Toni Cupal

Co-Founder, Healer

toni@healingcultures.org

Toni has been studying Ninniku Okyū in the traditional apprenticeship system with Mukund Subramanian since the fall of 2012. In 2016, he gave her the blessing to begin practicing the work.

Toni began her journey in this life as a geeky kid who loved gymnastics and math and romping around the mountains of Wyoming. She majored in Physics at the University of Wyoming and then obtained masters’ degrees in business and engineering from Stanford University. After retiring from high tech product marketing work after the births of her children, Toni worked on child abuse and environmental issues through involvement with several non-profit organizations. After a move to London in 2007, Toni began practicing yoga and became a certified Jivamukti Yoga teacher in 2009. Her interest in healing developed out of her desire to support students more deeply. In 2011, she first experienced the depth of Mukund Subramanian’s work and realized the importance of helping him pass on the tradition of Ninniku Okyū. Something moved her to shyly ask him to be his first student in 2012. Despite what he considered to be a very weak resume for intuitive work, Mukund agreed to at least try to teach her. He explained that the work cannot be taught, but that they could try to set up the conditions under which she might receive the gift. After three years of dedicated effort, the gift did begin to come through and Mukund invited Toni to create Healing Cultures with him. They now practice the healing work together and Toni continues to teach yoga where she is attempting to bring the deeper healing concepts into the yoga practice. She is enjoying exploring how to bring the elements of healing into her public and private yoga classes. In doing this work, Toni draws from the healing training from Mukund as well as her studies of Jivamukti Yoga and the Yoga Tune-Up Method. Toni is deeply grateful for each opportunity to support someone in their healing journey either through yoga class or treatments. It is always a profound adventure.

Heidi Jackman

Board Member

Heidi joined the board of Healing Cultures in 2019. Studying yoga with Toni, experiencing the benefits of the healing work with Mukund and feeling the life-changing effects of the retreats sold her on the mission. She attained a Business Economics degree from University California at Santa Barbara. Heidi spent 25 years in High Tech leadership with a keen interest in start-ups and creating new offerings, before launching her true passion project of founding a transformative life coaching business.

Dave Cauchi

Board Member

Dave has been a board member of Healing Cultures since May of 2019. Dave completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara where he received a BA in Political Science in 1984. After receiving his JD from Santa Clara University in 1990, Dave was a legal real estate consultant in the wireless telecommunications industry for over 15 years. Today, Dave is a real estate broker in the commercial/residential investment sector.

Dave joined the Healing Cultures board after helping them to procure the real estate needed for the future Healing Cultures center. He was injured badly in a freak accident and was aided in his recovery by Toni and Mukund. He is focused on helping the team develop the physical and cultural space where Healing Cultures and its wonderful community can thrive.

Sarah McTee

Director of Operations

sarah@healingcultures.org

As a participant in our first Paint Brush Point retreat in 2015, Sarah has been part of Healing Cultures before it was officially known by that name. She met co-founder Toni Cupal through the Jivamukti yoga community and had the privilege of practicing with Toni and members of the Healing Cultures satsang for five years while living in the Bay Area.

Sarah received her master’s degree from the University of Hawaii in 2006 and spent many years working in natural resource management throughout the Pacific region.  Over time, she has transitioned from working as a Foreign Affairs Officer for the U.S. State Department, to a program manager for an international non-profit, to currently being fully dedicated to supporting and sharing healing practices.In addition to working as the Director of Operations for Healing Cultures, Sarah is a yoga instructor, Reiki practitioner, massage therapist, and participant in our Healing Training program. Sarah officially joined our staff in August of 2020 and is working remotely from her home in Honolulu, Hawaii.  

Gabriel Anthony-Kemp

Director of Community Engagement

gabriel@healingcultures.org

Gabriel joins Healing Cultures from the East Coast, bringing with him experience in grassroots fundraising, community building, and strategic partnerships. His professional journey has been dedicated to impact-driven organizations, where he has mentored youth using a holistic approach that emphasizes personal well-being, pursuing excellence, and being of service. He graduated from Franklin & Marshall College, where he studied Business and American Studies.

Over the past three years, Gabriel has joined us on various retreats and is entering his third year of participating in the Training Program. Gabriel is thrilled to be in a role that allows him to deepen his relationships within the community and share this powerful work with others. He looks forward to organizing community events and contributing to the development of the new Wellness Center in La Honda, CA.