Maggie Cowan-Hughes
I’m a certified instructor of the Universal Healing Tao, and have been working with Healing Love for many years. I’m crazy about all forms of dance, from Tango Argentinian folk dance to 5Rhythms. Also an NLP practitioner and qualified teacher of Laban Movement and Dance, I practised and taught holistic massage and founded a centre for natural health in the UK.
In 2002, I spent a year in Buenos Aires studying Tango at its birthplace and found it hard to leave. Now I live there and teach Universal Healing Tao basics, weaving in my extensive dance experience. I organise Tango holidays, teach women’s groups and offer personal coaching in Tango and Taoist practices. I’m eager to find avenues for Taoist practices to be accessible and to find ways to make them a part of everyday life. The connection I’ve found between the Tao and dance, especially Tango and bellydance, is one I really want to share.
Maggie will be presenting "Tango from the Heart" at the Tao Congress in Thailand in September.
Leigh Blyth
My interest in Taoism started when researching the background of a martial art I was studying. I stumbled across a copy of the Tao Te Ching. I was captivated by its paradoxical poems, finding them both enlightening and confusing at the same time.
The journey that followed in martial arts, healing and meditation was guided by my early experiences. Over time, my interests evolved from purely physical self-protection into a fascination with movement, health and, most of all, energy.
Another turning point came when I noticed the effect Tai Chi was starting to have on my physical structure, health and sense of wellbeing. A desire to understand these changes and then pass them on to others led me to bodywork and I started training in Shiatsu. To develop my own practice further, I began to follow the Taoist system as taught by Master Mantak Chia.
I am now a certified Universal Healing Tao instructor and a fully qualified practitioner of Shiatsu, Thai Massage and Cosmic Healing. Along the way, an interest in the link between mind and body therapies took me to study Contemporary Psychotherapy and NLP and I am now a Master Practitioner.
I give treatments and teach the practices that I have found to give the most health benefits to others in one to one sessions, classes and workshops.
Dr Willie Monteiro
I’ve been extensively involved in the training of communication skills, personal development, and conflict resolution for a number of years in the UK, Europe and the USA. I’m a consultant psychiatrist and have been Clinical Director in Ireland and in the UK for over 10 years.
Being involved in original research at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, I authored a number of research articles, and presented original work at national and international conferences. I’ve also been involved in complementary medicine and have lectured at a number of homoeopathic colleges in the UK.
My real interest has always been in human excellence and the creation of empowering models. I became interested in how people think, organise their experience and perform - the inner elements of excellent performance. This led to my studying sociology, linguistics, systems theory, hypnosis, and even specialised trance states. I lectured on Knowledge Acquisition at the first London International Expert Systems conference.
I studied with the originators of Neurolinguistics and in the late 80’s was involved in major new developments in that field. I was among the first 10 people to be awarded the title of Master Trainer of NLP in 1988 as recognition of my input in research and training. As lead trainer, I’ve run NLP training at practitioner, master practitioner and Trainer level consistently for over 18 years. I continue to be invited to present to business and clinical audiences in the UK and in Italy. I’m also desperate to learn the tango!
Janie Shepherd
I've worked as a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture for 25 years. I gained my first qualification as a practitioner of Five Elements Acupuncture from The College of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture in 1984 and more recently completed a course of postgraduate training at The College of Integrated Chinese Medicine. I've been an NLP Practitioner for 14 years and incorporate this and therapeutic massage techniques in my acupuncture practice.
I run a busy practice from my home in Herefordshire, England. My particular interest is in women's health and in using acupuncture to facilitate personal development.
Christine Harkness-Giles
I am a Certified Universal Healing Tao Instructor and teach mainly in Brussels. My journey to the Taoist practices was via Taoist Feng Shui and feng shui consultation is a large part of my work. I have also studied Chinese Astrology and the I Ching.
Christine will be presenting "Five Element Taoist Astrology - A great working tool for instructors" at the Tao Congress in Thailand in September.