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"I have been so impressed with the quality of teaching and the material being taught. I have enjoyed our teachers—they all have brought so much to us, insight of what they know, passion for what they are doing and wisdom. Each one has been so approachable and has been great about sharing their journey so far and careful to explain that the journey of life and learning is ongoing—
we never fully know everything."—Dee T.
Namasté Institute's programs are taught by experienced faculty members who combine their philosophies of holistic health, personal growth, and compassionate service. Wise, humble, and dedicated, these remarkable teachers have been specifically selected for their knowledge, authenticity, and experience. In the classes and during training, the students will receive personalized and caring attention, fostering the development of unique styles of bodywork and teaching.
This page introduces you to our Core Faculty.
Throughout your training you will also be introduced to the expertise of a variety of other faculty in order to broaden your knowledge
base of self, others, and life. All of our faculty at Namasté Institute invite you to experience an education that will
help you transform your visions and dreams into a living reality!
To learn more about the Namasté pedagogy you can visit: the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society
John Dewey Progressive Education
Five Wisdoms Institute
Mindfulness in Education
Interdisciplinary Learning
Sheena Gillespie, B.A. Candidate, Goddard College, L.M.T, R.Y.T.—Founder and Director
Sheena is the founder of Namasté Institute and is dedicated to making Namasté Institute a place where students are supported in the process of learning, personal growth, and transformation. For the past fourteen years, Sheena has been on an amazing journey of transformative healing from years of physical illness and a severe injury to her spine. Through this process of healing she has acquired valuable knowledge and wisdom about the body on all levels - physical, psychological and spiritual. Sheena is currently finishing her B.A. degree in Education and Human Development through Goddard College. Upon completion of her undergraduate degree Sheena will be pursuing graduate study in Social Justice and Law. In addition to her undergraduate work, Sheena is completing a Certificate in Peace and Reconciliation Studies through the University of Maine. She is a certified mediator and in the Transformative Mediation framework and is also a volunteer with Restorative Justice through The Restorative Justice Project of the Midcoast.
 Nicole Magnan Caruso, M.Ed., C.Y.T. Nicole is a certified yoga teacher—trained in Sivananda-style yoga through a Yoga Alliance endorsed course of study. She has been teaching a variety of populations in a multitude of settings for approximately eight years and is passionately committed to helping individuals develop a deeper understanding of and connection to themselves, others and the natural world. Her passion for the outdoors began at an early age—having grown up in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey surrounded by scrubby pines, wild blueberries and the windblown shores of the Atlantic Ocean. This passion has guided her professional path—first, as a fundraiser for eco-minded political candidates running for local, state and congressional offices and, later, as an outdoor educator and yoga teacher. She has led trail crew for the Student Conservation Association in Glacier National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, White Mountain National Forest and on the Appalachian Trail in Maine. Nicole holds a master’s degree with an emphasis in Outdoor Education, has served on faculty in the Department of Health and Kinesiology at Texas A&M University and has co-authored a textbook for college level yoga courses. She currently serves as Director of Adventure Experiences at Unity College in Maine. Inspiration, empowerment and transformation have been at the heart of her life’s work whether on the mat or in the mountains.
Gretchen Heilman, MS, CHHC Gretchen Heilman is a Holistic Health Counselor, Clinical Herbalist and founder of Alive and Awake Healing Arts. She is a graduate of the Professional Training Program at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York where she studied with leaders in health and wellness such as Joshua Rosenthal, Annemarie Colbin, Sally Fallon, and Paul Pitchford. Gretchen also earned a Master’s of Science in Herbal Medicine from The Tai Sophia Institute for the Healing Arts in Laurel, Maryland, where she studied with leading herbalists such as Aviva Romm, Isla Burgess, Kevin Spelman, James Snow, and Jim Duke. Her practice is influenced by a love of nature, beauty, and respect for all living things and healing herself from sugar addiction, allergies, and a painful illness. A ”masterful coach” with an “infectious enthusiasm for life,” Gretchen works with individuals, couples, and organizations, both locally in person and nationally through tele-conference, sharing the practical wisdom of healing with food, herbs, and healthy lifestyle. She is a dynamic public speaker, educator, coach, and consultant with a commitment to making a difference.
