Sean W. Murphy, Sensei

Head Teacher

Sean W. Murphy is a fully sanctioned Zen teacher (Sensei) in the American White Plum Zen Lineage. He has had over 30 years of formal Zen training and teaches widely on subjects of meditation, mindfulness, Zen practice, and writing. He is the author of the American Zen chronicle One Bird, One Stone: 108 Contemporary Zen Stories, as well as three novels, and was a 2018 National Endowment for the Arts fellow in Creative Writing. He is the Executive Director of Sage Institute. Visit www.murphyzen.com to learn more.

Mirabai Starr

Mirabai Starr writes creative non-fiction and contemporary translations of sacred literature, taught Philosophy and World Religions at the University of New Mexico-Taos for 20 years and now teaches and speaks internationally on contemplative practice and inter-spiritual dialogue. Please visit www.mirabaistarr.com to learn more about Mirabai.

Tania Casselle

Transpersonal psychotherapist and long-time meditation practitioner, Sage Institute board member Tania follows a contemplative path in the Zen Buddhist and Christian mystic traditions and has studied in the Living School for Action and Contemplation founded by Richard Rohr. An award-winning writer of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, Tania is a committee chair for the American Society of Journalists & Authors. She leads online writing seminars and in-person contemplative writing retreats. Please visit www.TCwriter.com to learn more.

Elizabeth Koren Grahn

Koren was born in Maryland and grew up in the forests of Northwestern Washington State. She was home-schooled and began learning meditation from her mother, her first spiritual teacher, when she was 12. After growing up, Koren followed a self-guided spiritual path until 2009 when she began Zen practice with Sean Tetsudo Murphy, Sensei in Taos, New Mexico. She became a formal student of Shishin Roshi and Roshi Shinko (Great Mountain Zen Center) in 2012 and ordained as a novice priest in 2018. Koren works as a tax accountant in Boulder, Colorado.

Sage Institute Meditation Leader Training Program Graduates and Trainees

Jennifer Wood

Jennifer serves as Education Director for Sage Institute. She has worked with adults and youth in diverse educational settings for 30 years as a teacher, workshop facilitator, public historian, researcher, and coach. She is passionate about mindfulness as self-care for educators and caregivers. Jennifer has been based in Germany for many years and currently works in Berlin with migrant and refugee communities, where mindfulness is an essential part of her efforts.

Sonya Luz Hinton Costanza

Sonya has practiced yoga and mindfulness since her late teens, and began teaching yoga in 1996. She specializes in Yoga for Back Care and Scoliosis as well as Four Seasons Yoga, which combines deep, fluid breath and movement with precise alignment. Her studies with the Sage Institute have deepened her understanding of Buddhist philosophy, fortified her personal practice, and provided practical skills to share these life-enhancing tools with others. Sonya continues this journey with gratitude to all of the teachers who guide the way.

Richard G. Pelfrey

Richard is a LADAC and NCACI. Over the course of his career, he has worked to empower others to begin the process of change in their lives through recovery from addiction. Richard believes that recovery is available to and possible for all people, regardless of severity. He believes recovery begins with healthy connections, and as such, he places high value on the importance of modeling healthy relationships and fostering safety in a therapeutic environment. Richard also brings a passionate belief in the holistic nature of recovery to substance abuse treatment, and with that he places strong emphasis on the “bottom-up” approach to the treatment experience. Three years ago, Richard began a personal meditation practice and started bringing mindfulness meditation practices to the treatment environment. He has seen great success and change both personally and professionally since incorporating these practices, and joined Sage Institute in 2017 with the intention of deepening his practice as well as his ability to lead others away from suffering via meditation practice.

Bonnie Burton

Bonnie has been practicing mindfulness and meditation in various forms for over 20 years. She has a background and education in fitness, psychology, arts, and spirituality, and has been offering spiritual direction for the past 13 years in Canada and Southernmost Illinois. She is dedicated to providing a safe space for people to retreat — whether for an hour, a day, or an extended stay — at the Center For Lost Arts in Cobden, Illinois. After studying with Sage Institute for several years, Bonnie graduated from the Meditation Leader Training Program in 2020. She believes it is vital to have a teacher or guide — for personal growth and practice as well as for accountability as a leader. "I am deeply grateful for those who have accompanied me and am honored to have the opportunity to accompany others." - Bonnie Burton

Karen Lasker

Karen has been a Buddhist meditation practitioner for approximately 20 years and a Zen student for approximately 8 years. She is a student in Sage Institute's Meditation Leader Training Program and intends to teach meditation primarily to elders in her community. Karen is a member of the Open Mind Zen sangha, where she serves on the Board of Directors and teaches a weekly course entitled Zen Fundamentals, leading meditation and teaching meditation hall form and etiquette. Karen is retired and lives in Florida where she enjoys gardening, cooking, reading, and beach walks. Prior to retirement, Karen was the director of a non-profit organization utilizing therapy animals in medical settings.

Anahi Russo Garrido

Anahi Russo Garrido, PhD (Myozan) began practicing meditation in 2001 in Mexico City and is now a Zen student at the Great Mountain Zen Center in CO. She graduated from the Sage Institute Meditation Leader Training Program and has developed a course directed to college students entitled "Meditation and Activism," offered at Metropolitan State University of Denver, where she is a professor in Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies. In "Meditation and Activism," students learn basic lay meditation techniques and explore how these practices may support their involvement in activism. She is the author of "Tortilleras Negotiating Intimacy: Love, Friendship and Sex in Queer Mexico City" (Rutgers University Press, 2020). She teaches and writes on transnational feminist and queer theories, immigration, and is developing a new writing project on meditation and activism.

Lauren Phelps

Lauren Phelps is a spiritual director whose work focuses on those who consider themselves spiritually independent or who have felt marginalized by traditional religion. She also offers one on one meditation coaching in the context of spiritual direction. Lauren’s life and spirituality are informed, inspired, and enriched by the universal love and awareness that lie at the heart of all sacred traditions. For the past 25 years she has studied and practiced meditation in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, while also engaging with the Christian contemplative path. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband Geoff and two German Shepherds, Guinness and Maizie. You can find out more about Lauren here: https://www.facebook.com/SpiritualDirectionWithLaurenPhelps

Erin Ashley Eggers

Erin serves as the Operations Manager of Sage Institute. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area and Taos, NM, she also practices integrative bodywork, yoga, and ceremonial/somatic practices, with a focus on restoring radiant embodiment after trauma and in facing systemic oppression. Erin graduated from UNM after studying psychology, structural integration massage therapy, yoga therapy, and holistic healing arts. To learn more about her offerings, visit www.breath-sound-space.com