Listing of Speakers
Meditation and Pain Management Conference
Swami Veda Bharati, disciple of Swami Rama of the Himalayas
Indu Arora, MD, E-RYT 500, Alternative Medicine, Naturopathy Diploma. Wellness coach/yoga therapist at Helping Hand Rehabilitation Center, Illinois, USA, working with adults with mental retardation, cerebral palsy, ADD/ADHD, autism, and other disabilities. Mind body instructor/meditation teacher. Honored for teaching yoga to children. Author of Yoga-Ancient Heritage Tomorrows Vision
Maya Balog, RN, ERYT 500. Internationally recognized hatha yoga instructor. Since 1962 she has studied yoga (meditation, traditional hatha and the Iyengar system), theosophy, and the healing arts of naturopathy, homeopathy and Ayurveda in Europe, Canada, India, and the USA. She has been teaching classes, training teachers, and leading workshops for over 20 years. Since 1981, she has been a student of the Himalayan Tradition and was initiated in 1983.
Jhooma Barthwal, MA, and post -graduate work from the University of Delhi. She has been working in the Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences since past three years in the area of mental health and is involved in the application of Mind-Body therapies along with various Psychotherapies. She has a special interest in the field of Psycho-diagnoses and Psychosomatic Disorders.
Ma Radha Bharati, MA and PhD work, Comparative Philosophy with an emphasis on views of the self and mind. MA, Public Policy. Humphrey Institute Fellow. Disciple of Swami Rama of the Himalayas since 1971. Academic Director, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama. Lecturer, Philosophy and Ethics at the University of Hawaii and other colleges. Contributor to Aging in America, University of Wisconsin Press.
Swami Ritavan Bharati, MA, ERYT 500, has worked with both Swami Rama and Swami Veda for the past 30 years. He holds Master’s Degrees in the Management specializing in non-profit organizations, in Education with emphasis on experientially-based knowledge, and in Holistic Philosophy. An International yoga and meditation teacher, he has helped train numerous yoga teachers and led many retreats around the world.
Ma Sewa Bharati, MA, shares her experiences of the yogic teachings of Sri Swami Rama of the Himalayas, in particular the preparation and purification of the body, breath, senses, mind, intellect and emotions for meditation. A trustee of the Swami Rama Nishkarma Karma Yoga Trust, created by Swami Hariharananda Bharati in 2000.
Linda Billau, BS, RYT-500. Personal assistant to Swami Veda Bharati. A subject in the book Yogi in the Lab with an experiment done at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, California, and with meditation and yoga nidra practices done in association with surgery.
Barbara Bova, BHMS, received her degree in homeopathic medicine from Nehru Homeopathic Medical College in New Delhi. She has been practicing homeopathy as an integral part of holistic medical care for many years and is currently working in HIHT. A certified yoga teacher, she has also introduced patients to the therapeutic application of hatha yoga in self-healing.
B. Rael Cahn, MD, PhD, Research Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry and Stein Institute for Research on Aging at the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine, USA. He is working on studies of the effects of meditation on the aging process and has studied the neurophysiology of meditation and meditative states.
Vijendra Chauhan, MBBS, MS. Professor & Head of Orthopaedics, Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Dehradun. Interests include traumatology, spine and joint replacement, and holistic medicine. Member of Presidential Body of HIHT University. He has received awards for papers in orthopaedics, for rendering special medical services for Saharanpur, and for rendering special services to polio patients
John Clarke, MD, Former Chairman of the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy of the USA. He received his M.D. degree from Harvard University and has received certification in Family Practice, Internal Medicine and Cardiology
Arnaud Delorme, PhD. Principal investigator at the CNRS CERCO laboratory in Toulouse, France and collaborator at Swartz Center for Computational Neuroscience, Institute for Neural Computation, University of California at San Diego for the continued development of the EEGLAB software.. Interest in studying neural correlates of neurofeedback learning as well as meditation experience .
Vijay Dhasmana, MA, vice-chancellor of HIHT University, is respected for his dynamic leadership and management abilities. Having recently translated several of Swami Rama’s books from English into Hindi, he is very conversant with Swami Rama’s teachings.
Jyoti Dvivedi, MD, MBBS, DGO, DFW. Assistant Professor in physiology, Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust University, Dehradun, India. Recipient of the Dr. Sushila Thakur Prakriti Mandir Award, India’s National Award for the Best Research in the Field of Yoga and Naturopathy . Co-supervisor in 8 postgraduate research projects on scientific studies related to various yogic techniques.
Peter J. Fabian, PT, CFP. ,BA in Psychology and BS in Physical Therapy. Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner. International teacher of physical therapy, advanced manual therapy approaches, and yoga. Member of the Academic Staff at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama.
Manuel Fernandez, PhD, Trained in neuroscience by Drs. Evgenij Coromaldi (Germany), Arnaud Delorme (France), and Rael Cahn (USA). Director of the Meditation Research Institute at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Rishikesh, since 2007.
Tacson Fernandez, MBBS, FCARCSI, FIPP Anaesthesiologist at the Imperial school of Anaesthesia, London. He has specialized in “Chronic Pain Medicine” with a subspecialty focus on spinal cord neuromodulation and lower back pain. He has worked with both psychological and interventional therapies for pain management. Dr. Fernandez promotes the introduction of yoga into health care.
Susan Gould-Fogerite, PhD, Microbiology and Immunology. Director of Research, The Institute for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Associate Professor, Primary Care, School of Health Related Professions, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, USA. Researcher in mind/body science, vaccinology, mucosal immunology, drug delivery, and gene therapy. Yoga teacher. Reiki energy healer.