Karen Searls, NCBTMB
Karen Searls has been a bodywork/energywork practitioner since 1996. Her basic bodywork training was in shiatsu with Ohashi, a Japanese healer. She expanded her studies to include anatomy/physiology/pathology, neurosomatic bodywork and authentic communication. Ms. Searls began her study of Jin Shin Jyutsu in 2001, became a certified practitioner in 2003 and a certified teacher of Jin Shin Jyutsu self-help in 2006. She is nationally certified through the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. For her self-help classes, she is an approved provider of nursing CE credits through the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Concurrently with Jin Shin Jyutsu, Ms. Searls began her study of the teachings of Eckhart Tolle and other contemporary spiritual teachers. Practicing presence is an integral part of her work and her life. Visit Karen: Inner Stillness
Penelope Ray, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.
Penelope received her Masters in Social Work from Smith College in 1974 and gained valuable experience at Massachusetts General Hospital and Childrens Hospital Medical Center in Boston. For the past 22 years she has maintained a successful private psychotherapy practice in midcoast Maine. She completed her post-graduate work in Family & Systems Therapy at the Center for Awareness of Pattern, and also has training in hypnosis and EMDR. Fascinated by the mind-body connection, she is a trained bodyworker, having studied over the past 15 years with Rosalyn Bruyere, Mia Beale, and John Harvey Gray. Her own spirituality is a key force in her life. Penelope understands that "you cannot be a guide for someone on a path which is new territory for yourself. My greatest teachers have been my own life experiences, and my intention is to pass on my personal mastery in an effort to help and guide others."
Lori Rizzuto, B.A., L.M.T
The seen and unseen worlds of nature, prayer, and healing touch have always been an element of Lori's transformations and healings within her body and life. Along with holding a Bachelors of Arts in Liberal Studies in dance and the creative process, Lori has had an established Massage and Shiatsu Therapy Practice for 17 years in which she translates the source of expressive energy from dance—which is "Spirit through Body"—into her healing sessions. Lori has also been certified in Herbal Medicine for over 20 years and has studied a variety of techniques such as Myofascial Release, Zero-Balancing, Strain-Counterstrain, Thai-Massage Therapy, Pregnancy Massage, Doula Massage, Ayurvedic massage, Yoga, Shamanic Healing, and Ecstatic dance, and is currently a student of Chinese Herbal Medicine. Her philosophy is that "healing facilitation and self care go hand in hand and I am dedicated in teaching and educating my clients and students about their particular needs in order to help them understand the body/mind/spirit connection more deeply." Lori teaches in the Shiatsu Therapy Program.
 
Stacie Whitney, M.S.
Stacie holds a Masters in Environmental Education from Lesley University and is a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Stacie is a Holistic Health Counselor and has traveled around the world working within several organic/biodynamic farms including the intentional community Findhorn in Scotland and Avena Botanicals in Rockport, Maine. She has spent years living and working outdoors, helping people of all ages to gain a better connection with the natural world and how to live in harmony with the cycles of nature. Stacie believes that "a true holistic approach to a life of wholeness incorporates many aspects including love, intimacy, work, physical activity, and time with friends and loved ones," and she is dedicated in teaching her clients how to embody this balance in order to live an energized and passionate life. Stacie teaches in the Integrative Nutrition course. 
