Program

Fostering Care will have 3 three-month semesters annually. Our student body will be 20 youth, ages 18-21, qualifying for AB 12 in Los Angeles County.

Introduction Video From Founder & Healing Practitioners of Fostering Care ~

Healing Modalities & Teachers

Breathwork & Teaching Certificate ~ David Elliott, Licensed DE Breathwork Practitioner

Culinary Therapy ~ Mercedes Tiggs, LCSW,

Admiration Therapy Training ~ Dr. Stuart Sovatzky

Meditation and Yoga ~ Luciana ‘Agochar' Furbino

Acupuncture Russell Brown, POKE

Acupuncture ~Jeannie Kang, LAc, DNBAO, DNBIM, MSTOM

Maori Energy Healing Shari Geitzenhauer,

Yoga ~ Jeanne Heileman

Gatka (Martial Art) ~ Siri Kartar

Qi Gong ~ Zappo Diddio Whiterabbit Dickinson

Family Wellness Doctor and Nutrition Expert ~ Dr. Pamela Davis / Siri Shakti, 

Council (Group listening and speaking sessions) ~ Irasha Talifero,

Kundalini Yoga Jorge ‘Siri Akal Singh’ Acosta,

Naturopathic Family Medicine ~ Dr. Michelle Gerber,

Wisdom Works & Parenting The Soul of the Child ~ Rabbi Mordecai Finley PH.D.,

Relationship Expert/ Authentic Connection Coach ~ Coach Lee Wilson

Weekend Lunch and Farm Fresh Food Delivery Kristina Demirchyan, Friends of Farmers LA,

Nutritional Therapy Practitioner  ~ Frumie Rosenfeld Duchman NTP

Cognitive Reframing ~ To Be Announced

Hypnotherapy ~ To Be Announced

EMDR ~ To Be Announced

Network ~ To Be Announced Via Donny Epstein

Meet the Healers

  • Breathwork Master, Author of The Reluctant Healer and Healer

    The time for healing old patterns and stuck energy is now. Self-love is waiting to be discovered and awakened within. It's the key to healing." - David Elliott

    There are many blocks on the healing path.  Each block has its own story; hearing into them is David Elliott’s gift.

    Author, teacher and healer David Elliott has spent over two decades helping and inspiring clients from around the world to heal their deepest fears, blocks and negative beliefs. Though no client is the same, the formula he uses never varies.

    "My primary work as a healer is to remind and reconnect people to the power of love. Self-love is the starting point for anyone seeing healing in their life."

    David combines his intuitive gift of clairaudient hearing to help expedite the healing process for all who work with him, gently guiding and revealing deeply buried histories or beliefs with gentle compassion and grace.  His process is effective in all areas of his work, from private sessions working one-on-one with clients to the group work he leads during healing retreats around the world.

    In 2001, David established the Healer Training Level 1 class and over the past decade has expanded and developed the course to include 4 different levels of training. The Healer Training series serves as a major catalyst for personal growth and expansion, even for those who wouldn't consider themselves a 'healer'.  

    David Elliott Breathwork Teaching Certificate Program

    Develop your intuition.  Deepen your healing.  Discover your heart.

    Four levels of training designed to empower the healer and leader within and take the healing experience of Pranayama Breath Work out into the world.  The Healer Training Series was created by David to help nurture healers as artists and leaders. As the classes developed and grew, David quickly realized the Healer Training Series was for anyone wanting to incorporate the message of healing in their life.  Attended by both body workers, business professionals and creative visionaries, the Healer Training Classes are an opportunity to accelerate change in your life and the lives of others.

    Level 1 – The basics.

    Learn to hold space for others as you guide them in the 2-stage Pranayama Breath meditation. Exercises and partnered breakout sessions within the class are used to develop your connection to intuition, boost confidence around your gifts and talents as a healer and open the heart to the power of self-love. Healer Training Level 1 includes hands on training and guidance with all of David’s healing tools and extensive discussion about the work, the breath and what it is to be a 'healer'.

