Joshua Margolis
Joshua Margolis has been practicing manual medicine and bodywork since 1995, and acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine since 2001. From 2005 to 2009, he was on faculty at The Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences in Oakland and The Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College in Berkeley teaching anatomy, orthopedic acupuncture, advanced channel theory, and pain management. Currently, Joshua is on staff at The Osteopathic College of Ontario and teaches doctoral level orthopedic courses at several Bay Area acupuncture colleges. Additionaly he teaches acclaimed manual therapy courses for acupuncturists around the US.
Joshua regularly pursues high level trainings in cranial and visceral manipulation and has a profound understanding of the interplay between the nervous system, internal organs and the musculoskeletal system.
In Joshua's years of practice in the Bay Area, he has gained a diverse and loyal following, comprised of professional musicians, dancers, yogis, restauranteurs, and athletes, as well as children, the elderly, and those with severe chronic illness. He has been practicing at Farmacopia, in Santa Rosa, CA since 2011.
Meido Moore Roshi
Meido Moore Roshi is the abbot of Korinji, a monastery in Wisconsin, and guiding teacher of the Korinji Rinzai Zen Community. He is the author of The Rinzai Zen Way: A Guide to Practice and Hidden Zen: Practices for Sudden Awakening and Embodied Realization(both from Shambhala Publications).
Meido Roshi began Zen practice in 1988 and trained under three teachers in the line of the great 20th century Rinzai master Omori Sogen Roshi: the late Tenzan Toyoda Rokoji, in whose training hall he resided for seven years while also enduring a severe training in traditional martial arts; Dogen Hosokawa Roshi (Omori Roshi’s main dharma heir), with whom he trained for fifteen years; and So’zan Miller Roshi, with whom he trained for three years. He has completed the koan curriculum of this lineage, and in 2008 received inka shomei or “mind seal”: recognition as an 86th-generation Zen lineage holder empowered to transmit the full range of Rinzai Zen practices.
Aside from Zen, Meido is also ordained in the Mt. Koshikidake tradition of Shugendo and works to establish Shugendo practice places within natural areas in North America. For many years he was a professional martial art teacher; he is certified as a shihan (master-level teacher) by the Aikido World H.Q. in Tokyo. He travels widely, conducting retreats and other events across the United States and Europe.
Sharon Salzberg
Sharon Salzberg is a pioneer in the field of meditation, a world-renowned teacher and New York Times bestselling author. She has played a pivotal role bringing meditation and mindfulness into mainstream American culture since 1974. Sharon is co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society, in Barre, MA and has authored 10 books, including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, her seminal work, Lovingkindness and her 2017 release, Real Love: The Art of Mindful Connection. Acclaimed for her down-to-earth and relatable teaching style, Sharon offers a secular, modern approach to Buddhist teachings, making them instantly accessible. Her writing can be found on Medium, On Being, the Maria Shriver blog, and Huffington Post. Sharon is also the host of her own podcast, The Metta Hour, with 100+ episodes featuring interviews with the top leaders and voices in the meditation and mindfulness movement. Learn more at www.sharonsalzberg.com
RoberT Peng
Robert Peng is a world-renowned Qigong Master, healer, and author of The Master Key: Qigong Secrets for Vitality, Love, and Wisdom (book/cd/dvd series).
Robert Peng was born and raised in Hunan, China. At age eight, he began an intensive apprenticeship under the close guidance of the legendary monk Xiao Yao, an enlightened master known for his profound healing ability and martial arts skill.
At age fifteen, Robert performed a 100-day water fast in a small dark room at a secluded monastery in the remote mountains of Hunan province. He underwent a radical spiritual transformation and awakened amazing healing powers.
Master Xiao Yao encouraged Robert to develop his healing skills by studying with other Chinese masters. He pursued his training quietly while attending university in Changsha where he majored in English Literature. When he was twenty-nine years old, he began to teach publicly, and within five years he had trained over 150,000 students all over China.
In 1997, Robert was invited to relocate to Australia. Seven years later, he moved to New York City.
With his deep understanding and practice of this ancient Chinese healing art of Qigong, and with extensive life and teaching experience in the western world, Robert has developed a unique way to teach Qigong that people from different cultures can easily understand and follow but meanwhile still enjoy the real essence of this ancient Chinese art of wisdom, love and vitality.
Robert Peng has been a regular presenter at Omega Institute, Integrative Health Symposium, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, and many other organizations and institutions. His participants and clients are from all walks of life, who have experienced healing and a new surge of energy and power in their lives.
