Doug Booth
Doug has practiced Vipassana since 1990 primarily with Jack Kornfield and has practiced in the monasteries of Burma. He founded the Heart Mountain Prison Project, teaching meditation and Qi Gong in New Mexico prisons since 1998. He is a graduate of the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leader teacher-training program.
Joan Kaiser
Joan began practicing meditation in the Theravada or Insight tradition in 1985. Since then she has practiced and studied intensively in the US and Burma with senior American and Asian monastic teachers, including Joseph Goldstein, Ajahn Thanissaro and Sayadaw U Tejaniya. She was a founding member of the Santa Fe Vipassana Sangha where she is a regular speaker and teaches introduction to meditation. A lifelong student of hatha yoga, she has taught meditation and yoga in treatment centers and prisons and has a particular interest in the relationship of personal practice and compassionate action. As a licensed psychotherapist she works with healing trauma through the power of mind body awareness.
Brian Lesage
Brian Lesage has practiced Buddhist meditation since 1988 and has taught meditation since 2000. He has studied in the Zen, Theravada and Tibetan schools of Buddhism. He was ordained in the Rinzai Zen tradition in 1996. His training in Vipassana Meditation includes doing extended meditation retreats in Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, and India as well as numerous retreats in the U.S. He leads retreats and teaches meditation courses nationwide. Brian also has a private practice in Somatic Experiencing, which is a naturalistic approach to healing trauma. You can also visit his website for Somatic Experiencing at: www.liberatingawareness.com
DaeJa Napier
DaeJa Napier teaches Vipassana meditation with an emphasis on the cultivation of the four Brahma Viharas: loving kindness, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity. She has been practicing and studying in various Buddhist traditions since 1974 and has been teaching since 1986. She continues to study with prominent Asian and Western teachers. DaeJa has dedicated her life to exploring the traditional pathways to awakening and their application in daily life. She is the founding and guiding teacher of the Brahma Vihara Foundation. To learn more, visit http://brahmaviharas.org.
Annie Nugent
Annie Nugent has studied and practiced in the Theravadan and Tibetan traditions since 1979 under the guidance of a range of teachers including Sayadaw U Pandita, Tulku Akong Rinpoche and various western teachers. Annie was the resident teacher for staff at The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA from 1999-2003, and has since taught elsewhere, including the annual IMS three-month retreat and The Forest Refuge. Her teaching style aims to reveal how our lives are opportunities to develop a clear understanding of the Truth.
Mary Powell
Mary Powell has been a Vipassana practitioner for almost 30 years. During that time she has done intensive retreats at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Mass. In the past few years she has done month long self retreats both at home and at a remote cabin in the mountains and at the Forest Refuge. Recently she practiced for a month in the Thai Forest Tradition with Ajahn Sucitto. In 2007 she completed the 2 ½ year Community Dharma Leader training through Sprit Rock Meditation Center. For many years she served as a board member of SFVS and as president as well. She was a member of the Education Committee for 15 years. Mary also serves on the board of the Brahma Vihara Foundation and the Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center in northern New Mexico where she often teaches retreats during the summer. Mary has always been interested in practicing in nature and incorporates outdoor practice into her retreats.
Marcia Rose
Marcia Rose is the founding and guiding teacher of The Mountain Hermitage and founding teacher of Taos Mountain Sangha. She has been studying and practicing Buddhist teachings and meditation with Asian and Western teachers since 1970, primarily in the Theravada-Vipassana (Path of the Elders) tradition. Her own teaching reflects a clear influence from the Burmese Mahasi Vipassana and Pa-Auk Forest Monastery lineages with authorization from Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw to teach Samatha and Jhanas in his lineage. She has also studied and practiced in the Dzogchen Tibetan Buddhist tradition with Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, and Tsoknyi Rinpoche. Marcia was resident teacher for staff at the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, MA from 1991-1995. Following this she was a teacher for the annual three-month retreat at IMS and has been an occasional visiting teacher for other IMS retreats since 1994. Marcia has been a regular visiting at The Forest Refuge in Barre, MA since its beginning. She has taught Vipassana, Concentration, Brahma Vihara, and Creative Process retreats in various U.S. and international venues since 1995 and is dedicated to offering these ancient and timeless teachings in ways that make them accessible and authentic for contemporary culture.
Alexis Santos
Alexis has been practicing Dharma since 2001. His interest in Buddhism traces back to an early concern for suffering and the truth-seeking nature of science. After graduating from Harvard with an undergraduate degree in Neurobiology, Alexis went on to pursue a medical career. Before long, his ongoing questioning of what is truly meaningful led to a deepening disillusionment with the medical system at that time. He took a leave from his studies and instead found his way to India, Burma and Thailand where he first encountered the Buddha’s teachings. In 2003, he met Sayadaw U Tejaniya and has since been his long-time student, including ordaining as a Buddhist Monk for several years under his guidance. Alexis’ teaching emphasizes knowing the mind through a natural and relaxed continuity. He brings a practical, intuitive and compassionate approach to the development of wisdom. He is in the current Spirit Rock/IMS Teacher Training and can be found teaching retreats throughout the US and in Europe. For more information, see livingdharma.io.
Julie Tato
Julie Tato has practiced Insight & Lovingkindness meditation since 1988 in the US & Asia, and has taught these practices for 15 years in Northern NM. Her primary teachers include Sharon Salzberg, Marcia Rose, and Ven. Tsoknyi Rinpoche. Julie teaches at Taos Mountain Sangha, Lama Foundation, Golden Willow Retreat, and in Santa Fe & Albuquerque. She is also an instructor of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, and works as a Spiritual Care Counselor at Anvoi Hospice in Taos. In addition to these settings, she has taught meditation with children, youth, parents, bereaved folks, and other groups. A member of spiritual communities for many years, her spiritual life is eclectic & inclusive, embracing not only Buddhist training, but also Sufi, Hindu, Catholic, and Earth-based Ways, emotional healing, and community life. Julie serves as a member of the Lama Foundation, and previously worked at Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts with the administrative team, and with teacher & author Sharon Salzberg. She is committed to sharing and exploring the Dharma in support of living a more compassionate and awakened life in all ways.
Erin Treat
Erin Treat lives in Durango, CO and serves as a Guiding Teacher of Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center. She teaches retreats at Spirit Rock and the Insight Meditation Society, including part of the annual 3-month course at IMS. Erin serves as a teacher and board member at the Durango Dharma Center and enjoys mentoring students from around the country. Her approach to sharing the dharma is influenced by her experience as a student of the Diamond Approach by A.H. Almass and by her love of socially engaged practice, embodiment, and wild nature.