Teachers

Ramiro Ortega began practising Buddhism in 2005 in the Soto Zen tradition. Since moving to the UK in 2008, he has spent long periods at Gaia House, both as a retreatant and as a resident coordinator.  

He trained to teach mindfulness at the University of Bangor in 2015 and the University of Exeter in 2017, and later also trained in Mindful Self-Compassion. He regularly teaches mindfulness retreats.  In 2022 he completed the Dharma Teacher Training Programme at Bodhi College and has since been teaching Dharma retreats. Ramiro also trained as a philosopher, and since 2021 he has been practising as a philosophical counsellor.

NICOLE SCHOONBROOD is working at the Radboudumc Centre for Mindfulness as a senior trainer supervising the teacher trainer program for mindfulness teachers. Besides being a teacher trainer, she is an experienced supervisor, compassion teacher and Insight Dialogue teacher. She has completed the Dhamma Teacher Program at Bodhi College and is also guiding retreats. 

Professor REBECCA CRANE PhD is an experienced mindfulness teacher and has been personally exploring meditation for over 40 years. She is the former director of the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice atBangor University and is a trustee for The Mindfulness Network. She has written Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Distinctive Features, co-authored Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy with People at Risk of Suicide, and co-edited Essential Resources for Mindfulness Teachers. She graduated from the Bodhi College Teacher Training in 2022.

Regina Enders hat als Krankenschwester in einer psychosomatischen Klinik mehr als 20 Jahrelang Menschen in emotionalen Krisen begleitet und seit 2007 dort auch Achtsamkeit vermittelt. Seit 2009 unterrichtet sie MBSR-kurse und hat dafür 2018 auch einen B.Sc. in Psychologie erworben. Eine ernsthafte Meditationspraxis mit zahlreichen Retreats pflegt sie seit 1996 und ist neben Akincano und einigen Vertretern der A.Chah-Tradition von Lehrern wie Carol Wilson, S. U. Tejanyia, Tsonkyi R. und der Bodhi College-Fakultät beeinflusst. Von 2014-2022 war sie auch in der Ausbildung von MBSR-lehrern beteiligt. Ihre Ausbildung zur Meditationslehrerin hat sie am Bodhi College erhalten. 
Mehr unter: www.regina-enders.de

RHONDA V. MAGEE, M.A., J.D., is Professor of Law (Emeritus), the founding Director of the Center for Contemplative Law and Ethics, at the University of San Francisco, Founder of the Mount Iris Meditation Community (2025). She is an internationally-recognized thought-leader on applying mindfulness practices in support of personal and collective wellbeing. She is the author of the The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness(Penguin RandomHouse TarcherPerigee: 2019), which broke new ground on publication as the first book of its kind to integrate mindfulness principles and practices thoroughly into the conversation on addressing race and racism in diverse settings and communities, and helping us heal from the trauma that the legacies of racism causes. Her current work explores how culturally-specific practices – including Black cultural spirituality and the quality of soulfulness -- intersect with mindfulness and may strengthen communities across differences in these challenging times.

River Wolton is a Community Dharma Leader authorised by Gaia House Teacher Council, and has completed Dharma Teacher Training with Bodhi College. A former Derbyshire Poet Laureate, she has led writing and arts projects for many years, and is an activist in the LGBTQI+ community.

ROBERT M. ELLIS is the founder of the Middle Way Society and the author of a number of books on Middle Way Philosophy – including the introductory Migglism and the more detailed Middle Way Philosophy series. His most recent book, The Buddha’s Middle Way: Experiential Judgement in his Life and Teaching was published by Equinox in 2019, with a foreword by Stephen Batchelor. He has a Ph.D. in Philosophy, is an experienced teacher, and was formerly a member of the Triratna Buddhist Order. He now regularly leads retreats for the Middle Way Society.

SEAN chairs the trustee board of Bodhi College. He has been attending retreats since 2003, frequently at GaiaHouse (where he was formerly a trustee) and has been following the secular dharma path since 2010. He has travelled with Stephen Batchelor in India several times. He has a Master’s degree in Buddhist Studies from SOAS University of London. He is currently undertaking a PhD at King’s College London, seeking to demonstrate how early Buddhism influenced Greek philosophy through the philosopher Pyrrho.

SOPHIE BOYER has been practicing meditation for 20 years during her time providing nursing care. After years spent in hospices, she became more interested in exploring silent meditation retreats in Europe, and in the US and spent 2 years in Myanmar as a Buddhist nun. She has been trained under the guidance of Martine Batchelor and completed the Bodhi College Dharma Teacher Training. She also took the MBCAS instructor training program (mindfulness based cognitive approach for seniors). She currently offers meditation sessions for an oncology ward in Geneva and mainly offers retreats in France. 

STEPHEN BATCHELOR is a Buddhist teacher and writer known for his secular or agnostic approach to the Dharma. Formerly a Buddhist monk in the Tibetan and Zen traditions, he is the translator and author of several books including Buddhism Without Beliefs, Living with the Devil and Confessions of a Buddhist Atheist. His most recent  book, After Buddhism, was published by Yale University Press in 2015. He lives in southwest France with his wife Martine.