Learn more at www.robertpeng.com
Dr. Poney Chiang
Dr. Poney Chiang received a PhD in biomedical research from the Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, followed by a Master’s degree in Traditional Oriental Medicine from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in New York. He is an adjunct professor and founder of the Integrative Acupuncture Certificate Program for the Faculty of Health at York University (Toronto). Poney is also a professor at the American Neuro-Acupuncture Institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
He is a leading expert in peripheral neuro-anatomy of acupoints and their associated neuro-modulation needle techniques. Poney has been invited to lecture at various international TCM and biomedical acupuncture symposiums and to conduct workshops in North/South America, Europe, and Australia. His current research interest involves an MRI-based study of the neuro-anatomy of acupoints on the scalp and their relationships to cortical functional regions.
Poney is the primary author revising Fundamentals of Chinese Acupuncture, (Ellis & Wiseman, Paradigm Publication) which is to feature original dissection and illustrations for more than 400 distinct acupoints. Under his supervision, his students have published research in peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of Chinese Medicine and Medical Acupuncture. Former students have become sought-after anatomy instructors and consultants to develop dissection curriculum for Chinese medicine institutions.
Poney was appointed by the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner & Acupuncturist of Ontario as a license examination writer, and as members of the Disciplinary and Complaint committees where he volunteers his service to protect the public and ensure high professional standards for the Chinese medicine profession. He is also called upon to serve as expert witness at professional hearings.
Learn more at https://www.neuro-meridian.net
Dr. Suzanne Robidoux (苏珊/苏璇)
Dr. Suzanne Robidoux (苏珊/苏璇) has now been living in China and Taiwan for the last 17 years studying with various masters with a focus on classics and clinical practice. She started by spending three years in the south of Taiwan to master mandarin while learning with clinical masters. Then she moved to Nanjing and completed her Ph.D. in acupuncture at the Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine in 2007. During her doctorates, she focused her studies and research on treating neurological disorders and psychological disorders as well as Major Depression Disorder at the psychiatric department. One of these masters was Dr. Lu Qian at the Neurological Hospital (direct lineage of doctor Jiao Shu Fa). During her apprenticeship with Dr. Lu, Suzanne learned the most effective ways to treat severe cases of post-stroke coma, paralysis, hemiplegia, multiple sclerosis, Meniere’s diseases and other life-threatening neurological diseases. Over 90% of the patients would receive cranial acupuncture with body acupuncture.
Suzanne came to Beijing in 2007 and worked with several masters all over China to bring their life’s work to the printing press and make the knowledge available to the West. She has translated and edited over 20 professional Chinese medical textbooks related to acupuncture and Chinese medicine, during which she had the chance to work with Dr. Shi Xuemin, specialist in neurological disorders and famous for getting the best results with his needling technique. In the West, he is known to be the treating doctor from Tianjin in the documentary “9000 Needles”.
Suzanne is now a fellow at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine researching the clinical efficacy of the classical approach of the Zhang Zhongjing’s classical texts “Shang Han Lun” and “Jin Gui Yao Lue” in Beijing. She also works at the Suicide Prevention Center in Beijing to contribute to the benefit of society providing acupuncture treatment severe cases of depression and suicidal tendencies. In her free time she continues to research and practice the art of Bagua Zhang and the Zhou yi.
Learn more at https://chinesemedicinetraveller.com
Dr. Toby Daly
Toby received his undergraduate degree in Food Science from the California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo. He began studying Chinese medicine in 1997 with Sunim Doam, a Korean monk trained in the Saam tradition. He earned his master's degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2002 upon completion of training at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco and Chengdu University in China.
During his four years of training in San Francisco, he interned with the prominent acupuncturist Dr. Angela Wu and learned to apply the lofty theories he was studying in school into the pragmatic setting of a busy clinic. In 2013, he developed the Chinese Nutritional Strategies app to provide digital access to the wealth of Chinese dietary wisdom. In 2016, he completed a PhD in Classical Chinese Medicine under the guidance of 88th generation Daoist priest Jeffery Yuen.
His current focus is on sharing his 20 years of clinical experience with the Saam tradition.
