Staff
Neil McKinlay
Teacher
A student of Reggie’s since 1999, Neil finds tremendous inspiration in the way this Sutrayana program mixes with the stuff of our daily lives. Watching staff and participants as the teachings literally come to life — feeling this himself — has proven one of the highlights of his Dharma Ocean journey.
Gordon Grant
Assistant Teacher
My name is Gordon Grant and I am very pleased to serve as one of your assistant teachers for the Sutrayana Mahayana Program. I have been a meditator for decades and has been studying with Dharma Ocean since 2007. I work in Information Technology and part-time as an Expressive Arts Therapist. I live in the Vancouver, Canada area and I share a home with my life partner Aleeta, two cats and a cute little dog, all of whom are dakinis of some sort or another. My passions these days are meditation, the study of the dharma and expressive arts, and learning to play the piano. I was a Meditation Instructor last year in the Sutrayana programs. That experience has enriched and deepened my love of meditation and study in the Somatic Lineage.
Alice Reinheimer
Assistant Teacher
Alice Reinheimer found her spiritual home in Dharma Ocean in 2008 at a local weekend retreat where Reggie’s “Meditating With the Body” CD set was played. She recently left a career in high tech and is spending her time providing meditation instruction and working on her house and garden farm with her spouse and 3 cats on California’s Central Coast. She finds the Sutrayana to be endlessly opening and relevant to both practice and everyday life.
Christy Smith
Program Coordinator and Inclusivity Protector
Christy loves how the Sutrayana opens up everyday life in surprising ways and is honored to serve as program coordinator. She teaches English as a new language at an urban high school in Rochester, NY and enjoys exploring nature with her husband on weekends.
Melanie Bonnell
Meditation Instructor
Melanie Bonnell has been a student of Reggie Ray since 2009 and a meditation instructor with Dharma Ocean since 2015. She was first inspired by Buddhist teachings and specifically Chogyam Trungpa’s writing in the late ’70s and that inspiration became the central theme of her life when she retired from the business world thirteen years ago. Melanie lives in the rolling hills of Caledon, Ontario (North of Toronto) with her husband and four-legged children ( one horse and three dogs).
Nicolle Jensen
Meditation Instructor
Nicolle Jensen began practicing with Dharma Ocean in 2012. After meditating for a few years as a "floating head", Nicolle found great inspiration in the Meditating with the Body program and has been a dedicated student of the lineage ever since. The dharma permeates all aspects of her life, personal and professional, the sacredness of existence woven into the experience of singing, drumming, teaching yoga, and walking her dogs in the mountains of Santa Fe, NM. Nicolle has taken part in Sutrayana twice as a participant and very much enjoys the material and multi-disciplinary approach to embodying the dharma through interaction, audio, practice, and readings.
Jim Kelly
Meditation Instructor
Jim Kelly has been practicing the dharma in alignment with Dharma Ocean since 2015 including at residential retreats and in on-line courses. He is thankful to his many teachers who spread the teachings and somatic practices which can have such impact and realization in the unfolding of everyday life. He lives in the upper Hudson Valley of New York with his wife Marcia and dog Buster, having raised three children and retired from active careers in dance and in business.
David Ra
Meditation Instructor
David Ra's journey with the teachings arose from Reggie's invitation to reside in the space of the body and listen for what emerges. A decade later, that heart invitation continues to permeate everything. Residing on Saltspring Island BC, he dances, flies, practices meditation, owns a business and lives close to the elements on a farm.
Jim Richardson
Meditation Instructor
Jim Richardson discovered Dharma Ocean in 2010, after eight years in the wilderness post-Shambhala International. His primary life commitment is to this “Practice Lineage”, informed by the Sutrayana teachings. He teaches Tai Chi and Qigong to anyone willing to explore their soma.
Anne Saunders
Meditation Instructor
Anne Saunders felt as if she had arrived “home” when she took her first class from Dharma Ocean in 2006. She shares her home in Western Colorado with a very social cat named Cinnamon. Anne finds the Sutrayana teaching incredibly rich. No matter how many times one has taken the Sutrayana classes, there is always something new to learn and discover.
Everett Wilson
Meditation Instructor
Everett Wilson is a writer and poet living in Crestone, Colorado with his partner Anoushka and their two dogs, Sparksie and Luna. He came to Dharma Ocean after 5 years of residential Zen practice at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and has been a tantrika with Dharma Ocean since 2012. He finds Reggie’s somatic approach to meditation and opening up the life of the heart has profoundly deepened his experience of the world.
