Ambika Cooper is Sharon Salzberg’s assistant. Her main practice is kirtan (devotional singing). She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children and is looking forward to this month of meditation to deepen her practice.

I am a freelance journalist and children's book author trying to adapt to how fast my field is changing. Opportunities have diminished and skills and credentials that were once the centerpiece of my work identity have become more or less meaningless.  An amazing lesson in impermanence.  One of my goals is to stop wasting time wishing things were as before.  Another is to curb the promiscuous curiosity that leads me to spend many hours jumping from link to link browsing the wonders of the Internet.  Also, I live in New York and although I love the constant carnival, it distracts me from focusing in on what is important. I am often thinking of all the wonderful things the city offers that I am not doing, or have missed, or will miss if I'm not vigilant.  

Sound Engineer. Father of a toddler. General skeptic. This will be the my first experience with meditation.

Christine Califra-Schiff is the author of numerous essays and short stories. She was raised in Greenwich Village and lived in Brooklyn for many years. She was a member of The Writer’s Room in New York City. She currently lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband and two sons. She is a member of Woman Writing For A Change, where she is currently working on a novel. After practicing different styles of hatha yoga over the years she has found her true practice in Ashtanga under the instruction of her wonderful teacher, Kim Neitch.

Daphne Zuniga is an American actress who has appeared on TV and in films for 26 years including films such as Spaceballs, The Sure Thing, and Vision Quest. She starred on Melrose Place for 5 years as Jo Reynolds, and has more recently appeared in TV movies for Hallmark, Lifetime, ABC Family, and currently recurs on CW's One Tree Hill as Victoria Davis. She produced the documentary on TED, The Future We will Create, the film The Scene, and the TV movie, A Family Thanksgiving. Daphne began meditating in 2002 on a 9 day Vipassana retreat with Sharon Salzberg at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, and though she considers it by far the hardest thing she's ever done, she has continued to meditate, either on retreats, in her home, or even the phone, which she did for two years with her long distance boyfriend (they now live together).

Dena Simmons, a Bronx native, is a doctoral student in the Health Education program at Columbia University, Teachers College. Prior to her doctoral studies, Dena served as a middle school teacher in the South Bronx and was profiled for her teaching in "Do It Anyway: The New Generation of Activists".

Elesa Commerse has been meditating for as long as she can remember, even though she didn't call it that. Elesa teaches meditation for the Heartwood Center Women and Cancer Program; the Mercy Hospital Whole Women, Whole Health Program for women on a breast cancer journey; and the Swedish Covenant Hospital Galter Life Center. She teaches children and adults that if they can breathe, they can meditate.

Writer, Yoga Instructor, Tarot Reader, Reiki Healer

I received my 200-hour yoga certification from Yoga to the People in New York City.  I studied meditation, and the chakras with Rebecca Cousin.  I’m a self-taught tarot practitioner, constantly exploring new books, new techniques, new decks, and new spreads in my tarot journal.  I received my Reiki Attunement from the Sapientia Oscen Reiki College, and my BA in English with a minor in Creative Writing Magna Cum Laude from St. John’s University Honors Program. I’m a very busy lady living in Brooklyn with my husband, cat, and numerous plants.  In addition to all that stuff, I cook, can, crochet, aerial dance, eat local, laugh, love, and learn.

Gabriella is a yoga teacher and has been practicing yoga and meditation in all corners of the globe for the past 15 years. She currently lives, breathes and teaches yoga in the lovely city of London. She founded the London Yoga Circle in 2007 with the passionate belief that everyone regardless of age, experience, body type, social and economic background has the potential to embody the wonderful benefits of yoga and meditation. Gabriella also organizes wellness  workshops connecting experts in the field of yoga, spirituality, nutrition and life coaching with wider audiences in the London area. Gabriella enjoys sharing yoga off the mat with her husband and 3 young children.

