Scott
McBride, together with his wife Nancy, is the Co-Director of the Clear
Light Meditation Group. He has practiced Buddhist meditation for over
30 years and taught group seminars in Buddhist meditation and study since
1978. Scott has completed the traditional Tibetan three-year
meditation retreat and has been authorized to teach by the late
Chogyam
Trungpa and Thrangu
Rinpoche. A founding member and former Director of the
Philadelphia Shambhala Center, he also served for five years as a Director
of the Shambhala Center of Halifax, Nova Scotia, one of the largest
urban meditation centers in North America. Scott was ordained as a
Buddhist minister in 1988. He has extensive knowledge of western
psychology and has been teaching mindfulness-based stress management for 10
years, currently through the Hospital of the University of
Pennsylvania. He has a private practice in Spiritual Counseling and
Healing oriented to support those on the path of meditation.
Ruthy Kaiser has been practicing yoga for 19 years and meditation for
12. Ruthy studied meditation with Scott and Nancy McBride of
ClearLight and participated in retreats with them as well as Tsoknyi
Rinpoche, T.K.V. Desikachar, Tara Brach, and Joan White among others.
Ruthy describes her yoga as an integrative blend of classical with modern,
incorporating principles of alignment with flow qualities of vinyasa
yoga. She also incorporates the meditative aspects directly into the physical
practice of yoga. Her classes are
suitable for both the beginner as well as the more advanced practitioner as
she takes great joy in the instruction itself. Ruthy
is also a Registered Nurse and practicing psychotherapist with her Masters
In Family Therapy.
Linda Welti Piotrowski, a graduate
of the University of Pennsylvania, has extensive experience in the field of
Somatic Education. A Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner, Linda has studied pathology, anatomy and theology
and her initial interest in movement therapy was piqued by understanding
movement from her performance days as a dancer. Since the mind
controls movement, the secret of good health is mobility. Many leading
practitioners in complementary medicine believe people have the power to
heal from within and it’s this mindset in which Linda offers successful
therapeutic options for her clients. Linda says, “I, like many other
women, have done many things in my life. As I reengineer myself, I
have set out on a spiritual journey. In that journey, it’s more
about being of service and of benefit to others. My desire is to
transfer the knowledge I’ve acquired in assisting others in the
self-healing process.”
Tina
Pritchard has practiced yoga for
twelve years. Intrigued by it's transformative powers, she began her
studies and received her 200 hour teacher's certification from Yoga Life
Institute in 2001. In 2004 Tina spent a month in India as part of her
500 hour training with the Himalayan Institute. She has studied in
Bali as well as attended many workshops in the US. To pursue her path
of teaching yoga as a tool for self-healing she received her 500 hour
certification in Integrative Yoga Therapy with Joseph and
Lillian Le Page in 2009, and recently completed trainings in Functional Yoga
and LifeForce Yoga. Tina is a member of Yoga Alliance, the Himalayan
Institute Teachers Association and the International Association of Yoga
Therapists. She is also a Reiki Master.
Wendy Weingarten, MSW, LSW, provides coaching and teaches classes
using mindfulness for enhancing parenting skills, reducing stress and
managing anger. Wendy has taught at the Penn Program for Mindfulness,
the Jefferson Stress Reduction Program and at other educational and communal
organizations. Wendy has studied with Jon Kabat-Zinn at the Omega
Institute.