Nikki started doing yoga in 2011 at the gym as part of a fitness routine. After a few classes, she realized that yoga is so much more than just exercise. Feeling a strong connection to the balance and contentment it brought to her life as a ‘stay at home’ mother of two, a deep love blossomed. “Everyday on my mat is a new beginning, a new chance to become in tune with my body and mind. Something just for myself.”

After her favorite instructor retired from the gym, Nikki realized that she wanted to teach. It was that desire that lead her to the Just Yoga family.  She couldn’t believe the change between the gym and studio. “It was like night and day, as if I were learning to do yoga for the first time.” She was so happy to find a community of like-hearted people to share her practice with. During her training she explored who she was a yogi. “I never knew there were so many different styles and paces of yoga. There is truly something for everyone!” She started taking Yin classes, and immediately loved it. Nikki feels that the stillness Yin brings to the body and mind is the perfect balance to the fast paced world we live in. She most recently completed her advanced 300-hour training with Lisa Salners at Just Yoga, qualifying as a Yoga Alliance 500-hour teacher (RYT 500).

Nikki lives in Lake Elsinore with her husband and two beautiful daughters. Before moving to Southern California, she lived on the Big Island of Hawaii working occasionally as a photographer, one of her other passions. Aloha famously means hello, goodbye & I love you, but its literal meaning is the “presence of breath,” very similar to the teachings and foundation of yoga.

“Living with aloha in Hawaii has made me a better person.  It helped me to slow down and to appreciate the beauty in all things.  To breathe and to be.  The aloha spirit of the islands is something I have embraced, a big part of myself that I am very proud to share with my students!”