Laurie is a creative mover, athlete, artist, yogi and member of the Nia Training Faculty as a White Belt and Nia 5 Stages Trainer. Her education includes degrees in Mathematics and Psychology from Pacific University. Laurie lives near Portland, Oregon, home to the international headquarters for the Nia Technique where she teaches classes, workshops and holds trainings both locally at StudioNia/Portland and Step In Studio/Forest Grove as well as internationally, traveling to Australia, New Zealand and Europe. She passionately shares the pleasure, power, and sense of self-discovery that Nia offers people of all ages.

Laurie’s specialty is the profound self-healing, integrative and somatic education program called the Nia 5 Stages, created by Nia founder Debbie Rosas.  She has used this development practice to self-heal, strengthen and re-align her spine daily. Laurie has knowledge from the inside out - having supported and worked with Debbie in the development - of the Nia 5 Stages since its inception in 2007, creating its structure for resources, teacher-training and post-training program.

She loves that Nia offers people of all ages a pathway to self-healing, fitness, body education and self-discovery.  Nia played a key role in the healing of chronic pain, tendonitis and fatigue accumulated through athletic injury (knee and shoulder surgery) and entrepreneurial stress. Nia taught Laurie to listen to the voice of her body, to slow down, to adapt, accept and heal moment to moment.  She acquired skills as a life coach, trained as a yoga teacher, Nia teacher and now Nia Trainer.  Her classes, workshops and trainings are filled with passion, fun, grace, creativity, skill, acceptance and dynamic presence.  Students leave feeling re-energized, grounded, empowered and connected after class. 

Laurie thoroughly enjoys traveling, photography, film, and connecting with Nia communities worldwide.