    Level 2 – Self-Love, Exchange, Value & Worth.

    A continuation of the work started in Healer Training Level 1. Level 2 further refines your technique as a healing artist and moves you further up the road as a human being. Extensive discussion and guidance is given by David around the topics of Self-Love, exchange, value, worth and money. This class has wide application and gets to the root of where you are stuck in life. The intention along with the material gently poke around in areas where you hold volatility and feel under-appreciated. It can have it's gritty moments, but overall the class is inspirational and fun. If you are ready to learn how these topics are all interrelated, you are ready to be set free.

    Level 3 – Working with Groups

    The work completed in Level 1 and 2 expands outward to groups. The goal of this class is to train students on how to host and hold space for a Pranayama Breath Work circle, and the content and curriculum extends to ALL groups encountered in life: from the family room to the board room and beyond. Focused discussions and partnered work are used to explore how to create topics for healing groups, what to do to prepare, how to show up, and ultimately, how to work with the energy of any group. Level 1 & 2 are prerequisites for this class.

    Level 4 – High Level Awareness

    This class completes the Healer Training series and is the final step in receiving certification from David as a trained Breath Work practitioner (You may still take the class even if you haven't completed all the levels). The flow of the class is structured around answering deeper questions about the healing work and situations that may arise while sharing the breath with clients and groups. Many examples are given about how to stay clear and how to work at even higher levels of awareness. David

    goes in depth about all of his approaches to the work (how he sets up and uses an altar, deeper application of the tools, and specific ways to develop your intuition).

  • Kundalini, Sat Nam Rasayan Healer, Board Member

    Agochar Kaur (Luciana Furbino) is a Kundalini Yoga and Meditation teacher, Sat Nam Rasayan healer, and Family Constellation facilitator. She is also trained in Sound Healing with Gong Master Don Conreaux, Theta Healing, Reiki, Yoga for the Special Child and Radiant Child Yoga. She began working as a healer and teacher in New York in 2009.

    Agochar’s relationship to the healing arts comes from both her paternal and maternal lineages. She learnt the healing art of Sat Nam Rasayan with her teacher Gurudev Singh and is currently learning plant spirit healing.

    In addition to being a teacher and a healer, she holds a Juris Doctor degree and had an extensive practice in the field of Real Estate Law before becoming a yogini. Her healing sessions and teaching style are subtle and deep, a truly transformative experience.

  • POKE Acupuncture

    After graduating from University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor's degree in journalism, Russell came home to Los Angeles and enjoyed a career in feature film development, working on some fun movies—including The Fast and the Furious films and Cruel Intentions—and some terrible ones for which he secretly fears he may someday be karmically punished.

At breakfast one morning in 2002, he eavesdropped on a conversation at the table next to him where a woman was talking about going to acupuncture school, and -on a whim- quit his job and enrolled at Emperor’s College the next day. After graduating with a Master's of Science in Traditional Chinese Medicine and passing the California State Board exam, he opened Poke Acupuncture in Los Angeles, CA in 2009. He has also operated pro-bono acupuncture clinics for the HIV/AIDS community at the Immune Enhancement Project in San Francisco and Being Alive in L.A., and was the in-house acupuncturist for the Alexandria House, a transitional home for women also in L.A.

Russell is so proud that the very nature of what we do- “pinning someone down” without distraction- is in defiance of the neon buzz of the modern world, whose virtues of speed, volume and productivity have given us much, but too-often rob us of the experience of living deliberately and fully. What a rare privilege it is to serve as a reminder that more can be felt than seen, and to spend my days sitting together with a stranger in the dark, waiting for something to happen. 

    https://www.pokeacupuncture.com

  • Council Leader

    What is Council? ​​Council is an age-old practice that involves bringing people together in a circle to bear witness and share authentically. Participants agree to speak one-at-a-time, sharing their personal stories and experiences, rather than opinions, and listening non-judgmentally while others do the same. Sharing and listening to universal stories about love, loss, fear, triumph, challenge, hope and other experiences enables participants to recognize that, despite our many differences, we have much in common.

