Alma y Espiritu Family

Criss Cuervo

Criss has practiced meditation and mindfulness for over 7 years. She is the Founder of AlmayEspiritu, and her mission is to guide people in the transformation process of loving, accepting, and caring for themselves through culturally-attuned and secular meditation and mindfulness practices. She is the author of PERTENÆCER: Eight-Week Mindfulness and Meditation Training and Practices for Latinx Immigrants in the US. Criss has a BA from the University of Illinois, an MA in Mindfulness from Lesley University, and she is currently getting a certification to teach Google’s mindfulness and emotional intelligence leadership training, Search Inside Yourself.

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Paula Ledbetter

A practitioner of mindfulness and meditation, Paula Ledbetter leads interactive, engaging, and inspiring classes, workshops, and trainings around the United States. Paula serves as a member of the Design Team for the LeadingAge Illinois Leadership Academy and is the Asst. Vice President of Marketing for Mather LifeWays. She is the recipient of more than 20 awards, including the Platinum level and highest honor from the League of American Communications Professionals. Her focus is on authentic self, mindfulness, creativity, and supporting leaders who want to contribute their talents toward a calling that fully inspires them and the world around them. Paula is currently pursuing her Masters in Mindfulness Studies at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA.

Charity Collier

Charity Collier is a meditation practitioner and teacher. Charity’s mission is to change the stigma around meditation and bring mindfulness meditation to everyone in the least intimidating manner. Charity holds a Master’s degree of Mindfulness Studies from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. In addition, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Physiology and a certificate in Substance Abuse Counseling both from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Charity combines a three-fold education by bringing a mind, body and spirit connection to my meditation practice and teachings. Charity’s meditation teaching is for the everyday person who wants a better well-being for him or herself.

A main focus of Charity’s work has been working with people with addiction. Charity believes mindfulness and addiction treatment can be a vital way to recovery. Charity combines her education of the human body and addiction to use a mindfulness approach when working with clients dealing with addiction. Charity currently teaches meditation workshops, meditation groups and one on one mediation with clients of all walks of life, not exclusive to addiction.

Madeleine Pizey

A meditation and yoga teacher, mindfulness consultant, and student for life based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Madeleine’s passion for self-study brought her to Southeast Asia, where she began to practice Ashtanga yoga daily. This eventually took her to India where she completed 200 hours of training with Vijay Amor. When Madeleine returned to the States, she continued to study and complete numerous yoga and meditation teacher trainings from Level One Journey Into Power teacher training with Baron Baptiste to completing 500 hours of training through Teacher Study Project with Coeli Marsh. Madeleine studied yoga, meditation and mindfulness with her mentors Coeli Marsh, Masaaki Okamura, Criss Cuervo and is deeply grateful to have the opportunity to study and learn from all of her teachers.

Alongside her trainings Madeleine was pursuing a master’s degree in Mindfulness at Lesley University, where she has embarked on silent retreats and has greatly deepened her meditation and mindfulness practice. She has taught mindfulness in school systems, to homeless shelters, and to corporations. Madeleine’s classes are centered around guiding you to get you out of your head and into your body. As a teacher, Madeleine aims to provide a welcoming, secure and trusting environment for her students to experience their own transformation and stillness.