Gina de la Chesnaye is a mother, yoga instructor, meditator, kickboxer, writer and photographer. She partake in the 200 Hour Yoga Alliance Certification under the tutelage of Alison West and Yoga Union in 2011, had her first boxing fight in Madison Square Garden in 2000, is a competitive kickboxer and currently trains and coaches San Da Martial Arts at Elite MMA. She is also a contributing writer and photographer to YogaCityNYC (www.yogacitynyc.com) as well as Elephant Journal (www.elephantjournal.com). Her work can be seen at www.delacamera.com.

Gina and her two beautiful daughters live in Brooklyn, NY.

Herman Chaves was born on October 11th 1971 in N Y C to parents from Colombia. He has been Married for 11 years, He is a bi coastal (NY L.A.) working actor. As an actor, Herman Chaves studied with many prestigious acting teachers and coaches including a two year professional acting training program with Maggie Flannigan. With Karen Porter White who is the only person authorized by Mr. MIchale Shurtleff to teach his methods based on his book, AUDITION. His auditoning skills sharpened under the guidance of casting director Margaret Burns, who he has been coached by for over 11 years. Herman Chaves's television credits include, a recurrring on HBO's How to make it in America, The Good Wife, Pan-Am, Without a trace, 24, Curb your Enthusiasm, Suits. Film Credits include Taxi, Goal, Boy Wonder< Shelter. He is also the Co- Producer, Co Writer, and Lead Actor of the award winning short film ;Una Calle Sin Salida: the film was part of the shorts film corner of the 2011 Canne's Film Festival. He also coaches actors on there Auditioning Skills in front of the camera.

Joshua has been a person out to make a difference in the world his whole life. Working in politics since he graduated college in 2004, and interested in pursuing a Law Degree in the fall of 2012; Joshua spent two years over-seas in the Peace Corps in the Sub-Saharan Country of Zambia as a community health worker. Through the strong encouragement of a close friends of his, and a few cousins very active in meditation, he has signed up to be a part of this February's Meditation Program and share his experiences. Given that he is new to meditation, this should be quite the adventure for Joshua.

Kem Morehead left software engineering to teach math and computer science at Concord Academy. She is married to Rev. Kim Crawford Harvie. Kem began meditating at the Berkeley Zen Center in 1990. After sending their third of three daughters off to college, they moved into a huge Greek Revival house in Concord (built the year Thoreau left for Walden Pond), where they live with twenty-nine high school boys. During summer vacations, they backpack in the National Parks or take to the road to camp with their Shiloh shepherds, Sierra and Obadiah.

A writer, internet journalist, and former radio/TV producer and talk show host, Linda Lowen has won national awards for her coverage of women's issues. Currently she's the Women's Issues Guide for About.com a New York Times Company-owned website which ranks #1 on Google, Yahoo, Bing for the search term "women's issues." A 17-year ovarian cancer survivor whose Japanese mother converted from Buddhism to Judaism, Linda has the meditation gene in her blood; but aside from brief attempts during the most stressful months of college, cancer treatment and chemotherapy, and the sandwich generation life, that gene has failed to express itself in a permanent, lasting way.

Marisa Sullivan has been sharing yoga, meditation and spiritual teachings with friends, family and communities for 16 years. She teaches in nursing homes, senior centers, and in Public Schools with Bent on Learning. She also does healing work blending guided meditation, spiritual teachings, ritual and shamanic work. Her greatest teachers are her daughter, her students and life itself.

Mindfulness and Education Working Group, Teachers College Columbia University
The Mindfulness and Education Working Group’s (MEWG) mission is to explore and promote the role of mindfulness and contemplative practices in education through innovative interdisciplinary research, theory, and practice.

Building Personal and Community Practice
MEWG embraces multiple perspectives and approaches to provide guidance, resources, and opportunities for the Teachers College community to deepen self-awareness, personal growth and resilience. Through the application of mindfulness and contemplative practices, MEWG empowers individuals to lead more fulfilling, meaningful and healthy lives. MEWG also strives to develop a supportive community for practice and reflection.

