Arti Mehta

Arti (pronounced arthy) is a trans and queer, chronically ill, South Asian artist living on unceded Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Watuth territories ("vancouver"). Arti has been practicing since 2006 and began teaching in 2021. They have been offering Dhamma at TNI's queer and BIPOC sanghas, started a queer sangha in vancouver, and they also assist a course on the paramis through BCIMS.  Arti felt called to offer Dhamma because of their own experiences of not feeling at home in sanghas in Toronto, their hometown. They wanted to support sangha for queer/ trans/ 2S and BIPOC communities based on the themes of social justice, relational Dhamma, with a focus on the gifts that marginalized people's experiences offer the Dhamma.

Arti has trained in Somatic Experiencing and Relational Psychotherapy, and has a deep interest in embodied approaches to trauma work. Their Dhamma offerings are a mix of trauma-informed somatic practices and traditional Theravadan teachings. They are on a continuous inquiry of understanding the somatics of the Middle Way. They are currently studying with Thanissara and Kittisaro in a 2 year program to further their devotional practices.  Arti fell deeply in love with this path because of the transformative possibility for social action, transformative justice and right relationship with each other and the earth. They are profoundly moved by how these wisdom and heart practices allow us to unfold into our inherent goodness, so that we can be good to each other.

Bernardine Mellis believes in the possibility of sangha as a true refuge for all who seek it, and works - through Dhamma-based mediation, facilitation, and teaching - to help manifest that reality. She serves as a teacher and staff member at Insight Western Mass (IWM), where she has been generously nurtured and mentored over many years by members of the Teachers Council, including Jean Esther and Tara Mulay, among others. At IWM, she co-facilitates White & Awakening in the Dharma, the Queer & Trans Affinity Sangha, and Saturday Sangha (for families and everyone), among other offerings. She is part of the emergentSacred Justice Coalition, and offers Jewish affinity space for Dharma practitioners.

She completed her training as a Community Dharma Leader in 2022 through True North Insight, with deepest gratitude to the beautiful cohort and teaching team, Daryl Lynn Ross, Dawn Mauricio, Jozen Tamori Gibson, and Jill Davey. Bernadine is currently a participant in Sacred Mountain Sangha’s Dharmapala program and a student in Harvard Divinity School’s Buddhist Ministry Initiative, where she studies with Charles Hallisey. Alongside the Theravadin lineage, Bernadine’s path also includes earth-based spiritual practice with her mentor, the Stone Priestess Cybele, an elder in the Reclaiming tradition, which imagines and transforms indigenous European pre-Christian spiritual practice. Bernadine is also a mother and a filmmaker.  

Blakie Sahay (she/her) is a mindfulness meditation teacher and an Occupational Therapist in Guelph, Ontario. She was first introduced to meditation in the Vipassana tradition in 2006,  fast forward to 2013 when she is raising two young kids with her husband, working fulltime in mental health and found herself taking an 8 week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course. It was this specific therapeutic adaptation of mindfulness that really spoke to her at this juncture of her life and placed her on the path of wanting to learn more about mindfulness and the dharma. She then trained in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and MBSR with the Centre for Mindfulness studies in Toronto, Ontario where she now teaches both of these programs.

A desire to study the dharma more deeply without having to leave her family to go on retreat led her to Jill Davey where she has been part of a weekly sangha in Fergus since 2018. It was  Jill that encouraged her to apply to the TNI community dharma leaders training from 2020-2022. Blakie is actively engaged in learning how to make mindfulness and the dharma more accessible  to all.  She is deeply grateful to all her teachers, especially her two main teachers at this moment, her pre-teen and teen who teach her daily about the value of patience, just listening (no offering advice Blakie!) and the joy of skillful sarcasm. You will often find her in the forest trails in Guelph walking her beloved dog with her family. 

Brent Beresford’s (they/them) greatest teachers are their children, showing them how unreasonable their expectations are, and encouraging the practice of relationship and community. Their work has been in engaging the power of relationship, accompanying individuals and groups since 2002. They have endeavoured to transmit teachings of Dhamma in various forms since 2013, through mindfulness-based approaches and the practice of Insight Dialogue. Brent aspires to lean into the darker places, finding “how the dark too blooms and sings.” A person of mixed racial heritage, they also identify as gender nonconforming.

