NICK HERMAN

Planned and taught individual lessons in pre-calculus at a private high school. Also independently worked with a 6th grader (my brother) on basic math skills.

I tutored low-income youth in algebra and geometry at Pomona High School, Pomona, CA.

For my senior thesis research, I worked with students afflicted with cerebral palsy at Danbury Elementary School, in Claremont, CA on the application of a biometric feedback sensing device with mathematical software, to improve their spatial and motor abilities.

I lived in Dangyang, Hubei, China, (aka the boondocks of China) teaching English to droves of 14-16 year old, grasping for meaning amidst a sea of overwhelming experiences.

I first started practicing Yoseikan Aikido with Patrick Auge Sensei in the fall of September 2000. I found great joy and meaning in that dojo, which I was forced to leave when I went away to college two years later. Then, for four years, the only practice opportunities I was given were the short visits home; upon my return to school after my year and a half of spent travelling throughout Europe and Morocco, and living in China, teaching English, I happily discovered that Winston Ou Sensei had begun teaching Kokikai Aikido at the Claremont Colleges, which I have been practicing since October 2006, now in San Francisco with Robert Choy Sensei.

I begun practicing yoga sometime around 2004 with Ben Dineen and have studied with him on and off when in the bay area. In the many months when I lacked any kind of physical-spiritual teacher, I gradually developed my own practice, which I continue to refine.

I probably first started meditating seriously some time around 2003. Since then, I attempt to spend at least half an hour a day sitting, and sometimes doing walking meditation. Over the years, I have had many spiritual teachers in this endeavor, including Professor Steve Smith of Claremont Mckenna, my longtime roommate, Matt Gnaizda, and the wisdom of various sages I have attempted to study on my own, such as Shunryu Suzuki, The Dalai Lama, Pema Chodron, Joko Beck and Thich Nhat Hanh.