Mel (she/her) was raised in a Taiwanese family that practices Pure Land Buddhism. Communal and spiritual life are deeply intertwined for her. She remembers as a young child coloring outside the altar room door while listening to her father chant at dawn. She’s offered meditation instructions to the BIPOC community at Cambridge Insight for the last decade. She is part of the current four-year IMS/Spirit Rock teacher training cohort and gratefully receives mentorship from DaRa Williams. Mel loves learning different ways to hold spacious, non-hierarchical practice spaces that support rest and healing. She is a licensed acupuncturist, herbalist, and dancer. She and her partner are currently rewilding their backyard with native plants.