    ​By fostering attentive listening and authentic expression, Council builds positive relationships between participants and neutralizes hierarchical dynamics formed by the inequality of status, race, or other social factors. It supports a deep sense of community and fosters recognition of a shared humanity and interconnectedness. It enables individuals to give voice to their stories, develop mutual respect, cultivate a compassionate response to anger, defensiveness, and violence, as well as strengthen emotional health and resilience.

    EDUCATION

    AA- New Mexico State University- Studies in Criminology, Forensics and Sociology

    Moorpark Community College- Humanities

    Associate of Arts Degree 1984- Ventura Community College- Journalism and Agriculture

    Fashion Design Graduated 1986- Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising

    APPOINTMENTS

    TMC (Trainers Mentor Circle) – Center for Council, Ojai Foundation, Circle Ways –2018 to present

    Elder Council- Ojai Foundation – 1998-2019

    Sweat Lodge Council- Ojai Foundation- 1998-2019

    Elder- Celebrate Life Organization- 2010 to present

    CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

    2019. Talifero, Irasha. Council One Training. California City State Prison. California City, California.

    2017-2019. Talifero, Irasha. Council One Training. Valley State Prison. Chowchilla, California.

    2017. Talifero, Irasha. Council One Training. Wasco State Prison. Wasco, California.

    2017. Talifero, Irasha, Council One Training. California Correctional Institution. Tehachapi, California

    TEACHING EXPERIENCE

    Facilitator of Youth Groups & Adults/ Ojai Foundation

    Council Facilitator

    Rites of Passage (High School students)

    Team Building

    Nature Hikes

    Outdoor Education; Ocean and Land.

    Story Telling

    Naturalist at large- Celebrate Life

    Spirit Guide

    Council Facilitator

    Rites of Passage

    Team Building

    Interpretive Hikes

    Teaching primitive living skills

    Outdoor Education; Ocean and Land.

    Council Trainer- Center for Council

    Council Facilitator

    Council One- 16-hour course training

    Group Building

    Teacher & Counselor- Atrium School, Ojai CA

    Counseling students and families

    Chaperone and teacher for out of country tours

    Creative Writing

    Fashion Design

    African Dance

    Herbology

    Music

    Substitute Teacher- Oak Grove School/ Rock Tree Sky School

  • LAC. Acupuncture, Board Member

    Dr. Jeannie Kang, California state licensed Acupuncturist and Herbalist, Nationally board certified by NCCAOM. Dr Jeannie Kang currently serves as the President of the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in the United States.

  • Family Physician focused on holistic healing and Kundalini Yoga Teacher in Beverly Hills, California

    I am Siri Shakti Kaur AKA Pamela Davis, M.D. of Siri Shakti Wellness, a holistic physician and yoga teacher living in Los Angeles. My interest in yoga and holistic healing is rooted in a healing quest that started in my childhood when Western medicine both helped and hurt me and I found traditional Chinese medicine, American herbalism and kundalini yoga to fill in the gaps. My current focus is on my holistic healing practice where Western medical practice, IV vitamin therapy, bioidentical hormones, kundalini yoga and other alternative treatment modalities are used in harmony to provide practical solutions to problems with mental, physical and spiritual health.

  • Ramona Marie Soriano utilizes Meditation and Sound as tools to expand consciousness for the beginning and advanced meditator alike. Before becoming a Meditation Teacher, Ramona owned an agency in NYC and lived a completely different life. Her ability to truly understand the many challenges associated with western ways instills an authentic understanding for the modern-day yogi and spiritual seeker.

    She first found Kundalini Yoga in 2003, and completed the 200-hour teacher training in 2016 with Gurmukh. She trained under Gong Master Richard Rudis and is also a certified Holographic Sound Healer 1 and 2 studying under Dr. Paul Hubbert.

