Volunteers
TEACHERS & STAFF

Heidi BornsteinHeidi Bornstein, RP
Founder – MBSR, SMART & Yoga Teacher/Facilitator

My passion for bringing mindful awareness to adults and teens comes from discovering meditation when I was a teen. It opened doors of perception, awareness and clarity that have guided me my entire life. Being able to share the mind body practices with adults through MBSR Workshops and teens through The Mindful Edge and seeing them open, soften, and connect with their own inner wisdom is incredibly inspiring.

HEIDI BORNSTEIN, R.P., founder and acting executive director of Mindfulness Everyday, a register Canadian charity, has an extensive background in mindfulness, yoga and meditation. Heidi is trained as a Hatha yoga and meditation teacher, and received intensive training at the International Meditation Institute while living in India. She is a certified MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) Level 1 teacher, Hatha Yoga Teacher, Meditation and Level 2 SMARTeducation – Stress Managements and Resiliency Techniques for Educators (SMART) Facilitator and an Instructor for University of Toronto, School of Continuing Studies.

Heidi is certified in Yoga Ed for Elementary Schools, High Schools, and for Working with Those At-Risk; Mindfulness for Kids at Risk with Vinnie Ferraro; Street Yoga training for Kids at Risk; Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program for Teens: Interventions and Strategies to Use in Clinical Practice with Gina Biegel, MA LMFT and has completed the Certification in Applied Mindfulness Program at the University of Toronto Factor Inwentash School of Social Work.

She is the co-creator (with Heather Elson) of the Yoda-Yoga Program for kids, a program specifically designed for use in the 20 minute DPA (Daily Physical Activity) in elementary schools and the co-creator and teacher for The Mindful Edge (Stress Reduction and Life Strategies for Teens) program in high schools.

Heidi is on the steering committee for Mindfulness Toronto, a community of professionals dedicated to the principles and practice of mindfulness in all sectors of society and Discover Mindfulness, a volunteer organization helping to create communities, tools and awareness to bring mindfulness, well-being and mental health to Canadian schools, supporting yoga, meditation, and mindfulness programs for children, youth, teens, and adults in Toronto since 2002. 


Stephen ChadwickStephen Chadwick
Founder, Educational Liaison – MBSR & SMART Teacher/Facilitator

The “stress” of education has been on academics and a full education is missing, one where a child develops socially and emotionally.
Children are multi-faceted human beings. I believe that adults and youth need to become friends with themselves, accepting who they are and connecting with the wisdom that they have within already.  

STEPHEN CHADWICK is an MBSR teacher who received his training under the direction of Roy Hintsa and Dr. Diane Reibel the Director of The Stress Reduction Program at Jefferson University’s Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine. He received his certification as a Yoga Ed Instructor for High Schools, Working with Those At-Risk, Level II Curriculum Training of Mindful Schools, and trained in smartEducation™ (Stress Management and Resiliency Techniques) with Linda Wallace. Steve is a teacher for The Mindful Edge® –Stress Reduction and Life Strategies for Teens program in high schools. He has twenty seven years experience as a public school teacher with the TDSB, specializing in working with Children with Special Needs and ESL.


Diana LastDianna Last
Founder, Program Director – MBSR & SMART Teacher/Facilitator

Seeing participants’ faces soften and their postures change, feeling their sincerity when they relate how being kinder to themselves and others has made a difference in their lives, how their moments are richer and how they are better able to relate to stress, I feel so very grateful, both as teacher and student, for being able to share in the unfolding of mindfulness.      

DIANNA LAST is an MBSR teacher who received her training under the direction of Roy Hintsa and Dr. Diane Reibel the Director of The Stress Reduction Program at Jefferson University’s Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine. She participated in the 7-Day Professional Training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Mind-Body Medicine under the direction of Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn and Dr. Saki Santorelli. She studied at the International Meditation Institute in India for five years. Dianna received her certification as a Yoga Ed Instructor for Working with Those At-Risk, trained in Mindfulness for Kids at Risk with Vinnie Ferraro, and smartEducation™ (Stress Management and Resiliency Techniques) with Linda Wallace. Dianna is a teacher for The Mindful Edge® – Stress Reduction and Life Strategies For Teens program in high schools. She is an experienced professional photographer, who taught in the Artist in the Schools program with the TDSB. She’s exhibited at various galleries, at the Toronto Art Expo and is in many private collections worldwide.


Naomi NurgitzNaomi Nurgitz
MBSR & SMART Teacher/Facilitator

Mindfulness has made such a difference in my life, how could I not share it with others. Teaching mindfulness to others also benefits me because it reminds me to be mindful. It gives me such joy, as the weeks progress through a workshop cycle to watch participants' tight, stressed body language open up and the sparkle to come back into their eyes, as they realize that through mindfulness they have the power to live consciously.

NAOMI NURGITZ is an MBSR teacher who received her training under the direction of Roy Hintsa and Dr. Diane Reibel, the Director of The Stress Reduction Program at Jefferson University’s Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine. She participated in the 7-Day Professional Training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Mind-Body Medicine under the direction of Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn and Dr. Saki Santorelli. She is trained in Mindfulness for Kids at Risk with Vinnie Ferraro, and Street Yoga training for Kids at Risk as well as smartEducation™ (Stress Management and Resiliency Techniques) with Linda Wallace. Naomi has completed MBCPM level 1 of the facilitator training at the NeuroNove Centre with Dr. Jackie Gardner-Nix for Mindfulness Based Chronic Pain Management. She came to MBSR with a long history of helping people to resolve their conflicts, both as a lawyer & mediator. She is an experienced adult educator, and spent 5 years dedicated to working with kids at risk as a volunteer member of the Youth Justice Committee at Conflict Mediation Services of Downsview.


Susan Meech
SMART Teacher/Facilitator

It is a privilege for me to introduce people to mindfulness, knowing that mindfulness lets us see the world and ourselves with greater clarity and compassion.

SUSAN MEECH received her training in smartEducation™ (Stress Management and Resiliency Techniques) from Linda Wallace; her MBSR training from Kate Kitchen, Kirstin Bindseil, and Dr. Steven Selchen at the Mt. Sinai Psychotherapy Institute, Toronto; and her training in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy from Dr. Zindel Segal, Dr. Pat Rockman, and Dr. Darren Higgins. She participated in the 7-Day Professional Training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Mind-Body Medicine under the direction of Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn and Dr Saki Santorelli. Her earlier training in mind body medicine was with Dr. Herbert Benson and his colleagues from the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, Boston, MA, and her professional coach training was with Adler International Learning, Toronto. 
Susan uses mindfulness in her work with coaching clients who are making changes in their lives. Her varied experiences as an educator, lawyer, and policy analyst contribute to her understanding of some of the work environments and issues facing her clients. Susan is on the steering committee of Mindfulness Toronto and founded the Mindful Leaders-Mindful Workplace special interest group.