|
|
Board of Directors 
 |
 is the Founder of YYD. Cator began the practices of yoga, Buddhist meditation, and energy healing in 1991, as the result of chronic illness. Through the regular practice of these disciplines, she began to recover her strength and vitality. In 1995, after 3 years residence in spiritual communities, Cator moved to the San Francisco bay area. Cator’s deep desire to play more and think less has drawn her to work with both children and the dying. She has been a hospice volunteer for 5 years, and worked with youth in a variety of environments—including as a camp counselor, art teacher, and child care provider--since 1995. Currently Cator teaches yoga and meditation classes to adults and youth, and has a private practice of Craniosacral bodywork in SF. Cator is trained in the Iyengar method of yoga, and a practitioner of Visionary Craniosacral Bodywork. She participated in the Mindfulness based Stress Reduction Clinic as an intern at the Worcester Medical Center in Massachussetts in 1995, and is a member of the Teen Council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. |
 |
Mila Gelman is
a realtor with Hearth Real Estate in San Francisco. She lives in
the inner sunset district with her husband and their 8 year old son.
Mila has studied spiritual movement disciplines and bodywork for
nearly 2 decades —including Shintaido, Tai Chi, Amma(traditional
Japanese massage), Orthopedic massage, meditation, and yoga. She
has been a student of Iyengar yoga for the past 15 years. Through
her personal experience Mila is aware of the nurturing quality of
these body centered practices, and the potential for self transformation
they offer. She is happy to be a part of Youth Yoga Dharma, and to
provide youth the opportunity to experience the powerful benefits
of yoga and meditation. |
![]() |
Connie Micale,
LCSW is dedicated to deepening a profound connection with oneself and all our relations in both her personal and professional life. Her curiosity has drawn her to journey to high mountain peaks and immerse herself in a wide variety of cultural and spiritual practices. She has traveled to Bhutan, India and Kilimanjaro on spiritual journeys. Locally Connie participates in a range of spiritual practices, including sweat lodge, vision quests, shamanic journeying, and vipassana meditation at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Connie's passions include spending time in nature and exploring indigenous cultures as well as embodied presence through the vehicles of psychology, meditation, and spiritual practice. Connie integrates a transdisciplinary approach to healing in her psychotherapy practice. She views her therapy practice as inviting individuals to courageously awaken to their own essence. Connie is deeply committed to serving youth and has had the opportunity to work in a broad range of settings - including private practice, community mental health, child welfare, probation/ prisons, youth runaway shelters, adolescent group homes, school classrooms, and home-based services. In addition Connie is a graduate of YYD’s Youth Meditation Teacher Training Program. Connie is happy to serve clients of all ages - children, adolescents, adults, and families. Currently, Connie is a clinical supervisor and clinician at Seneca Youth Center and the Children's Nurturing Project, in addition to direct practice work for a diverse group of clientele within the Bay Area. Connie lives in Fairfax, CA. |
|
|
Youth Yoga Dharma Advisors
|
Brad Byrum has twenty years
of experience successfully leading non-profit organizations
engaged in providing direct services in the mental health, substance
abuse, and hospice fields. He most recently served as executive
director of Zen Hospice Project and currently serves as board
president for the Pacifica Center for Solitude.
Judith Hanson Lasater,
Ph.D, Physical Therapist and internationally-known yoga teacher,
has taught yoga since 1971. She is a founder of the Iyengar
Yoga Institute in San Francisco as well as Yoga Journal magazine.
Ms. Lasater frequently trains teachers in virtually every
state and is often an invited guest at international yoga
conventions. She is president of the California Yoga Teachers'
Association as well as the author of numerous articles on
yoga and health for nationally recognized magazines. She
is the author of Yoga for Pregnancy: what every mother-to-be
needs to know (2004), 30 Essential Yoga Poses: for beginning
students and their teachers (2003), Relax and Renew: restful
yoga for stressful times and Living Your Yoga: finding the
spiritual in everyday life.
Ven. Pasanno Bhikkhu took
ordination in Thailand in 1974. During his first year as
a monk he was taken by his teacher to meet Ajahn Chah, with
whom he asked to be allowed to stay and train. One of the
early residents of Wat Pah Nanachat, the International Forest
Monastery of Ajahn Chah’s, Ven. Pasanno became
its abbot in his ninth year. During his incumbency Wat Pah
Nanachat developed considerably, both in physical size and
in reputation, and Ajahn Pasanno has become a very well-known
and highly respected monk and Dhamma teacher in Thailand.
Ajahn Pasanno moved to California on New Year's Eve of 1997
to share the abbotship of Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery.
If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will know total freedom.
-Ajahn Chah, Buddhist meditation master
Back to top
(415) 235.9380 • Youth Yoga Dharma, PO BOX 3452, Daly City, CA 94015
|
|
|
|
