DiDi grew up close to nature, swimming in glacial water and hiking in the wild hills. She was raised by an Earth protector mamma, who was a tree saver, environmental activist, organic gardener, and holistic ‘alternative’ health care proponent who said things like ‘The heart has a wisdom that the head does not’. DiDi was cared for with garlic syrup, massage, iridology, Tai chi, and Zen personal energy analysis. Caring for the earth was what they did, garbage pickups, and educating about storm drain runoff, you know, ‘dump no waste drains to stream’. Her father’s concrete company, ahead of its time, used biodegradable plant-based hydraulic oil and made bumper stickers that read ‘Save our forests, build with concrete’.
Naturally, DiDi was strongly encouraged to go to massage school. She was the young child whose hand went up each time the teacher asked, ‘Do you know what the real name is for (enter body part name here)’ and came from a trio of children that would sit in a circle and give back tickles. She didn’t need much convincing because of her own ‘miraculous’ healing from a sports injury after receiving just one massage (from her life mentor-to-be) in her early teens. One of the youngest in her class at age 18, she attended Brenneke School of Massage, starting her professional healing arts career in 2002. She studied aroma therapy, foot reflexology, structural integration, Traeger, Chinese cupping, and many more modalities along the way.
In her early 20s, DiDi traveled to and lived in Italy to connect with her ancestry and learn the Italian language. There she fell in love with the food and culture. She attempted to get her dual citizenship but was unable and returned to the States after a few years. This time spent in Italy demonstrated to DiDi how delicious food can be. There her family explained that the food is so good, not just because of how it’s put together, but because of the quality of soil, water, and air. Her Italian family comes from the Garfagnana zone of Tuscany tucked into Chestnut forests and renowned for their stonework.
Back in Chelan, DiDi met her first Yoga teacher, Stan Bryant, who knew and taught the depth and inner/spiritual dimension of Yoga. Yoga also assisted her to stay in balance, prolong her massage career and deeply broaden her knowledge of healing. With support and encouragement from Stan, she became a Yoga teacher in 2010. Two years later she moved to a Yoga institute on the other side of the country to learn directly from Kamini Desai and Yogi Desai.
There she trained in Yoga Therapy, Yoga Nidra, and was introduced to Ayurveda. DiDi later became a certified Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant through the American Institute of Vedic Studies and trained to be a teacher of Yoga Nidra Teachers at the Amrit Yoga Institute. Closer to home, DiDi now practices with a Tibetan Buddhist Meditation group and met another teacher Khentrul Lodro Thaye Rinpoche, who helped her profoundly open her heart.
In 2019, after 4 years of running a healing arts center with her husband, DiDi ended her full-time deep tissue massage career. After a sabbatical, her plan was to offer Yoga retreats and teach Yoga Nidra training, but, as for so many, 2020 rerouted her life.
Realizing that the pandemic would be long-lasting, DiDi picked up work at a high-end spa temporarily. Then, seeing the inability to get needed herbs during the supply line breakdown of the pandemic (because most of the herbs were coming from overseas), DiDi pivoted and decided to start a medicinal herb farm.
In 2021 her generous friends, Jeff and Josette, invited her to farm on their land with pure determination. She and her husband Oro moved forward with the farm. She passionately began taking herbal farming classes, reading books soaking up all the information she could. They planted the herb farm, remodeled a trailer into the first-phase herb dehydrator, and started harvesting. Devastatingly, the farm burned shortly into its first year, along with the trailers and the new equipment. Soon after, a family tragedy hit, making 2021 a grief-ridden year.
DiDi had intended to be an herb farmer, not an herbalist. But during this life shake-up, she was compelled to learn more. She put her intention to deepen her herbal knowledge and studied at The School of Evolutionary Herbalism, with a focus on herbalism, Ayurveda, and astrology. Her studies were sponsored by the Charlie Bear Educational Fund. DiDi is now a Vitalist Herbal Practitioner.
In 2022, Lake Goddess Herb Farm became Lake Goddess Farm, to encompass food in addition to herbs. DiDi and Oro worked hard to clean up the land, fall burned trees, and rebuild a base camp on the farmland. In 2023, they fully committed to the farm. They sold their home in town and returned to the land to become stewards, to listen deeply, and co-create with the earth.
Lake Goddess Farm received a grant from Chelan County for small agriculture, which buoyed DiDi’s spirit. Lake Goddess Farm is continuing to rebuild its foundation, with the intention to provide local herbs, food, and products to their community.
DiDi continues her therapy sessions at Inner Mountain Healing Arts incorporating Lake Goddess Farm herbs and products.