Learn more at http://www.flourishmedicine.com
Michael Max
Licensed Acupuncturist
Education:
Evergreen State College, BA Liberal Arts 1985
Seattle Institute of Oriental Medicine, MAOM 1998
Taiwan Shifan University, Mandarin Training Center
Beijing TCM University, 2002-2003, independent study
Certificates and License:
NCCAOM certificates in both acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine
MO State license #54
WA State license #481
Publications:
The 10 Key Formula Families in Chinese Medicine (translation)
Translations in various professional journals.
Host of www.everydayacupuncturepodcast.com, a podcast show dedicated to how you can use the principles and methods of Chinese medicine in your everyday life, and www.qiological.com a podcast series for practitioners of East Asian Medicine.
Learn more at https://qiological.com
Joy Solomon
Joy Solomon has always been a spiritual seeker - majoring in religion and traveling to mystical cities. In 1998, Joy began practicing yoga and meditation. After 10 years of steady yoga and receiving her 200-hour yoga certification, Joy deepens her work in meditation including a daily practice and annual silent retreats in the Vipassana tradition. Joy has been teaching meditation for 6 years at Hastings Yoga and for healthcare staff at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale. Currently, Joy is in a two-year mindfulness meditation certification program with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach.
Joy is also an attorney with over 30 years of experience working with people who have experienced family violence, including nearly a decade at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. She is currently the Director and Managing Attorney of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Center for Elder Justice at the Hebrew one at Riverdale. Joy co-founded the Weinberg Center, the nation’s first shelter for older adults experiencing abuse in the community, in 2005.
Matt Ludmer
The Aligned Center started when Matt Ludmer, a former Director at Morgan Stanley, and founder of Aligned Wealth Management, left Wall Street to bring to fruition an idea of great depth and purpose.
After thirty years at Morgan Stanley, Matt felt that the concepts of wealth and growth had been too distinctly and too narrowly defined. So he left to create a new vision—Aligned Wealth—that would help clients achieve more balanced and fulfilling lifestyles.
His entrepreneurial pursuit did not stop there. As a longtime student of various traditions and growth paths, Matt had always felt that modern life was overly fragmented, and that a more integrated approach to living was deeply needed.
Realizing that this was symptomatic of our tendency as a society to categorically divide experiences like spirituality and finance, business and pleasure, intellect and body, he was inspired to create a new type of space where people could come to align these multiple dimensions of our lives.
He therefore founded The Aligned Center, based on principles drawn from many sources, including the Integral Theory of Ken Wilber, the Tibetan Buddhist insights of Chögyam Trungpa, the Jewish Kabbalah teachings of Reb Zalman and others, and the Financial Life Planning principles of George Kinder.
The Aligned Center serves as a place where people can come to experience and explore four dimensions of wealth – heartfelt community, lifelong learning, mind-body awareness, and financial well-being–all under one roof.
Learn more about how to use The Aligned Center in the way that best suits your personal needs and goals here.
Learn more at https://thealignedcenter.com
Mary-Ann Mastreani
Mary-Ann Mastreani is the owner and founding instructor of Hastings Yoga and has been a student and teacher of yoga for more than two decades. She holds over 1,000 hours of teaching certifications in all types of yoga from Ashtanga, Vinyasa. Alignment based, trauma informed, Kids/Teen, and Restorative. She is also a long-time practitioner of Vipassana Meditation. In addition, she holds a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology and is a Certified Life Coach through Leadership that Works.
Mary-Ann's main reason for teaching is because she knows that yoga and meditation help people suffer less in the world! She knows that time spent on the mat allows both herself and her students to be more fully present in compassionate, kind, loving ways off the mat! Her teaching tends to challenge students physically, mentally and spiritually to be the best version of themselves as often as possible. She loves that yoga has allowed her to embrace her perfectly imperfect self, more and more each day! Mary-Ann is the mom of three children, and lives humbled by, and in gratitude to them, for being her most amazing teachers every day!
Learn more at hastingsyoga.com
Julie Fischer
Julie Fischer is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Autoimmune Paleo Coach, and Certified Coach for the 21-Day Sugar Detox. After being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2011, Julie learned that medication was not enough to improve the fatigue, numbness, and brain fog that she was experiencing. By removing gluten and sugars from her diet, Julie found relief from MS symptoms and migraines, and improvement in her overall health. As a Health Coach, Julie work with motivated individuals to make positive changes to their diet and lifestyle to help them feel their best. Julie’s clients experience improvement in their autoimmune disease symptoms, migraines, inflammation, and digestive issues. Julie is passionate about the healing power of food, and her mission is to bring a sense of hope to others who are looking to regain control of their own health.
Learn more at healthyonhudson.com