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Music | Yoga | Technology | Vermont

A sound leader's aim is to open people's hearts -Lao Tzu

Welcome to my online home, I hope you enjoy your stay.

I am a yoga-teaching, songwriting technologist currently living in Vermont, having spent the last 16 years here. Vermont is a special place and I'm grateful to have had the privilege and the resources to live here. My journey is captured in these posts, admittedly less frequently than I had hoped. Forgive me in advance for occasionally backfilling posts as I make meaning from past experiences in the present.

My music journey began as a child, strongly encouraged by both my parents and my siblings. I sang a cappella in college and since then have played solo and in bands in San Francisco, New York City, and all over Vermont. In 2018, I was runner-up in the Vermont Singer/Songwriter contest. My current musical outlet is sharing kirtan with my sangha (yoga commmunity).

My yoga training journey is captured in a post in this blog, but the longer journey stretches back to 2000, when I moved back east from San Francisco after living there for 3 years. I had done some yoga in San Francisco with friends but had never taken a class. On the way home from work on day, I randomly dropped into a yoga class wearing jeans and a t-shirt and fumbled my way through it. It was auspicious that my teacher that day was Brahmani Liebman. I took classes at that studio for a couple years and developed a good practice, but it wasn't until 2016 when I focused on my practice, leading to my training in 2017/2018. I taught for a few years at Hot Yoga Burlington, but since the pandemic I have focused on my home practice.

My technology journey began earliest of all - I was 10 when my parents bought me a Commodore 64 which I dutifully hacked BASIC on for years before it became obselete. I put tech things down for years during college - I was determined to not spend my life in front of keyboard. It's why I studied geology in school - I loved being outside and playing with real things. Eventually I caught the technology bug again, and in 2000 at the encouragement of friends I started learning to build websites. 3 tech roles later and I am currently working at New Leaders serving as the leader of the technology team.

You can always reach me via email: me[at]rickcusick[dot]com.