Brent is inspired to explore the living Dhamma with folks. Taking the large perspectives allowed through Dhamma, these must break down the rigidity found in colonized and patriarchal values, as well as integrate the ways we understand trauma to impact the nervous systems, both individual and collective. Their work as a psychologist, integrating Somatic Experiencing, greatly influences these aspirations.

Cathy Jikai Rose (she/her) began practicing at the Upaya Zen Center almost 30 years ago. Upaya continues to hold importance for both in person and online study and as a support for her widening practice that now includes Insight teachings. Her main teachers are Sensei Shinzan Palma and the members of the Open Gate Zen Collective who continually amaze her with their ability to connect with such warmth as true dharma friends despite the distance. Cathy came to True North Insight through Jill Davey who is both a teacher and a mentor to her. Ekta Hattangady’s online Metta group is also an ongoing support for a deepening Metta practice. One of the joys of this long path has been finding people to practice with and the discovery that sangha takes many forms, not always in person but always together in heart.

Cathy occasionally teaches with Jill’s Fergus sangha and has collaborated with Blakie Sahay to offer a series of classes in Fergus for beginners to mindfulness meditation. Her interest is in providing support and encouragement for folks along the way, especially those new to the path.

After all these years, practice continues to offer Cathy a way to navigate this sometimes messy life in a way that allows her to include everything as the path — mistakes, joys, saying yes, sometimes saying no, life with an aging dog, and yes, life as an eternally hopeful Leafs fan, nothing left out.

Coral Short is a queer, non-binary, white settler born in 1973. They completed their Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) training in March 2023 with Dea Parsanishi. They specialize in working with LGBTQIA+ folks, recovery, activism, creativity, and all forms of radical sexuality. They are a graduated active Community Dharma Teacher at True North Insight in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal and co-lead a weekly Queer Sangha. Coral has been working with the Stretch Festival in Berlin for several years at the Somatische Akademie/ Village Berlin and at the Montreal Somatics Festival. They offer anti-racist courses, somatic workshops, and eco-somatic walks to international communities. They have been an organizer, activist, and artist for the last two decades.

Cynthia teaches and practices meditation in Fredericton, New Brunswick. She began her study and practice in the late 1990's in the Tibetan tradition. In 2013 she was introduced to insight meditation and then found a home in True North Insight in Montreal. She has been on numerous retreats and participated in many dharma study programs and courses. Cynthia has completed TNI's Community Meditation Teacher Mentorship program and is committed to sharing the dharma, creating safe spaces for practice.

My connection with TNI has enriched my life over the past 16 years.  After completing a 10 month Mindfulness in clinical practice with Michael Stone, I was mentored by Molly Swan and began attending annual retreats with she and Norman Feldman.  I am grateful to all the teachers who have supported me in deepening my understanding and love of the Dhamma: Jill Davey, Daryl Lynn Ross, Pascal Auclair, Jean Esther, Dawn Mauricio, and Jozen Tamori Gibson.  

In 2012 I completed Yoga Teacher training and in 2022 I completed a 2 year Community Meditation Teacher Mentorship with True North Insight Meditation.  That year also marked the end of 40 years as a social worker.  Teaching is joyful and meaningful.  I offer classes in collaboration with TNI and with Arrive Yoga and Mindfulness in Guelph.   Offerings inclue: Earth Meditation monthly, inspired by Joanna Macy,  Metta Mondays, Meditation for Bereaved Persons and Caregivers, and Sunrise Meditation.   Activism is a new found passion, supported by my practice and love of the dhamma so that I can stand up for climate and social justice.

Jacquie Dover, RN, BScN, MHSc, is a registered nurse with the Ontario College of Nurses. She is also a mindfulness teacher, yoga teacher, health and wellness coach, and an expressive arts therapist-in-training. In 2018, Jacquie began leading Mindfulness-Based stress reduction (MBSR) groups in community-based settings. She has also facilitated in person and live online MBSR programs for the Centre for Mindfulness Studies in Toronto, the Mindfulness Center at Brown University, and the Mindfulness and Health Institute.  Jacquie was initially drawn to mindfulness, yoga, and the expressive arts to support her own healing journey. She is honoured to share these practices with others.

