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Peter Doobinin is the guiding teacher of the Downtown Meditation Community. Peter has been practicing insight meditation since 1990 and teaching it since 1998. Peter is a co-founder of New York Insight Meditation Center. He is a member of the New York Insight Board of Directors. He is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leaders program. Peter teaches insight meditation at New York Insight, the New York Open Center, in New York City public schools, and other venues. As a dhamma teacher, Peter is interested in helping people follow the Buddha’s teachings within the context of their contemporary urban lives. In forming Downtown Meditation Community, his vision is to provide a refuge for dhamma students, a place where people can practice together and support each other in their efforts to end suffering and find true happiness. Peter is a writer and lives in New York City. Loch Kelly studied Buddhist meditation in Sri Lanka from 1981-1982. He then traveled to Nepal to study Dzogchen with Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. Loch has been teaching insight meditation for 15 years. He is a psychotherapist in New York City. Dr. Paul Epstein is a naturopathic physician, meditation teacher and yoga teacher. He specializes in integrative mind-body medicine and the application of mindfulness and Buddhist perspectives. He emphasizes exploring stresses, attitudes, beliefs and emotions and their role in the healing process and the treatment of disease. Paul has completed the Community Dharma Leaders program. He was the co-founder and co-director of The Israel Center for Mind-Body Medicine. He is presently in private practice in Westport, CT. He has been studying meditation and its integration in health care for over twenty years. Susan Kuralt Smith has been practicing Insight meditation since 1990, and has taught Insight meditation at Pratt Institute, Tibet House, Downtown New York Meditation Community, and the Wellness Center at Riverside Church. Kate Solmssen Stephan is a certified Kripalu Yoga instructor, a certified Integral Yoga pre-natal teacher and a certified OM Yoga teacher. She is also an ACE certified personal trainer. Ms. Stephan danced professionally as a soloist for over ten years in ballet companies including The Cincinnati Ballet, The Israel Ballet in Tel-Aviv and the Florida Ballet. She also performed on Broadway and in the Los Angeles cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s "The Phantom of the Opera" in the principal role of "Meg" and in the ballet chorus. In May, 2000, Ms. Stephan completed a Bachelor’s Degree program in Comparative Religion and Education and graduated with honors from Brown University. In 2007, Ms. Stephan earned a Masters’ Degree in Dance Education at New York University. Ms. Stephan was the Manager of the New York City Ballet Workout, a ballet-based fitness class, for three years. Currently, Ms. Stephan is working in New York City as an elementary school dance teacher at The Spence School, teaching kindergarten and first grade. In addition, she teaches yoga at The Prenatal Yoga Center, The New York Kripalu Center, co-offers annual yoga/meditation retreats and teaches ballet at The School at Steps. Her most thrilling accomplishment to date is the birth of her son, Alexander, in September, 2007. Paul Weinfield has been practicing Buddhist meditation since 1995. He's been practicing insight meditation since 2004. Paul is a musician, writer, and professor of Religion and Philosophy. He received his doctorate from Columbia University and has taught academic courses on mysticism and philosophy there and at Hunter College since 2002. |
