Body and Soul 2006 Speakers

Sidi Hakim Archuletta

Hakim Archuletta has worked within the healing arts profession for over 30 years. His interest in medicine and natural health and the study of God’s Creation began as a child. His first formal studies were in the Fine Arts which he studied in the 60’s in Berkeley where his expertise ranged from graphic arts to theater, cinema and ethnomusicology. He studied homeopathy and apprenticed with Dr. John Damonte in London in the early 70’s. He continued these studies in Berkeley apprenticing with homeopathic doctors and working with the first Homeopathic Study group there. He continued his studies in the Middle East, England and North Africa in the mid 70’s.

In 1978, he travelled to Pakistan at the invitation of Hakim Mohammad Said of the Hamdard Foundation and studied there with various Hakims (traditional Islamic doctors) supported by grants from the Bawani Trust. His main teacher was Hakim Taqiuddin Ahmad at the Nizami Dawakhana, where he  learned Pharmacy in the Unani tradition. There he earned the title of “Hakim”.

Returning to the Americas in 1980, he began teaching students privately and established a family practice clinic in Santa Barbara California. He has conducted and taught study groups for homeopathy in Santa Barbara, California, Taos, Abiquiu, and Los Alamos, New Mexico for professional and lay persons. He began extensive work as counselor, consultant and Hakim/Homeopath in Abiquiu, New Mexico and by traveling nationally for over ten years. This also included workshops on communication and community consensus building including special focus on youth. He  worked with young people for many years and taught science on a high school level for six years in a very “hands on” method and worked on curriculum that is age appropriate and spiritually based in science for young people.

More recently he began to focus on trauma and was certified in the methods of Dr. Peter Levine and others. Today he lectures and teaches classes and workshops nationally. He has conducted workshops and lectured at University of California Berkeley, Harvard, Wellesley, Stanford, UCLA, University of Houston and many others. He addressed and led the New Mexico State Congress in opening prayers after 9/11, writes, reads and organizes poetry readings. He has students and patients worldwide.

 

Ather Ali, N.D. , M.P.H.

Dr. Ali is originally from California where he completed a B.S. in Psychobiology from UCLA. He then obtained a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington and completed a residency in Integrative Medicine from Griffin Hospital and the University of Bridgeport College of Naturopathic Medicine, followed by a  Masters in Public Health at Yale University. He is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in at the Yale Prevention Research Center, and Assistant Professor at the University of Bridgeport.

Mona Amer, Ph.D.

 

Dr. Amer is a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University’s Program for Recovery and Community Health, in the Psychiatry department. Her work focuses on helping low-income ethnic minority persons recover from mental illness. She was recently awarded the prestigious American Psychological Association’s Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology for her work on Muslim and Arab American mental health. She completed the largest study to date on Arab American culture and mental health, developed a pioneering training program to help non-Muslim health professionals provide culturally and religiously sensitive treatment to Muslims, and provides consultation to Arab and Muslim social service agencies. She is also an Associate Editor for the recently established Journal of Muslim Mental Health. Over the past 5 years she has organized numerous conferences, workshops, and programs in the Muslim community aimed at improving emotional and social health. Prior to moving to the U.S. she lived in Egypt where she worked for the United Nations Drug Control Programme’s global study on illicit drug markets.

 

Cynthia Griffin

 

Cynthia Griffin is a licensed Massage Therapist in Connecticut since 2003. She is an Independent Contractor working out of Creative Body Therapies in New Haven and Southington Chiropractic. She has a very eclectic style which incorporates many types of massage. These styles  include Swedish, Deep Tissue, Therapeutic, Rehab Work, Sports Massage, Pregnancy Massage, Chair Massage to name a few.  She specializes in Thai Yoga Massage and has studied with Kam Thye Chow of Canada and Rick Haesche of CT.  Cynthia also has an education in Western and Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine.

 

Glenn Perry

 

Glenn Perry has worked with bee venom therapy extensively with both humans and animals. He is a board member of the American Apitherapy Society and regularly teaches at AAS’s Charles Mraz Apitherapy Course.  He has studied with Apimondia’s Commission on Apitherapy and The Dept of Alternative Medicine of the Republic of Cuba, and speaks locally and internationally on the use of honey bees and their products for health. Glenn is founder of GlenHeaven Propolis which produces a unique water emulsion of bee propolis.

 

 

 

Dedicated to the Wisdom teachings of Hakim Archuletta