Joan Robicheau 

K LaSpruce (they.them) is motivated by a desire to hold space that fosters inclusivity, presence, connection, kindness, compassion, and justice. They are most interested in studying and engaging with the teachings from an embodied and anti-oppressive lens. They aspire to live fully and deeply in the world, not excluding anything from practice. 

Spruce first came to meditation through a Goenka Vipassana retreat in 2006. They studied with Daryl Lynn Ross in True North Insight’s Living the Heart of Wisdom program in 2017-2018, and participated in TNI's Community Dharma Leader Mentorship program from 2020-2022. They offered instruction in a peer-led queer meditation group based in Bulbancha/New Orleans from 2018-2022, and since 2021, though currently taking a break, have been serving as a rotating leader of TNI’s Tuesday evening francophone sangha. They have also facilitated antiracist trainings for the TNI community with Pascal Auclair, and participated in the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care’s Foundations program in 2022-2023. Though their practice has mainly been in the Insight Tradition, they also practice Soto Zen.

Melina (they/them) began meditation and Dharma practice in 2003 in both Plum Village and Vipassana traditions, eventually taking monastic vows under Thich Nhat Hanh in 2012 with the name HaiAn (Sister Ocean.) After six years in the monastery, and a few more outside of the monastery, Melina returned to lay life in 2021. They now blend Insight and Plum Village practices with an orientation to somatics, justice and creativity into meditation and Dharma teacher, in addition to their work as a psychotherapist. As a queer, white settler, Melina is honored and challenged to live on the colonized land of Tkaronto, colonially named Toronto, where they continue to sharing the gifts of the monastery with a wider community. Melina completed the the True North Insight Community Meditation Leader Mentorship program in 2022.  

Michelle Nicholls (she/her) is an Afro-Caribbean Registered Social Worker and Psychotherapist based in Tkaronto (Toronto). She specializes in working with individuals and communities. She is a Community Dharma Teacher with True North Insight. In this capacity, Michelle supports the BIPOC Sangha and co-facilitates inclusive community programs with her peers. She is a devoted mom to a vibrant, creative teen who inspires her to embrace creativity as a way to cultivate balance. Michelle is also passionate about writing on topics such as mindfulness, curiosity, vulnerability, and healing practices, sharing her insights about navigating and exploring the complexities of life.

Rose Mina Munjee is a registered psychotherapist in private practice, experienced and certified mindfulness teacher, mentor, corporate trainer, craniosacral therapist, and therapeutic, trauma-informed yoga teacher. She teaches at the Center for Mindful Self Compassion (COP - BIPOC, LOMSC, LOTT), Centre for Mindfulness Studies (Professional, Personal, Community Programs), University of Toronto (New College, OISE), several organizations, and is a managing director at Mindful Wellness. Rose Mina facilitates evidence-based mindfulness programs including MBSR, MBCT, and MSC. She is also a teacher trainer, curriculum developer, and mentor. She has a private practice and does clinical work in trauma-informed care, mindfulness, and psychotherapy. Rose Mina integrates relational, IFS, CBT, trauma-informed, social justice, and mindfulness in her work. Rose Mina has written for several peer reviewed journals and is co-writing a book based on new qualitative research on mindfulness, compassion, race-based trauma, and social justice. She has a Master’s in Spiritual Care and Buddhist Studies with Psychotherapy from the University of Toronto (TST), and is a PhD Candidate in Education at Reading University in the UK.

As long time student of Buddhist meditation and psychology in the Theravada tradition, I attend regular silent retreats of 5 to 10 days to maintain and deepen my practice. I feel fortunate to have practiced and studied with renowned teachers including Joseph Goldstein,  Kamala Masters, DaRa Williams, Pascal Auclair, Guy and Sally Armstrong, Darryl Lynn Ross, Jill Davey, and Dawn Mauricio.  I completed Spirit Rock Meditation Center's LEAP program (formerly Advanced Practioner's Program), and participate in ongoing clinical education in Mindfulness-Based interventions. In 2022 completed a 2-year Community Dharma Leader Mentorship program offered by True North Insight. I love teaching meditation, and mindfulness ("here and now awareness") is a big part of my therapeutic work with clients.

