Eight years ago I left my life in Minnesota behind, in search of something. At the time I didn't know what I was looking for. I followed my heart, listening to my intuition,  I moved to Prague on a whim. Almost immediately I felt I belonged in the Czech Republic and I began the process of removing the layers of who I was told to be and I started remembering who I actually am. I started to work at a preschool called Adventure school and we were required to spend at least two hours in the Forest each day. I remembered my love for nature,  my connection to the divine. I found yoga which encouraged me to find a deeper connection within myself and brought me flexibility, strength and compassion. I began working with a Shaman who helped me remember how to feel and release my blocked emotions. 

 

I started talk Therapy which helped me prioritize my self and envision a life different than the one I was living.  I started working with a life coach to get me moving in the directions of my dreams and access my Essence. Ive spent many nights in sacred ceremony with plant medicine, particularly Jurema, who I thank for showing me the bigger picture and reminding me that everything is intricately connected and beautiful.  I have spent many nights on my floor working with sacred  tobacco, Rapé this medicine reminds me to slow down and breath and shows me that I am the only one stopping myself.  I have spent hundreds of hours breathing and releasing emotions letting go of thoughts, patterns and beliefs that no loner serve me. I have spent the past two years studying trauma informed introspective breath work and working with a community of teachers in  the United states learning,  the science behind trauma,  while also studying under my Shaman here in the Czech Republic, taking a more hands on approach and getting down and dirty with all of my emotions, through work with nudity, sexuality, plant medicine, family constellations, sananga, Rapè, and music therapy.  Through all of my studies, experinces and most importantly living,  I have found one thing to be true. 

 

The truth is that we are all our own healers, we hold the answers inside of us for what is best for our mind, body, and spirit. the key to healing is taking responsibility for ourselves, relationships and our emotions.  Our power lies in our in responsibility. Our responsibility is to accept our emotions, experiences, and circumstances and be honest with ourselves and others.  

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I am a dreamer that desires to live life following my own path. I am determined to live authentically and do what makes me feel alive. I currently work and play as a teacher, storyteller / tour guide, trauma informed  introspective breath work facilitator, yoga instructor, pre & post natal fitness coach, women's circle facilitator, retreat host and I am forever adding to the list. 

 

It is my calling to help others live in their truth by working through their trauma and patterns that have confined them to an unfulfilling life. This is the journey I am continuously on,  I strive each day to be better, live better and love and accept myself and others. 

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The Symbol of the Snake

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In 2022, everything changed in an instant. One moment, I was a high school teacher—grounded in a clear role and identity—and the next, it was all gone. Stripped of who I thought I was, I was left with a powerful feeling that this was actually a permission slip. A call to follow my dreams. To carve my own path. To stop trying to fit into the box society had built for me.

Soon after, I found myself in Sicily, reconnecting with a place that had once shown me a different way of life. In the neighborhood of Piazza Marina—my summer home years before—I came across a snake necklace. The moment I saw it, I knew I needed it. I felt something awaken in me. That necklace became a reminder that I was in the process of shedding—letting go of past versions of myself, again and again.

Since then, I’ve worn it every day. And whenever life feels hard or uncertain, I reach for it. It reminds me that discomfort is part of the process. That growth often hides behind pain. That I’m here to change. To evolve.

The snake reminds me why I’m here: to challenge the systems that no longer serve us. To live from the heart. I trust this path, because I was given the name Bonacorda—or Buoncuore in Italian—meaning “good heart.” I know that name was no accident. I feel deeply connected to it, and over time it has become a symbol of my purpose: to share my love with the world and believe in the dream of a better, more beautiful one.

One where we love and respect ourselves, each other, and the planet.
But to get there, we must first let go—of the past, of limiting beliefs, of old identities.
We must shed our skin.
Only then can we step into the next version of ourselves—both individually and collectively.