    Ramona's purpose in this life is to guide others to align with their greatest truth.

  • Authentic Connection and Dating

    Courses and Sessions for the Fostering Care Healing School Library - Healthy Development of Relationships: Includes 8 guidance

    videos and self-assessment documents. (How healthy relationships develop, boundaries, intimate love, companionate love, healthy relationships with children, when a relationship becomes toxic, forgiveness, the difference between infatuation and love, developing a support group, and more)

    12 Week Coaching Package: Includes 6 group coaching sessions to answer questions on the library and personal assessments to help individuals understand themselves and how they interact in relationships in addition to understanding a potential partner. They will learn how to communicate effectively and constructively with different temperaments, how to recognize abuse, how to respond to and heal from a breakup, boundaries between family and relationships with other people, etc.

    Lee Wilson is a relationship expert as well as a best-selling author who has been seen by multi-millions on YouTube. He has lectured at Pepperdine University, been interviewed by The New York Times, USA Today, Cosmopolitan Magazine, The Today Show, Men's Health, The New York Post, and many others.

    As a relationship coach, Lee has two decades of experience and certifications in helping individuals and couples reunite after a breakup or separation. He also provides videos and articles on how to manage and even overcome the often paralyzing impact of anxiety on his website, My Anxiety Peace.

    Lee is a sought-after consultant to individuals, businesses, television shows, and major networks. Lee is the developer of the "Emergency Breakup Kit" and the "Emergency Marriage Kit" along with other videos and resources to help people reunite with an ex or straying partner. His goal is to help people reunite or to move on with dignity and hope.

  • LSCW & CEO Eight16; Culinary Therapy

    Eight16 is a Culinary Therapy Program that provides individual and group therapy sessions while cooking a therapeutic meal in the kitchen. Eight16, is the birthday of my grandmother Sarah. My love and passion for cooking were birthed in her kitchen. I have been cooking with her family recipes ever since I could remember, and I often recall her words: "You have to get your hands dirty, taste as you go, and really put your heart and soul into the bowl." As I continued to cook, I realized the therapeutic power of food: It is not only good for the stomach, food is good for the soul. Thus, Eight16 was born. Eight16 provides meals that HEAL.

    Culinary therapy is a therapeutic technique that uses culinary arts, cooking, gastronomy, and an individual, personal, cultural, and familial relationship with food to address the emotional and psychological problems faced by individuals, families, and groups. Participants will participate in a cooking class that incorporates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; the evidenced-based intervention that is the framework for Culinary Therapy for:

    Communication/ Team Building 

    Self Esteem/ Confidence

    Stress and Anxiety relief/management

    Diversity/Intersectionality

    Mercedes believes that every individual has the ability to overcome any obstacle placed before them. As a former foster youth herself, Mercedes has firsthand knowledge of how to triumph against adversity. Originally from South Central Los Angeles, she moved to San Diego 13 years ago to attend San Diego State University. Mercedes earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Sociology in 2010. During her time at SDSU, she was a proud and active EOP Participant, Student Ambassador, and Alex Smith Guardian Scholar. She then went on to attain a Masters of Social Work degree with an emphasis in Community Organizing, Planning, and Administration from the University of Southern California in 2012. While at USC, Mercedes was also involved in Student Organizations and founded the Student Association of Black Social Workers. Go Aztecs and Trojans!

    Mercedes is currently a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, CalWORKs and EOPS Counselor at Palomar City College and San Diego City College. As a counselor, her role is to encourage students while providing high-quality support services that enable students to complete their educational goals, find meaningful employment, and successfully transition into the workforce. Mercedes’ personal advising philosophy includes; intentional conversations, student/counselor partnership, and commitment to helping students navigate successfully through their academic careers while exploring their educational and career options. Mercedes firmly believes that the academic advising relationship should be a true partnership between counselors and the student to accomplish comprehensive student success. She believes it is much more than selecting the correct courses to graduate but partnering with students throughout their time at San Diego City College to promote holistic thriving.

