Valerie Brooks is a full time writer with articles published in a variety of genres including many in the health and wellness field. She is originally from the East Coast but has found greater inspiration since moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Yoga, spa, travel, and animals are her highest passions and she has written extensively on each of these topics. She holds a graduate degree in publishing and reads manuscripts for a literary agent. Valerie worked as a model and actress in New York but exchanged that for a more spiritual life in the Southwest. She shares her life with an English Bulldog named Lakota. At Kosmic, Valerie is our Yoga & Body Web Highlights editor and contributes to the Ashram Guide and other areas of the site.