Ruthie is a 200 ERYT yoga teacher and life coach. Ruthie has taught yoga in Madison, WI and internationally for 13 years, and she is so grateful for the growth and learning yoga has brought to her life. Ruthie primarily teaches a blend of gentle and restorative yoga. She crafts safe, inclusive, nurturing classes to help regulate our nervous system and ground our energy, so we can return to our lives with a touch more centeredness and peace. Ruthie co-created the Olive Tree Yoga Foundation in 2011, and developed OTYF's 200 HR Yoga Teacher Training Program, the first of which was completed in Bethlehem, Palestine in 2013. Ruthie has helped to lead 4 groups of teacher trainees in three countries through training to become creative and intuitive yoga teachers. Ruthie is a chronic illness warrior, and works to be an advocate for people suffering from invisible illnesses, anxiety, depression and CPTSD. She supports those suffering from trauma and those in recovery through yoga, meditation, and coaching. Ruthie has Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder that causes hypermobility and instability in joints and can lead to chronic pain. She practiced yoga for years, not knowing that she had the condition, and her vigorous asana practice caused great pain even though other parts of yoga helped enormously. She had to re-learn yoga so that it became supportive for her condition. Ruthie looks forward to sharing ways to create more ease in personal practice and in our students' practices. Ruthie spends her free time with her husband and kids, goofy dogs, and many chickens, tending her urban farm, reading tons of books, and listening to history podcasts.