my approach

about michelle

from performance and survival to embodied presence

for much of my life, my identity was defined by what i did and what i achieved — as a professional, a mother of twins who walked alongside them as they trained toward high-level junior competition, a yoga teacher, a woman holding it all together in the midst of a nervous-system that never fully settled.

on the outside, it looked like strength.
on the inside, my body carried generations of sudden abundance and sudden loss, family patterns shaped by addiction, and the quiet weight of nervous system-stress that was never given a path to repattern and release.  

years of committed sobriety, nervous-system work, and daily practice slowly began to rewrite that imprint in my body.

i am the first in my lineage to choose a different path:
sobriety. regulation. embodied presence.
a life where it is safe for the nervous system to settle — and where presence, not performance, sets the rhythm.

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years ago, my work in washington, dc was featured in hillrag magazine, where i was described as a feng shui “house whisperer” helping people turn their spaces into sanctuary. today, i bring that same devotion to creating calm, coherent spaces between rider, horse, and breath.

if you’d like to read the original feature, you can find it here: "hillrag article"
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receiving blessings from my living teacher in the yoga tradition, gurudev shri amritji,
whose work continues to shape how i listen to the body and the nervous system.

yoga, meditation, and breath-centered practice — rooted in the lineage of my living teacher in the yoga tradition, gurudev shri amritji — became the way my system learned what real safety feels like. breath became more than a technique; it became a way of relating to life.

today, my work is rooted in that shift.

i support riders, athletes, and conscious humans in restoring nervous-system harmony through breath, presence, and the quiet intelligence of the body. my work lives inside the gap between the gap™ — the subtle space where transformation begins long before it becomes visible.

when the nervous system settles, a rider’s rhythm restores.
when breath steadies, clarity returns.
when coherence is established, connection becomes more effortless — with self, with life, and with the horse.

this is not a path i learned from books alone.
it is a path i walked — and rewired — in my own body.

the gap between the gap™

the gap between the gap™ is the quiet space between thought and action, tension and release, pressure and response. it’s where physiology reorganizes, intuition sharpens, and a deeper coherence becomes possible.

as we drop into that gap, posture softens, perception clears, and the body begins to trust the moment again.

it’s the field horses live in naturally — exquisitely sensitive, sentient beings whose entire survival depends on feeling what’s real beneath the surface.

and it’s the field humans can reconnect with through breath, awareness, and nervous-system repair — the space where we remember how to breathe with awareness again.

my role inside this field is simple:
to hold a steady, regulated presence where your nervous system has permission to soften, reorganize, and remember itself.

here, transformation is not forced; it’s allowed.
you’re not fixing yourself — you’re returning to a rhythm your body has always known.
and your horse feels the difference.

this is the field i serve.
this is the field you step into.
this is the work.

what i bring to this work

i come to this work as a former competitive athlete, a mother of twins who walked alongside high-level junior competitors, a long-time yoga and meditation practitioner, and a certified trauma-informed breathwork facilitator. for over 3 decades, i’ve lived inside the practice of regulating my own nervous system — not perfectly, but persistently.

this means i don’t just teach techniques; i sit with the realities riders carry: pressure, expectation, past falls, performance culture, and the quiet ways trauma and stress live in the body long after an event has passed.

in sessions, i bring:

• a regulated, trauma-informed presence that lets your system exhale
• somatic breathwork rooted in both neuroscience and lived experience
• an equestrian lens that understands the language of seat, rhythm, balance, and feel
• a deep respect for the horse as a sentient partner who is already reading your internal state

my work is not about fixing what’s “wrong” with you.
it’s about helping your nervous system return to a rhythm your horse can trust — so performance, partnership, and presence can arise from the same coherent field.

a glimpse into my equestrian story

my love for horses began in the quiet corners of childhood, long before i understood how deeply they would shape me.

the defining chapter came at fifteen, when i rescued a retired thoroughbred named play-boy — a spirited racehorse destined for euthanasia. the moment our eyes met, i felt an unmistakable pull. i brought him home, not knowing he would become the great teacher of my life.

play-boy arrived with the momentum of the racetrack still in his body — fast, fiery, difficult to contain. yet beneath his velocity lived a gentle soul yearning for trust. over time, we built a bond rooted in presence, patience, and a listening that went far beyond technique.

he taught me how profoundly horses read our nervous systems,
how breath becomes communication,
and how safety — not force — creates true partnership.

he lived to the remarkable age of 26, and when he passed, something awakened rather than ended. his legacy is now woven through my work in equestrian performance breathwork. every session carries the wisdom he gave me:

that regulation is connection, presence is leadership,
and healing moves in both directions — horse to human, human to horse.

my mission today is to honor him by helping riders experience the same depth of partnership he gifted me.

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