    Previously Mercedes spent 5 ½ years in Non-Profit as an Independent Living Skills Case Manager, teaching life skills to current and former foster youth, and as Clinician, providing therapy to Seriously Emotionally Disturbed (SED) homeless and runaway children and youth, and victims and survivors of Human Trafficking. Her passion and commitment for community service and social justice spreads beyond her career and personal life. Furthermore, as a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., San Diego Alumnae Chapter, Mercedes continues to impact others while serving those most in need.

    (Full CV available upon request.)

  • Shari is Native American from the east coast of the United States. As far back as she can recall she has been able to connect with her spirit guides and beings from other realms. Her longing for answers of the unseen world and her suffering from deep-seated fear put her on a healing path.

    Shari's journey took her where she was led to meet powerful healers and spiritual teachers. The biggest impact on her life was when she finally met her long-awaited teacher Papa Joe, the well-respected Tahunga Elder from New Zealand. Papa Joe recognized Shari's gift and for the next seven years his presence was a pivotal moment in her life. Papa Joe identified Shari's gift as a Spiritual Midwife, a link between the physical world and spiritual world. She cultivated her ability to access the blueprint and information on the individual’s complete story before the healing takes place. Shari learned how this ability brings to the surface the underlying core issue that needs to be addressed.

    Shari remained one of Papa Joe’s chosen students until his passing. She then committed to continuing her healing practice and was truly humbled by the teachings he passed on to her. To this day, Shari's compassion and true understanding of the healing process creates a sanctuary for the person to release pain and suffering from the mind, body, and spirit. This facilitates the person to "return" to a pure state of being and for the spirit to come alive and be at peace.

    Interview with Shari on the podcast "Awakenings with Michele Meiche"

    Services:

    Shari provides energetic healing in the tradition of the Maori healer Papa Joe, with whom she apprenticed for many years. Her work involves connecting with the higher realms and guides to access healing on a cellular level.

    Shari uses many channels of energy to navigate the healing process. No two sessions are alike. Depending on the person and where they are at in their lives, the healing story begins. The intention behind every healing is to help the person reach a higher place within themselves. This is done by releasing "negative energy" stored in the body, mind, and spirit.

    The process can be deep and profound. Sometimes years of emotional and mental pain can be let go of in a single session and results can be noticed almost immediately.

    Sessions are available in:

    Private individual healing

    Group healing

    House clearing

    Business space clearing

    Pet healing

    Remote healing

  • Qi Gong and Cognitive Reframing - I have devoted the last thirty years to working and volunteering in youth enrichment, development, arts and recreational settings as a class room teacher, after school director, summer camp counselor and director, sports coach, children's hospital clown, art teacher and mentor to hundreds of children and child care professionals. My gifts in working with young people center around helping them to understand and heal the traumas they’ve experienced in their young lives as well as the generational traumas they’ve inherited.

    Spending my childhood summers at Camp Winnarainbow, I learned the joys and benefits of living and learning in a diverse artistic community. There I developed a passionate commitment to pay it forward by sharing the life changing experience of creative kindness with as many children as I could possibly reach. I have served for 30 years on the adult staff at Camp Winnarainbow, many of those as Assistant Creative Director, apprenticing under Wavy Gravy, who has been my greatest mentor in youth work. Wavy has taught me the healing miracles that arts, humor and loving kindness can bring into the lives of our youth.

    From 2004-2012 I volunteered as a hospital clown with Dr. Patch Adams and Gesundheit Institute. We traveled throughout Central and South America visiting children in hospitals, orphanages and juvenile detention centers. Working and playing with children surviving through the most unimaginable life circumstances gave me the opportunity to cultivate a combination of compassion and care that has profoundly deepened my mastery in working with young people.

