Hi! I’m Nicole.

I’m a certified meditation and yoga teacher living in NYC. I help people face the patterns of their own minds, release suffering, and reconnect with the clarity and ease that is always present, even if it feels lost right now.

Many people come to meditation seeking calm or relief from stress. What they discover, when they truly practice, is something deeper: freedom from the habits of the mind that create suffering, and a direct connection to their own true nature. This is what I teach.

I was born in Minnesota, in a land of 10,000 lakes, and my childhood was filled with nature’s teachings: swimming in crystal-clear waters, running barefoot through the grass, caring for caterpillars as they became butterflies, and gazing at star-filled skies. These experiences taught me that connection — to the earth, to life, and to ourselves — is a doorway to wisdom.

Somewhere between youth and adulthood, that natural clarity was crowded out by confusion and dissatisfaction. I didn’t know how to fix it, but I knew there had to be another way.

In 2013, on a nudge from my heart, I set out on a journey to sail around the world. It was during this time that I received my first formal meditation instruction from my teacher, who was living aboard the ship. I practiced in quiet zazen halls in Japan, remote monasteries in Southeast Asia, and alongside dedicated yogis in India. On a silent retreat in Myanmar, my mind and my world opened in a way I had never experienced before. Meditation pierced through the layers of distraction and suffering, revealing clarity, ease, luminosity, and the awe I had known as a child. From that moment, meditation became central to my life.

Since then, I’ve studied rigorously with master teachers in the Geluk lineage of Buddhism in meditation, philosophy, and yoga. I have completed over 1,000 hours of certified formal training, including a 500-hour RYT® Yoga Teacher certification and 240 hours of Meditation Teacher certification. I am currently practicing and studying Ashtanga yoga and continuing deeper education in the classic texts and practices of yoga and Buddhism.

It is only through the generosity, patience, and care of my teachers, especially Earle Birney, that I have anything meaningful to offer. Their guidance helped me not just learn meditation, but move through life as embodied wisdom and love — and now I help others do the same.

My teaching emphasizes:

• Conscious awareness: transforming desire and scattered attention into calm clarity and freedom from negative emotions

• Devotion through practice: developing discipline that nurtures growth, not restriction

• Embodied wisdom: using the body and mind as a source of insight and awakening

• Joyful presence: approaching life with boundless love, energy, and intention

I teach meditation, yoga, philosophy, and retreats to students around the world and online with The Yoga Studies Institute, in-person and virtually with Three Jewels, and with private clients, corporate programs, and workshops in New York City.

You can find me on Instagram at @nicole_autumn_.

If you are ready to meet the truth of your own mind — to stop running, stop avoiding, and discover what is possible — I would love to practice with You.