I am a doctoral candidate in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara where I work on the history of Asian, metaphysical, and emerging religious traditions in modern America. For the last several years much of my research has focused on the early history of yoga in the United States. I write, teach, and present my work to both scholarly and popular audiences in venues ranging from academic conferences and peer-reviewed journals to online magazines and public talks.

I also have a prior background in photography, and my photographic work has been published in several national magazines, purchased for private collections, and displayed in the Craft and Folk Art Museum of Los Angeles.