My Story


Hi! I’m Mar —a mindfulness teacher, coach, and facilitator. I’m so glad you’re here.


My journey with mindfulness began with a longing many of us know: the desire to feel more at home in myself.

Like many people, I spent my early years following the expected path—good grades, prestigious schools, and trying to be the “right” kind of person. From the outside, I looked successful. Inside, I was anxious, disconnected, and often guided by a harsh inner critic.

My first yoga class in 2003 brought a surprising sense of calm and connection. But like so many of us, I quickly returned to the pace and pressure of everyday life.

Years later, chronic illness forced me to slow down. A doctor suggested that stress might be affecting my body and encouraged me to try yoga or meditation. At the time, I felt dismissed and ignored the advice.

But a quiet moment on a subway ride in my early 30s brought a radical question:
Maybe I can be happy.

That small whisper led me back to the mat, and eventually to meditation. While reading Mindfulness in Plain English, I encountered a life-changing idea: I could learn to be kind to myself.

That realization opened something in me.

Since then, I’ve been on a winding and beautiful journey of healing, growth, and transformation. I left a career that no longer felt aligned, came out as queer, moved across the country, deepened my spiritual practice, and began building a life rooted in intuition, authenticity, and integrity.

I don’t have it all figured out—but I trust myself more deeply now.

My own journey has taught me that mindfulness is not about becoming perfectly calm or escaping life’s challenges. It’s about learning to meet myself—and others—with greater compassion, honesty, and presence.

As a queer, gender-fluid white, person, I’m deeply committed to social justice and collective liberation. My mindfulness practice is inseparable from my commitment to creating a more compassionate and equitable world. I lead mindfulness-based programs and support activists with practices that nurture resilience, connection, and compassion—so we can sustain ourselves while working toward meaningful change.

I believe healing, spirituality, and justice are not separate paths, but interconnected ways of moving toward collective freedom.

I grew up in Queens, NY, and now live in Oakland, CA, on unceded Ohlone land, where I love making art, dancing, playing music, and singing to the trees.

Credentials & Experience

Mindfulness, Yoga & Embodied Practices

  • 400+ hours of meditation, mindfulness and yoga teacher training for youth and adults, including trauma-informed teaching, through The Nalanda Institute, The Interdependence Project, Little Flower Yoga, and Bend + Bloom Yoga

  • Reiki Level I & II Certification (Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki) with Reiki Master Christopher Tellez, founder of San Francisco Reiki Center

  • 10+ weeklong silent meditation retreats

Coaching, Education & Facilitation

  • Certified Professional Coach through the Academy of Creative Coaching

  • Master’s degree in Education, Culture, and Society

  • 20+ years of experience in youth development, nonprofit leadership, teaching, and facilitation

Social Justice & Community Work

  • Anti-racist training through Embodied Equity Project, White Awake, Race Forward, and Education for Racial Equity

  • Participation in white anti-racist affinity space

  • Experience creating and facilitating mindfulness-based racial justice programs

Additional Training & Experience

  • Experience with somatic therapy, expressive arts therapy, Internal Family Systems, nonviolent communication, active listening, and shadow work