Our 2011–12 academic year activities include:
• An interdisciplinary lecture and workshop series
• Guided meditation that meets three times per week at TC
• Mindfulness retreats
• Exploration of research and application of mindfulness in education
• Mindfulness training

The following members of MEWG will be blogging here:

Yishin Khoo - Graduate Student, Teachers College, Columbia University

Home - Executive director of Co-Emergent, Doctoral Student, Teachers College, Columbia University

Sarah Sherman - Program Assistant, Teachers College, Columbia University

Born in Jodhpur, India, Nandini grew up in Calcutta, attended college in Bombay, graduating with a Masters from Bombay University. She worked in corporate India in banking and retail mortgages and traveled widely in India & Asia before migrating to the US with her then 7 year old daughter in 2000. She now works in corporate America in financial services. She lives in Ridgefield CT. She also enjoys traveling, practicing Ashtanga Yoga, reading, writing about cooking, cooking and teaching Indian cooking.

Paula Kirk, born and raised in Boston, has been working with documentary filmmaker, Pamela Tanner Boll, for over 14 years. Working as a full time information systems operations manager with a financial services company in Boston, Paula left work to become a stay-at-home mom. After being home for a year, Paula decided to look for flexible, part time employment and found an amazing job working with Pamela and Mystic Artists Film Productions. Paula lives in Winchester, MA with her husband and two children.

Raven Pelan has been offering wellness services for over 20 years, specializing in nutritional counseling, Yoga, massage, and age-defying beauty treatments. Her training incorporates the best of Eastern and Western mind-body healing techniques.

Salvatore Raffelo, grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, NY to a working class Italian American family. He attended City College for Architecture and currently works part time doing freelance work in the field. He also works fulltime as a longshoreman in Staten Island, NY. I was drawn to meditation for self-improvement.

Tania Varela-Ibarra teaches Hatha Yoga at Darshana Yoga and Mom & Baby Yoga at Blossom Birth both in Palo Alto, CA. Once upon a time Tania had a daily meditation practice. When she caught wind of this 28 day commitment she thought, "Now this is the way to begin again!"

Tisa N. Loewen, inspired through meditative practice and holistic studies, maintains The Support Network focused on recovery, gratitude and self-love. Tisa, whom is a writer, advocate, and entrepreneur, is also author of Recovering the Goddess: My journey to self-love, the namesake of her website recoveringthegoddess.com . Her main blog can also be found here- astrastarr.com

The staff at Tricycle.com will be participating in the meditation challenge this month. They will be blogging at Tricycle.com as well as posting here.
Who's Who:
James Shaheen, Editor & Publisher
Rachel Hiles, Managing Editor
Sam Mowe, Associate Editor
Philip Ryan, Executive Editor
Emma Varvaloucas, Editorial Assistant
Eric Wetzel, Editorial Intern

Established in 1990 as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization, The Tricycle Foundation is dedicated to making Buddhist views, values, and practices broadly available. In 1991 the Foundation launched Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, the first magazine intended to present Buddhist perspectives to a Western readership. Tricycle soon became the leading journal of Buddhism in the West, where it continues to be the most inclusive and widely read vehicle for the dissemination of Buddhist perspectives. Publication of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review remains the Foundation’s chief activity, and our readership includes longtime practitioners, those who are curious about Buddhism or meditation, and those who do not identify as Buddhist but value the teachings of wisdom and compassion Buddhism has to offer.

Varun Gauri is a researcher at the World Bank, where he works on issues related to health care, education, and human rights in developing countries. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife, three kids, and standard poodle. He first met Sharon Salzberg eight years ago, at an event where she was giving the benediction for a new center on public health and human rights, and has been practicing meditation - on and off - ever since. His dharma interests include bringing mindfulness to children, engaged Buddhism and global justice, and how and why the sense of the self arises.

Sukey Novogratz and Jackie MacLeod, co-founders of The Well Daily [www.thewelldaily.com], and Beth Novogratz, Editor in Chief, will be participating in the 28-day meditation challenge. The Well Daily is the ultimate guide for creating health and happiness, delivering the daily dope on the best wellness techniques, products, recipes and general goodness.