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.