    During those same years I served as Director of the after school program at Coronado Elementary School in Richmond, CA. Under my leadership the program grew from a chaotic and unsafe environment to a thriving community full of artistic expression and mutual respect. The foundation of our program was a commitment to kindness and love and every student knew those words well. Because time spent in nature has such healing benefits to heart and mind, I formed ‘The Breakfast Club’, a weekend program bringing our students out on day trips into nature. In the summers I helped hundreds of students receive scholarships to attend Camp Winnarainbow, many of whom have gone on to serve on the teen and adult staff at our camp.

    Though the years I have worked in countless Bay Area schools and youth programs, working directly with children in need of support regulating big feelings and emotions which often translate into disruptive behavior. I also work with families learning how to understand and guide their children challenged by life shattering anger and grief that is almost always related to trauma and generational wounds.

    After being diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2011, I began to study Wild Goose Qigong at Wen Wu School in El Cerrito, Ca. When I began this practice I could hardly walk one city block and extreme physical and emotional pain governed my life. As time passed, and my practice strengthened, I began to recognize how truly powerful and effective qigong is as a path to healing not only physical illness but also mental and emotional pain and trauma. I now have over 12 years of consistent practice and learning, my health is nearing complete recovery and I am in training to become a certified teacher of Wild Goose Qigong.

    I am a writer of poetry and songs and stories, a visual artist, a film maker, and a gardener. I am a comedian, singer and story teller, offering my muse through the format of solo performances consisting of heartfelt, and comedic stories about my own childhood in a hippie commune. In my teaching and guidance with all people, I constantly employ the tools of my artistic mind, sense of humor and kindheartedness.

    It is my goal in life to work together with like minded people in an effort to provide youth and young adults with opportunities for true healing and lasting wellness through qigong, mindfulness practices and artistic life enrichment. To provide young people experiences that stimulate self love, forgiveness, kindness and compassion towards all people and the planet. My goal is to nurture strong leaders for a peaceful and sustainable culture.

  • Kundalini Yoga Teacher and Sat Nam Rasayan Healer

    Siri Akal Singh began his spiritual journey at the age of 15 years old, when he traveled to India in 2006, to study for 3 Years at Miri Piri Academy in Amritsar, India. It is in India where he meets his spiritual Master Guru Dev Singh Khalsa Master of the Sat Nam Rasayan Healing Technique (SNR) THE ANCIENT ART OF HEALING — implementing a specific space of the mind called Shunniya. Siri Akal is a certified healer & sound therapist the art of playing the Gong, with 16 years of experience practicing and teaching Kundalini Yoga & Meditation. He currently travels all around the world teaching classes, workshops, retreats, gong baths, and SNR healings with all those who wish to go deeper into their own spiritual growth.

  • Gatka Martial Artist and Teacher

    Siri Kartar Kaur Khalsa started her yoga journey in 1978, in Rome, Italy, and since

    then she has been sharing the sacred art of Kundalini Yoga with many, in Europe, the United States, and eastern Asia. She expresses deep devotion through her chanting; a practice called Naad Yoga (the Yoga of Sound). It takes its name from the root of the vibrational sound that holds the Universes, helping us to fully open our hearts and souls. Her latest recordings are distributed on all platforms.

    Siri Kartar is also one of the few individuals that teaches Gatka, a martial art from India, known as the Dance of the Sword. Since 1987 she has been introducing this art to children and adults alike. Within this martial art, SiriKartar is one of the only two masters designated to perform the Sacred Healing of the Sword, a therapeutic mystical ceremony that helps to lift the blockages residing in the subconscious mind.

    Siri Kartar is an accomplished fine artist, book illustrator, and art historian. She works by commission, and teaches private and group art sessions.

    Kundalini Yoga is a complete and integrated science that works directly on the total energy of the Being. It is the “Yoga of Awareness”. It gives a clear mind and a healthy life through self-discovery of your total creative potential (Kundalini).


