Flow with Nico

Hi, I'm Nico Kage Akiba — a certified mindfulness teacher, biodynamic breathwork facilitator, myofascial bodyworker, and forest bathing guide.

But I didn't start out that way. Ten years ago my life looked like the conventional American dream — a good university behind me, a respected job at Microsoft, a loving partner, and a cozy home in the Pacific Northwest. Underneath the surface, however, things were seriously amiss. I'd had chronic insomnia since childhood and needed drugs to fall asleep. Simple things like cooking, driving, or a social evening left me tense and exhausted. I was constantly self-critical, and when stress or anger finally broke the surface, it could take days to pass. As this tension blew up into a painful break-up, I remembered how clear, energized and joyful I had felt after my only meditation retreat five years prior.

I realized that lightness of being was more important to me than any paycheck, so I quit and devoted myself fully to healing. I began with evidence-based meditation training with Mindfulness Northwest — bringing an engineer's first-principles approach to ancient practices of breath and meditation, open to everything, keeping what worked. Meditation taught me how to appreciate the full richness of the present moment and the power of awareness to start freeing myself from limiting stories and patterns. Increasingly I could bring equanimity and self-compassion instead of anxiety and self-criticism. I could start to rest and release at night instead of spinning endlessly in my mind. But I still couldn't sleep.