David Nichtern & Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, circa 1981

David Nichtern is a senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. He was one of the initial American students of Trungpa Rinpoche and studied closely with him soon after his arrival to the United States in 1971. David has been co-director of the LA Shambhala Center and Karme Choling Meditation Center in Vermont, as well as Director of Expansion for Shambhala Training International.

He writes a weekly blog about Buddhism on The Huffington Post and works with his wife, Cyndi Lee (renowned yoga teacher and founder of the OM yoga Center in NYC), to develop and lead yoga/meditation workshops. They teach their Yoga Body Buddha Mind Workshop around the world, and have trained thousands of teachers in the OM method which integrates hatha yoga and Buddhist practice. Their DVD/CD package OM YOGA & MEDITATION WORKSHOP is widely available, and they teach together and apart around the globe.

David’s son, Ethan Nichtern, is an accomplished Buddhist teacher in his own right and is the author of the acclaimed book “One City: A Declaration of Interdependence”.  Ethan is the founder and director of  The Interdependence Project, a non profit organization that combines Buddhism, meditation, social activism and the arts.

David Nichtern is also a well known composer, producer and guitarist, a 4 time Emmy winner and a two time Grammy nominee. He is the founder of Dharma Moon and 5 Points Records. David has recorded and played with Jerry Garcia, Stevie Wonder, Maria Muldaur, Paul Simon, and many others. Among his many credits in records, film and tv, David is the composer of the hit song “Midnight at the Oasis”, has recently released an album “Memories of Summer as a Child” (featuring Christopher Guest, CJ Vanston and Nichtern), and produced a new record for Krishna Das, “Heart As Wide as the World” (released March 2010).