    Benefits of Kundalini Yoga:

    Strengthens the nervous and immune systems

    Improves circulation

    Adjusts metabolism

    Purifies the blood

    Helps to deal with a stressful life

    Relaxes the mind and body

    Helps to overcome addictive behavior

    Increases energy and vitality

    Balances the glandular system

    Gatka is a martial art from Northwest India. It is a science of self-defense, intended to harmonize body, mind and spirit, in strength and grace.

    Gatka relates to the female aspect within us; its dance-like flowing movements are accompanied by upbeat devotional music. Balance, rhythm, breathing and meditation are trained and coordination is enhanced. Right-handers are trained with their left-hand and vice versa, calibrating and balancing both hemispheres of the brain.

  • Medical Background and Experience

    I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Biology from Northern Illinois University before attending naturopathic medical school at Bastyr University near Seattle, Washington, where I also received my training and certification in midwifery. As a student I trained extensively in midwifery and pediatrics with Seattle Natural Family Medicine (now One Sky Family Medicine). After medical school I traveled to Vanuatu in the South Pacific and delivered babies at a developing hospital before completing a rigorous family practice residency at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon. Since 2008, I have had a private practice in naturopathic medicine and practiced midwifery with Davi Khalsa (at TLC Midwifery) in Los Angeles.

    Education

    BS (summa cum laude) Biology (Chemistry minor), Northern Illinois University

    ND (with additional certification in midwifery), Bastyr University

    Current Licenses and Certifications

    California Licensed Naturopahic Doctor (ND)

    California Licensed Professional Midwife (CPM)

    Board Certified Naturopathic Pediatrician (FABNP)

     

    Association Memberships

    American Association of Naturopathic Physicians

    California Naturopathic Doctors Association

    California Association of Midwives

    Midwives Association of North America

    Pediatric Association of Naturopathic Physicians

    How I Approach My Practice 

    I consider myself a true primary care doctor (although in California such practice has limits--for now), with pediatrics and women's health as specialties. I am especially successful at helping my patients achieve lasting lifestyle changes by working with them to develop their optimum health goals and actually reach them.

      

    I follow naturopathic principals in my practice. I strive to cultivate a close therapeutic relationship with patients so that I can simultaneously meet people where they are and hold the space and the vision of their optimal self to help them stay focused on their healing journey.  I prefer to utilize botanicals, nutrition, and active preventive medicine as first-line treatments, but call on a wide variety of naturopathic treatments to best address the whole person.

    One of the key ways in which my approach stands apart from that of other doctors is in the amount of time I devote up to front to developing individualized treatment plans for my patients. Many doctors, including NDs, will often prescribe "by the book" or "one size fits all" treatments and remedies in the name of offering their patients an immediate solution. Sometimes that is in fact the best approach, especially for acute conditions like colds and the flu. But while a cold and its treatment are pretty much the same for everyone, many other conditions require a more individualized plan that can only be developed through a careful analysis of a patient's medical history, current circumstances, etc. I know that what brought you to see me did not in many cases arise overnight, is unique to you and your body, and deserves better than a cookie-cutter approach. 

  • Jeanne Heileman, MA, 500-ERYT, ParaYoga Level II Certified for 8 years, was introduced to yoga as a dancer and actress. Facing ongoing pain from scoliosis, yoga allows her tools for physical realignment and acceptance of difficulties.  In her quest for a deep and meaningful connection to all that yoga has to offer, she studied extensively in Ashtanga, Iyengar, Anusara, Yoga Therapeutics, ParaYoga, Vini and Tantra Yoga; each adding a deeper element of meaning to her practice and teachings. 