Holly Noonan Holly Noonan is a graduate from The Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City. She is a certified Holistic Health Counselor. Holly draws on a background of successfully overcoming various life challenges. In her quest for personal growth, she worked her way around the world for 6 years, living in France, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China and Nepal. Her health challenges began while she was traveling in Asia with numerous gastrointestinal adventures. This led to years of repressed immune function and therefore a steep learning curve about healing with food. Holly believes that the clarity of mind that comes from eating well heals our relationships as well as our bodies, and helps us move forward in our lives to fulfill our potential. She enjoys exploring with people how they can discover and live according to their constitution and thereby feel more connected to natural cycles and to the people in their lives. Holly lives on the side of a blueberry hill in Hope, with her Aussie husband, her son and her really cool dog. She enjoys gardening, traveling, writing, parenting, hiking, reading and sometimes even cooking. Holly teaches in the Holistic Integrative Nutrition course. Visit Holly: Mind Body Nutrition
Julie Hamilton, R.N., B.S.N. Julie Hamilton grew up in Maine, and formed her spiritual base in connection with the natural world. Julie lived in other parts of the country long enough to learn that not everyone is Yankee, then returned to her home state in 1989. She built a solar home, and lived off the grid for almost 10 years. Julie has been a Registered Professional Nurse since 1981. “Very early in my career as a nurse I noticed that the patient’s state of mind seemed to have more to do with a return to health than any other factor.” Curiosity about how to affect the “state of mind” eventually led Julie to the Barbara Brennan School of Healing where she completed a 4-year course of study in energy healing. “Energy healing is a bridge by which the spiritual, emotional, and intellectual can address the physical; is a way to work with the state of Being.” Julie continues to commute to Boston to work as a nurse on the Transplant Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, and she has a practice in energy healing.
Cynthia Birney
Cynthia Birney is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Teacher® with an extensive background in movement improvement. Her first love, riding horses, led her to England in 1972 where she studied with Robert Hall, one of Britain’s Olympic equestrian coaches. Her years of teaching riding were outstanding preparation for the 4 year Feldenkrais teacher training she entered in 1998. Since graduating in 2002, she has worked extensively with people in pain and with trauma survivors, as well as with people suffering from a variety of neurological impairments and with students simply wanting more fluidity in their movement and in their life. Cynthia’s style is easy, gentle and practical. She offers her students novel, pleasurable ways to understand how functional movement can be profoundly life-enhancing. 
Dee Webster, RS Hom
Dee Webster, CHC has been a homeopathic practitioner for 16 years and was trained in Classical Homeopathy. Homeopathy brings about a deep healing by stimulating the vital force.and our own innate healing. Dee is also a trained Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioner and has found this modality to be very complimentary with homeopathy. Jin Shin Jyutsu is an ancient form of healing that harmonizes the body to open blocked flows. When these distinct pathways or flows of energy become blocked, the results can affect our mind, body and spirit. Jin Shin Jyutsu restores balance and releases the causes of both acute and chronic conditions. " We are so fortunate to have all of these healing modalities available to us these days. This provides us all with the opportunity to heal ourselves and in doing so, touch into our deeper essence. To watch this unfolding in someone is always a profound experience ". Dee lives with her husband and has her practice in Camden, Maine along the peaceful Megunticook River.
Cindi Yawdik, L.M.T.
Cindi Yawdik has been doing massage since she graduated from Downeast School of Massage in 1999. Her focus was on the
mind/body connection while training in Swedish Massage but since her graduation, she has taken many hours of continuing
education in various forms of deep tissue, sports massage and energy work. Since people choose to recieve massage therapy
for a variety of different reasons, Cindi feels that it's important to have many approaches to help her clients achieve their goal of wellness.
Patti Buchanan, L.M.T., R.P.P., R.C.S.T., N.C.T.M.B.
Patti Buchanan is a Registered Craniosacral Therapist, Registered Polarity Practitioner, Nationally Certified Massage Therapist and Reiki Master. She has over 1700 hours of training with 15 years experience as a whole body practitioner. Extensive travel to Mexico and Guatemala has greatly influenced her work bringing Mayan shamanistic disciplines into each session. Patti is an active educator, has led and assisted training programs, seminars and public presentations.
Her skills are combined to provide a unique and varied program for each person. This comprehensive approach also draws on principles of meditation, metaphysics and uses the elements of sound and color to balance the body. Optimal health and personal empowerment for each individual is the ultimate goal of the work. She believes health is an ever evolving state of being that everyone can actively participate in. As a facilitator, her role is to assist in connecting an individual to their own health. Patti teaches the introductory course to Craniosacral Therapy. Visit Patti: www.pattibuchanan.com
Ramona Hardy - Reflexology
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