I was an introvert growing up and enjoyed quiet time with nothing to do. Maybe I got those genes from my father and grandfather, who were very philosophical. After college I worked in Rochester, New York, as a computer programmer. I took classes in Tae Kwon Do, then the softer styles of Tai Chi, and eventually was introduced to meditation and yoga, which I greatly resonated with. I was then exposed to Ayurveda as a natural, common-sense healing system from India, and it was then I felt drawn to everything from India. I was ready to seek out the best teachers I could find and study with them. In 1991 I quit my job and moved to Albuquerque to study Ayurveda with the renowned teacher Dr. Vasant Lad. While there, a Sanskrit teacher named Vyaas Houston came to Albuquerque and stayed at the place I was house-sitting. He was an incredible teacher, and I got to know him personally as well.

After graduating from Ayurveda school I spent the summer learning Hindi in Boston, then took a 6-week Sanskrit intensive with Vyaas, then traveled to India where my girlfriend and I spent a year trying to gain admission into a 5-year BAMS program at an Ayurvedic college. During this time I studied more Sanskrit with a very famous scholar in Varanasi (Vagish Shastri) and learned to read, write, and speak Hindi. Yet we were not able to gain college admission because we were foreigners. This experience in India, living with families, learning their language, and traveling the country, truly changed my life by pushing me to my limits and teaching me how adaptable I could be. Speaking Hindi allowed me to really relate to the people in India on a personal level.

Upon returning to America, I called Vyaas since I wanted to be around him and learn as much Sanskrit and yoga philosophy as possible from him. I became his personal assistant, office manager, and substitute Sanskrit teacher in the New York City area for 1 year, partly living at the Ashram where his Sanskrit guru resided.

I then decided to move to Santa Fe, New Mexico and get a Masters degree in Eastern Classics so I had some credentials on paper. There I met some wonderful teachers. The yoga teacher Tias Little and I became great friends and each other’s guru, learning from each other for almost 30 years now. He had a big influence on my career. I began teaching Sanskrit workshops locally and then nationally. I continued my studies of Veda and Yoga with Vamadeva Shastri (David Frawley), a wise, generous, and accomplished Vedic scholar. I also chanted the Veda-s and studied the Yoga Sutras with Sonia Nelson at the Vedic Chant Center in Santa Fe. I was so lucky to find three excellent teachers in Santa Fe and study with them for over 15 years, during which time I taught all over the country and wrote and published many audio CDs and books, as a parallel career to being a freelance computer guy. I met my wife Margo at the Vedic Chant Center as well. Sonia officiated our wedding there and we have been married for over 21 years now, with 2 children.

I followed my heart even when it seemed a very impractical thing to do. I feel lucky to have found a real passion for something—my “dharma”—that I chose to pursue no matter what. Seeking out the best teachers possible made a huge difference in my ability to understand the subtleties and complexities of yoga/vedic philosophy. When designing and writing my magnum opus (now titled the Yoga Sutras Desk Reference), I drew from everything I learned from my teachers, my own personal experience, meditations, and self-study.

Being a perpetual, eager, open-minded student has also been important. Even if I am the teacher in a class, the students are also teachers since their pool of knowledge and thoughtful questions teach me as well. My Sanskrit teacher in Varanasi shared his experience around his relationship with his guru. Once Vagish finally won a Sanskrit debate against him, his teacher shed tears of joy, knowing that his student had finally surpassed him and thus was more than capable to carry on the teachings. This taught me to support and encourage my students to be the best they can be, and to never compete with them—always cooperate and share with them as much as possible.

Join us for Nicolai's workshop on February 8!