Sarah Kinsley (she/elle/ella) is a granddaughter, daughter, sister, niece, aunt, cousin, friend, therapist, facilitator, consultant, and learner. Sarah has been a student of the dharma for 30 years and has practiced in the Theravadan, Zen, and Tibetan lineages in Asia and North America. Sarah is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC) She is a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SE^TM) certified through the Somatic Experiencing® Trauma Institute. Currently, Sarah teaches certificates in Mindfulness-based programs The University of Toronto. She accompanies people in individual counselling through First Nations Health Authority and in private practice focusing on Somatic Experiencing. Sarah co-designs and co-facilitates a 100-hour Yoga Teacher Training: Trauma Informed Practice: on and off the mat. One of her passions is sharing mindful movement in-person at Shangrila Yoga weekly. Sarah has extensive training in Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) including Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).

To come.

Susan (she/her) has an Honours BA in Psychology from the University of Windsor, and a MSW from the University of Toronto. Susan has worked with issues of mental health, abuse, and trauma for over 40 years at various levels from front-line to directorship. Over her social work career, Susan provided individual, family and group therapy, supervised and managed staff at all levels, developed, implemented, and evaluated programs, secured partnerships, lead community collaborations, and advocated for systems change.  Susan is an avid meditator and has been cultivating her meditation practice for over 30 years through retreats, daily practice, and study.  She co-developed the Mindfulness Based Trauma Counselling Group Program for people who have experienced abuse and trauma. Susan completed the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification training program led by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. She also completed the Community Dharma Teacher Training through True North Insight. Currently, she leads a monthly 3-hour sangha in the GTA, as well as teaching weekly mindfulness and compassion sessions. 

Much of Susan’s current energy is channeled into eco activism and supporting those doing this work. She is keen to bring the teachings on mindfulness and compassion to meeting the distress caused by environmental disruption and climate chaos.  With a Community Fellow appointment, Susan co-leads the Wellness Impact Lab at the Dahdaleh Global Health Institute at York University.  For fun, she performs with the Red Rebels Toronto. As a white bodied person, Susan has particular interest in combatting white supremacy by engaging in the inner work of racial healing. Susan is grateful to make her home on Turtle Island, whose lands, waters, and ecological communities have been cared for by many Indigenous nations. She is a proud mother, grandmother, partner, friend, and dog person.

Tatiana (she/they) is a Colombian born and Canada-rooted artist and mindfulness/yoga educator. She believes creative expression is a key to healing and self awareness. It is through the path of self exploration and spirituality that Tatiana found meditation and yoga in 2008, later focusing on studying and practicing Insight Meditation circa 2013. Since then, she has made art, meditation and healing her life path, using them as a tool for trauma healing, community care and transformative justice. For several years Tatiana has worked facilitating workshops for children and adults in different settings: community centers, hospitals, seniors homes among others, integrating nature and indigenous spiritual practices in her teachings. This experience motivated her to work towards the goal of decolonizing holistic pathways in making this medley of practices available to all, especially BIPOC people in underserved communities. Tatiana has a Mindfulness training, is currently pursuing a training in the Insight Buddhist tradition and attends residential retreats periodically.

Pierre-Vincent (he, they) has been practising and teaching meditation and yoga for about a dozen years. He studied primarily at the Insight Meditation Society and at the Barre Centre for Buddhist Studies in Massachusetts, with many senior teachers like Sharon Salzberg and Bhikkhu Analayo, and in Montreal with Pascal Auclair and Daryl Lynn Ross. He pursued a mentorship with Arinna Weisman and was invited to participate in Spirit Rock's Community Dharma Leaders program in 2019. Pierre-Vincent also has a Master's in Social Work and is now in medical school at University of Sherbrooke. He's interested in holistic healing approaches. His dharma practice and teachings are infused with wisdom, compassion and playfulness, and his social and environmental activism. For more information: www.lesirop.org