I was born in Vermont and lived in Japan for three years and Australia for nine years.  I have studied the martial arts, Eastern philosophy, yoga, and alternative medicine in the United States, Australia, and Japan for the past twenty-five years. I have a degree in Asian History and Japanese Culture from Tulane University and spent a number of years in Japan studying under the chief instructor at the headquarters of the Japan Karate Association (I speak fluent Japanese). I hold a third degree black belt in Japanese Shotokan Karate and am a certified instructor. I am also a certified instructor of Shanti (peace) Yoga and Meditation as well as Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan which I have studied for the past fifteen years.    I have taught classes in breathing, martial arts and Zen Yoga at a number of locations including: Tulane University, Dartmouth College, and the University of Vermont as well as at the Sakai Shibu in Osaka, Japan, and the Shanti Yoga Meditation Institute and Meron House Lifestyle Center on the Gold Coast of Australia.   I have given Zen Yoga breathing workshops in hundreds of locations including; the Southern States Legislators Conference in New Orleans, the Vermont Community College, the American Diabetes Conference, the Alternative Balance Healthy Living Expo and the Whole Health Expo.   I have also had extensive experience teaching children. In 1986 I became the chief instructor of the Harmony Children’s School in Tokyo Japan. I have taught my methods to children at the Keni Children’s Room in Osaka, Japan; the Burlington, Vermont YMCA; and the Glastonbury Middle School in Connecticut. In 2002, my “Zen for Kids” program at Ryerson Connecticut Elementary School was featured on WTNH - Channel 8, the ABC affiliate in New Haven. Most recently I have conducted special classes for abused and traumatized children at the Y-US organization in Hartford, Connecticut and teach a six-week course at a Connecticut summer children’s program.   Books Authored: Zen Yoga: A Path to Enlightnement through Breathing, Movement and Meditation Breathe Smart: The Secret to Happiness, Health and Long Life Perfecting Ourselves: Coordinating Body, Mind and Spirit The Zen Anti-Diet Update: Japan How to Live and Work in Japan  

I am a certified instructor with the Japan Karate Association. I trained at the headquarters of the JKA in Japan under the chief instructor until his death in 1987. I was a member of the Hoitsugan All-Tokyo team 1989 and was the Queensland, Australia, Karate Kata Champion in 1996. I am also an instructor at the Meditation Institute of Australia.