M. Ganasan, MBBS, Director of the Combined Therapy Program at Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust, Dehradun, India. Dr. Ganasan focuses on Yoga Therapy based on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and Swami Rama’s teachings. This highly individualized program takes the participant through physical postures, breathing exercises, cleansing practices, and mind/ energy/body integration.
Rajeev Mohan Kaushik, MBBS, MD. Professor, Department of Medicine, Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Dehradun, India. He was awarded a Fellowship of the Indian College of Physicians for his contribution towards promoting a rational combination of alternative therapies with modern medical treatment. A Sahaja Yoga initiate. Author of The Midnight Awakening. .
Kathleen McKeehan, PhD, is a Nursing Advisor at the Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust. She received her PhD in Nursing from Case Western Reserve University, USA. She is a certified hatha yoga teacher and worked with Swami Rama in USA before coming to India in 1992.
B. Maithili, Registrar HIHT University and Director of Rural Development Institute.
Pratibha Mamgain, MD, PhD, Dip. Yoga. Associate Professor and consultant physician in the Department of Ayurvedic Medicine, Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Dehradun, India. She has worked with alternative medicine doctors and the indigenous health system and conducted research on ischaemic heart disease and its ayurvedic management. Winner of the Vaidya Raj Award.
Ravindra Kumar Mamgain, MD, PhD, Dip. Yoga. Associate Professor of Ayurvedic Medicine, Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, and consultant physician at the Department of Ayurveda. Coordinator of a project for the promotion of an indigenous health system. Winner of the Sri Vaidya Nath Ayuved Bhawan Gold Medal, Professor Hariswaroop Kulshrestha Gold Medal and the Vaidya Raj Award.
Gita Morar, BA (Arts), BA HnsSW, MA, Clinical Psychology, University of South Africa. She has specialized in Brief Interactive Therapy at the Mental Research Institute in California and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction in New York. As a psychotherapist at Cambridge Mind/Body Institute, Ontario, Canada, she ran a therapeutic hospital pain management program that incorporated meditation, joints and glands, diaphragmatic breathing, and the creative use of thoughts and emotions.
Swami Nityamuktananda, PhD, MA, M Ed, Dip.Ed. DAD, Dip Rfl, Dip HSEC. Her doctorate is
in eco-philosophy on the Mahabhutas (Five Great Elements). In 1997, she was awarded a “World-Peace Prize” (LGWPF/ NGO of UN). She has studied theology, education, psychology, philosophy, art, design, Taoism, Zen, etc. Author. Traveler. Ceramic artist.
Stephen (Stoma) Parker, PsyD, ERYT 500. Licensed psychologist with a private practice in Minnesota, USA. Adjunct Assistant Professor at Saint Mary’s University and at the University of St. Thomas School of Professional Psychology. He did his doctoral training under Bradford Keeney, PhD, a family therapist acclaimed for experience with indigenous healers. Yoga and meditation teacher.
P. N. Ravindra, MD, PhD, Senior Research Fellow, Dept of Neurophysiology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore. Reseach interest in Neurophysiological correlates of meditation practice and its clinical applications, especially in sleep and psychosomatic disorders. He is currently studying the effect of mindfulness meditation on aging.
P. K. Sachan, MS, General Surgery. Professor and Head of the Department of General Surgery, Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Dehradun, India. A member of the Founding Members/Governing Body Members group of the Society of Endoscopic and Laparoscopic Surgeons of India (SELSI).
Sunil Saini MBBS, MS ( Surgery), Fellow UICC, Senior Consultant Surgical Oncology , Professor of Surgery. Inspired and trained by Swami Rama to focus on holistic approaches, quality of life issues and stress management in cancer control and research, his main interests include cost effective treatment, managing pain and distress, care of terminally ill patients, and psychological and quality of life issues.
Dinesh Sharma, GAM, belongs to the third generation of a well-known family of Vedic tradition in Rishikesh (India). In 1979 Dr. Sharma became an Ayurvedacharya (Ayurvedic physician) from Maharishi Dayanand University and started practicing Ayurveda from 1981. International teacher of Vedic Astrology, Ayurveda, and Sthapatya Veda (Vastu Shastra).
Achala M. Singhal, MD, DM, FACC, Professor and Head of Cardiology Department at Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences. Trained by Sri Swami Rama in holistic approaches to medicine, Dr. Achala has conducted research on the effects of meditation and breath control on hypertension and heart disease. Holistic approaches with cardiac patients have helped avoid invasive procedures in many cases.
Anil Singhal, MD, Professor of Neurology and Head of the Department s of Neurosciences and of Holistic Medicine at the Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences. He has a special interest and expertise in using the power of the mind and nervous system to help people improve their physical and emotional health. He has been especially instrumental in integrating biofeedback technology with modern medicine.
Shirley Telles, MBBS, PhD, Neurophysiology. Assistant Director of Research for SVYASA, the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana. Co-author of many publications on the effects of yoga on the mind and body. Co-author of Yoga and Cancer and Yoga & Memory: Yoga the Key.
Moreno Toldo, MD, neurology. Works with disabled children (due to neurological problems) at Kiran Village near Varanasi, India. The children’s disabilities include those from polio, brain paralysis, and drug resistant epilepsy. Dr. Toldo manages the medical diagnosis and the functional rehabilitation and process for these children and has used hatha yoga asanas in the rehabilitation process as a complement to rehabilitation physiotherapy.