Nick Gonzalez entered the Army at 17 years old. He arrived at Fort Hood on September 10, 2001, and woke up the next morning to a world that had changed overnight.

What followed were years of military service, friendship, loss, survivor’s guilt, grief, and eventually, an entirely different way of living. Today, Nick is a husband, father, yoga teacher, owner of South Side Studio Yoga, and the creator of a free Veterans Yoga community here in Missoula, Montana.

In Part One, we trace the experiences and people that shaped him, including his friend Dave, whose death changed him deeply, and the dream that allowed Nick to encounter that grief in an entirely different way. We talk about survivor’s guilt, alcohol, the people we continue to carry after they’re gone, and how the experiences we never would have chosen can change the trajectory of our lives.

What interested me most about Nick’s story is what he chose to create from everything he lived through. For years, he has offered free Veterans Yoga every Monday night in Missoula, and now streams those classes on YouTube so veterans all over the world can join him.

That community currently gathers in a canvas tent in Nick’s backyard. He is now working to build a permanent yurt where veterans can gather safely and warmly year-round.

This is a huge part of why I created The Golden Thread, to create a space where stories like Nick’s can be told, because we never know what hearing someone else’s story might open inside of us or inspire us to create.

One more thread I still can’t quite believe: this episode releases September 10, 2026, exactly 25 years to the day after Nick arrived at Fort Hood. GOOSEBUMPS!

CONNECT WITH NICK + SUPPORT VETERANS YOGA

🧘 Practice with Nick

https://www.southsidestudioyoga.com/classes

🎖️ Free Veterans Yoga online

https://youtube.com/@yogawithnickg?si=-D9hVikmG9KWA7Id

🏕️ Nick’s Veterans Yoga Yurt Project

https://www.southsidestudioyoga.com/about-4-1

🤍 Donate to help build the yurt

https://redwillowlearning.org/make-a-donation/

📸 Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/southsidestudioyoga/

CONTINUE THE JOURNEY

🌿 Join UNBOUND, my free community where we continue the conversations from the podcast through reflection, astrology, plant medicine, and intentional self-discovery.

https://www.skool.com/unbound-4628

✨ Website

https://healwithdaniellemarie.com/

📸 Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/iamdaniellemarie_/

🎥 Watch full video episodes

https://www.youtube.com/@iamdaniellemarieofficial

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