stay in touch with our facilitators

  • B.Ed., M.T.S., M.A.P.P.C. degrees. Trained as a spiritual director in 1991, I have worked directing: silent retreats, individuals on their personal spiritual journeys, and people doing the Ignatian exercises in daily life. I am a trained mid-life/long-life transitions facilitator and a pastoral counselor with a specialization in art therapy. Ignatian spirituality with its emphasis on praying the scriptures forms a core part of my training and focus. Working with the personality theory of the Enneagram is also an area of interest and expertise.

  •  Presently, I am working as a spiritual director/companion, retreat facilitator, program coordinator and educational consultant. I bring over 20 years of experience in the fields of spirituality and education. My formal formation and training as a spiritual director is from Regis (Jesuit) College at the University of Toronto. Familiar with many spiritual practices, such as Ignatian spirituality, contemplative spirituality and centering prayer, I am engaged in discernment and gratitude practices.

  • I began my working life as a teacher in New Zealand and continue to find teaching skills valuable when providing spiritual companioning and retreat facilitation. I am passionate about deep listening; being prayerfully present and listening from the heart. For me spiritual direction is very much about creating the spaciousness for listening with and reflecting on the sacredness of life. It is also about being open to inner wisdom and a presence beyond words, and about listening together for guidance in conversation and in quiet.

  • Ph.D. (Princeton);
    member of UVic English Department for 34 years;
    courses on Biblical literature and archetypes;
    book on Biblical characters and the Enneagram (with R. De Roo and P. Gervais)

  • I am a certified yoga instructor. In my teaching I approach poses mindfully and gently, working on alignment and opening of energy channels in the body. In movement and stillness I encourage conscious breathing, body awareness and guidance by inner wisdom.

  • Elvira Clare has lived as a contemplative for many years and is a resident of the interfaith Forest of Peace Community on Salt Spring Island. She is a former nun of the Vedanta tradition and is an ordained Interfaith Minister. Elvira is a singer/songwriter whose songs inspire the heart. Her songs are descriptive of the spiritual journey and reflect the meeting point of music and the contemplative experience. Elvira facilitates workshops and retreats, combining her music with talks on contemplative practice and meditation.

  • I am a Canadian Certified Counsellor; and have been working with youth and adults for the past 15 years. I have worked as a counsellor with non-profit agencies, government programs, and post-secondary schools. I currently own and operate WorkFlo Career Counselling, where I help individual clients reach their personal, educational, and career goals.

  •  I had to come all the way from Italy to discover my true passion: yoga. I qualified as a yoga instructor at MokSana and teach in many locations around Victoria. My background is in the field of body/mind education (Alexander Technique), where I have acquired an extensive experience in helping people get rid of excessive tension by improving their own body awareness.

  • Father John Govan, sj, comes from the Loyola House retreat centre in Guelph, Ontario. Loyola House is a renewal and training centre based on Jesuit Ignatian spirituality. Through Ignatian discernment, they seek to empower both individuals and groups
    within the context of their own experience. They have been training spiritual companions for over 30 years.

  • June Maffin has a rich background as author, creative spirituality artist, educator, Anglican priest, spiritual director and conference speaker. She delights in seeing the light from within each participant emerge and evolve.  Nurtured by an abiding awareness of the Holy in all aspects of life and a deep conviction that everyone has received the gift of creativity in some way, June brings her enthusiastic and gentle approach to each session.

  •  I have been practicing Yoga and the energetic arts for over twenty years and have experienced many styles of Yoga which have influenced my teaching. My interest in the energetic body and meditation has led me to explore Tai Chi, Qi Gong and Reiki, which complements my varied Yoga background.

  • Leslie Sandra Black: Holistic Therapist, Healer, Spiritual Teacher
    BA, MA (in Applied Behavioural Sciences), Certified Healing Touch Practitioner,
    Certified Quantum Healer, Certified Medical Intuitive

  • Mark Huthmacher, a resident of the interfaith Forest of Peace Community on Salt Spring Island, is a former monk of the Benedictine Order and has lived many years as a contemplative. He has a degree in Philosophy and an extensive background in interfaith study and exchange. Over the years, Mark has facilitated workshops and retreats on contemplative prayer and meditation, including the exploration of the inner dimensions of the human journey.

  • I bring years of experience presenting and facilitating workshops and retreats, honouring the individual and group process. I love being part of "changing the paradigm from aging to SAGE-ING(R)" -- finding the wise one in ourselves and living a future that reflects our true selves. I'm passionate about writing life stories. I facilitate Guided Autobiography workshops and retreats.

  • Nancy Watters, MA, CCC, is a Canadian Certified Counsellor, inspiring chant master, Usui Reiki Master, Certified Adult Educator and vocalist. She is a gifted group facilitator who quickly creates a sense of ease and belonging, using song, humour and expert therapeutic skills.  People appreciate her warm, peaceful demeanour and well-rounded approach to wellness.

  • I am a meditation instructor, spiritual coach, and shamanic consultant in Victoria, BC. A senior student of Dr. Reginald Ray and Senior Teacher within the Dharma Ocean meditation community, I both practice and study in the meditative tradition of Chogyam Trungpa. It is from this foundation that all my work arises. My meditation instruction celebrates the primacy of the body in human experience.

  • Purna Ma has been a devoted and passionate teacher and practitioner of Qigong and Tai Chi for 19 years. She is a former Shiatsu Therapist and Registered Massage Therapist who practised in Toronto at her own natural health centre. Purna Ma has had a committed meditation practice for many years and currently resides at the Forest of Peace Community on Salt Spring Island where she teaches ongoing Qigong and Tai Chi classes. She is regularly invited to facilitate retreats and workshops throughout North America.

  • I was born and raised in southern Ontario, receiving my undergraduate degree from the University of Waterloo and my Masters of Divinity from St. Peter's Seminary (University of Western Ontario).

  •  I specialize in Hawaiian Deep Tissue LomiLomi Massage, Hot Stone Therapy, Acupressure, and Reiki. I took my first 3 levels of Reiki, including the Master Course with Sister Eileen and completed the Karuna course with Carol Vezina in Nanaimo. As the excited new owner of the Peninsula Integrative Health and Wellness Centre in Brentwood Bay, I passionately continue the work I started at Queenswood.

  •  I am a Guild Certified Feldenkrais® Practitioner with almost 20 years of expertise as a European Physiotherapist and I am the founder of the Feldenkrais® Institute of Victoria.

  •  Biodynamic craniosacral therapy • Five-element acupressure (Jin Shin Do) • Acutonics (sound healing) • Reiki • Bach flower remedies & consultations

  • I am a Certified Holistic health therapist who has participated in several programs at Queenswood for the past 17 years. I received my Master Level reiki training with Sister Ilene Curtis in 1991,and have been providing service in the Healing Arts for several years.

    At Queenswood, in the medical profession and resort Industry.
    Modalities I provide include Body/Mind Therapy, Nutritional Consulting, Wellness Programs, Swedish massage,reflexology,Lastone therapy.