     Jeanne specializes in discovering the needs of an individual and gently guiding each student to their own grace and balance. She creates a safe haven for students to dive deep, find their edge, and transform. Using her classical theatre training, Jeanne teaches with sensitivity, generosity of spirit, and a good dose of humor. She brings together over 38 years of practice and over 27 years of teaching experience into a style of yoga inclusive of asana, Ayurveda, mindfulness, with the added focus of the subtle body.  Jeanne began teaching 200 and 300-Hour teacher trainings for YogaWorks in 2006 and then founded Tantra Flow Yoga™, where she has been offering her own 200 and 300-Hour and 50-Hour modules, plus CEP courses, from the TFY school since 2014. 

    Jeanne travels internationally teaching her trainings, workshops and retreats, and is a guest teacher for many other yoga schools. Based in Los Angeles, she is a featured teacher on the International Yoga site, offers a multitude of classes and course on her own site, and teaches at Center for Yoga when she is not traveling. 

  • Wisdom Works

    Rabbi Mordecai Finley, Ph.D. RabbiFinley@OhrHaTorah.org C.V. - rev. Dec 2015 Personal Background Born in December, 1954, and raised southern California, grew up with Conservative Jewish affiliation at the Compton Jewish Community Center and Temple Beth Shalom, Long Beach, California. Married to Meirav Shevah Finley 1989. Four children, Levi Yitzchak (b. 1980), Kayitz (b. 1982), Shulamit (b. 1994), Avigayil (b. 1997) Counseling: Pastoral/Spiritual Counseling; Wisdom Work; Mindfulness Practice; Spiritual Psychology Employment/Teaching Experience. A. Congregational Experience Founding Rabbi Ohr HaTorah Synagogue, Mar Vista, A Traditional-Progressive Congregation. December 1993-present Co-Rabbi Makom Ohr Shalom, A Synagogue Celebrating the Jewish Traditions of Spirituality and Meditation. June 1994-June 2002 Assistant Rabbi Stephen S. Wise Temple, Los Angeles, California. Full range of clergy duties, including pulpit, adult education, bikkur cholim program, young adult programs, confirmation, pastoral counseling, creating and implementing programs (e.g., family Bar/Bat Mitzvah education, regular Shabbat Morning Minyan, etc.

    www.rabbifinley.com

  • Nutritional Therapy Practitioner  ~

David Elliott Breathwork and TEaching Certificate PrograM - VIDEO

 

Eight16 Culinary Therapy and lunch program - Video

Weekend Community enhancement Program

Organic meal preparation on site followed by an open yoga class where community leaders can join the student body - enhancing the lives of all

We will have guest lectures to expose the student body to worlds they may not have been familiar with. Proposed lecturers include Rights 4 Girls (anti-trafficking org.), Dr. Alexandra Kathehakis (Center for Healthy Sex), Intimacy and Vulnerability Coaching, co-dependency education (Ross Rosenberg), Equine Therapy, Topa Institute, influential spiritual and religious leaders and organizations (Rabbi Mordecai Finley, The Majlis), political activists (Rep. Karen Bass, Prof. Jody Armour), nutrition and holistic wellness experts, intellectual pursuits, and life skills experts as well as professionals open to mentoring youth in their chosen paths - feeding into the vast post-graduate career pipelines.

There will also be 12-step fellowship meetings to expose the youth to additional forms of personal healing. 

Kristina Demirchyan ~ Friends of Farmers L.A. 

IN ADDITION

Youth will be encouraged to attend a place of worship - any religion of their choice and can be mentored through that process. Diversity and exploration will be encouraged as they are supported in building community and experiencing the benefits of devotion.

Service is the idea of giving to feel pride in oneself. Service opportunities can be conducted in rotation, such as serving lunch, sweeping, putting mats away, feeding the homeless, or aiding the community. Service can be conducted at the PPP or elsewhere. Still, hours will need to be recorded because service is about building pride and creating healthy boundaries around giving. 

To connect these participants with their voices and support them in discovering their unique identities, each will be encouraged to hand in a recorded verbal praxis every week. 

We are healing the healers of tomorrow

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We are healing the healers of tomorrow 〰️