplative or religious community. I aspire to create safe, challenging spaces for curiosity, intellectual humility, contemplative insight, and interpersonal development.