"Niika is a powerful listener."
Ava Stanley, MD, MPH, New Jersey

Experience
Niika has been practicing and teaching Ayurveda for individuals and groups since 1996. She has taught yoga in the U.S., Europe and India. She's been a regular contributor to Yoga Journal on the topic of Ayurvedic wisdom (see Writings), and was founder, editor and publisher of Inside Ayurveda, the first international journal of Ayurvedic Medicine.

Niika spent most of 2006 in Kerala, India, exploring the birthplace of Ayurveda and related healing system, Siddha Vaidya, while writing, studying and teaching.

Niika had the good fortune to spend abundant time observing and learning
from Dr. Reghu Harichandran, a 9th generation, traditionally-trained Siddha
Vaidya doctor and herbal pharmacist in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Recent Media
Yoga Journal magazine – July 2005 – quoted in "Yoga Does Every Body Good"
by Carol Krukcoff
LINK

Natural Health magazine - February 2005– quoted in "Morning Glory" an article by Megan O'Connell on holistic beauty routines
LINK

Training

	1998,	Certified Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist (CAS) California College of Ayurveda Grass Valley, CA
	1998,	Graduate of the American Institute of Vedic Studies Ayurveda Certificate Program (by Dr. David Frawley) Santa Fe, NM

Beyond her certified studies, Niika has learned formally and informally from many amazing healers, including: Dr. Reghu Harichandran (traditional Siddha doctor), Rajkumar Reghunathan, MBBS, Swamini Mayatitananda (formerly Maya Tiwari), Dr. Marc Halpern, Dr. John Doulliard, Dr. Avinash Lele, Dr. Subhash Ranade, Dr. Helen Thomas and James Battle.

1999,

Traditional Thai Yoga Massage (Levels I & II) Spirit Winds School of Thai Massage with Janice Vitavec Nevada City, CA

Traditional Thai Massage is a 2,500-year-old healing system based in Ayurvedic Medicine, Buddhist spiritual practice, and Yoga.

	1999,	Teacher Training Intensive with Erich Schiffman Yoga Studio Mill Valley Mill Valley, CA
	2006,	Siddha Massage & Kaya (Ela Kizhi), International Siddha Vaidya Institute, Trivandrum, Kerala, India

Niika has studied and practiced yoga for over 25 years, learning from Suhasini, Pam Field, Roger Cole, Kathleen Miller and many others.

Since 1982, Niika has studied meditation, yoga psychology, the rudiments of Sanskrit, and the Indian philosophies of Kashmir Shaivism, Vedanta and Samkya, on which Ayurveda is based. She has also pursued knowledge in eco-psychology, the study of psychological relationship with the natural environment.

The California College of Ayurveda is recognized by: The American Institute of Vedic Studies, Dr. David Frawley Ayurvedic Shikshan Mandal, Puné India, Dr. Subhash Ranade.

Personal Background
After years of life in a meditation ashram, Niika found herself facing the stresses of daily life in America, earning a living while raising a son alone.

When her son was four, Niika fell ill and collapsed into bed for a year. Although many helped her to cope and move toward healing, no doctor could diagnose the cause of her suffering, or create a fully effective treatment plan. Eventually, Niika turned again to the holistic wisdom of the East. She studied Ayurveda – the ancient Indian system of healing thru the creation of balance - in hopes of saving her own health.

At first she attended class with a tape recorder, lying on the floor in the back of the room, too weak to take notes. But with time, she digested the concepts of Ayurveda and began to apply these balancing principles to her life by adjusting her diet, yoga practice, herbal program and lifestyle to support the full expression of her health, vitality and wellbeing.

Like all of us, Niika is still susceptible to the effects of misbalancing forces, but through the knowledge of Ayurveda, she manages her life for optimal health, now enjoying the fullness of life while sharing, with care and intimacy, the simple joy of balance Ayurveda and yoga bring.

Spiritual Background
Niika had the good fortune to be born into a family of California truth seekers. Her mother has a spiritual, contemplative nature, and studied Humanistic Psychology at Sonoma State. Her father is worldly, dynamic and caring, a big champion of personal responsibility.

Growing up, Alan Watts' dialogues played on the radio during "family time" every Sunday morning. Books like Be Here Now and The Inner Game of Tennis adorned the coffee table. The family participated regularly in "consciousness-raising" workshops such asEST and Actualizations. Her family also attended church, and at age eleven, Niika experienced a deep, heart opening vision of Jesus. Needless to say, from an early age, Niika was immersed in an invitation to wisdom and spiritual development.

Beyond the influences of her environment, she had her own interest in the deeper realities. As a schoolgirl, she'd often sit at her desk, writing the Four Noble Truths and the steps of the Eight-Fold Path of Buddhism over and over on binder paper. Or she'd sit on her four-poster bed and experiment with her breath to "see what would happen" to her state of awareness with changes in her breathing.

At age 14, Niika decided to become a strict vegetarian, for health and compassionate reasons. She was introduced to chanting–sacred song–which became the anchor of her spiritual life for many years. Along with her mother, Niika was present at the Black Hat Ceremony performed by the Tibetan Buddhist master and lineage holder, His Holiness the Karmapa, in San Francisco.

She took shaktipat (transmission, spiritual awakening) from her guru, Swami Muktananda in 1980, traveled within the U.S. to spend time with him for a year, and lived with him in India for another. After his death, she served Muktananda's successors–Swami Nityananda and Gurumayi Chivilasananda–for three years, one in India.

Niika has also had the great good fortune to spend time with Tibetan Buddhist teachers such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Twelfth Kenting Tai Situpa Rinpoche, Sogyal Rinpoche (Rigpa), and H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche. In recent years she has enjoyed, with gratitude, the presence of teachers of Advaita Vedanta, such as Jean Klein, Atri (Hridayam School), Gangaji, Adhyashanti and– most close to her heart–Francis Lucille.