Gayah “Imani” Gillson is a Dharmacharya Lay-Ordained Monastic Minister, and a Theravadan teacher with Mahayana, Vajrayana, and Zen influences. She/They/Kin/Love graduated from a myriad of trainings from Spirit Rock.
Gayah loves sharing the Dharma by weaving the relationality of art, spirituality, and activism – and is informed by additional roots in intersectional spiritual/mysticism/wisdom practices such as earth-based indigenous ceremonies, orisha circles, soul-centered new-thought christianity, and transpersonal astrology.
They recently co-led a QTBIPOC Retreat at Dhamma Dena Retreat Center. She has taught, collectively facilitated, and co-created retreats and workshops in the US and abroad, in Brazil. They currently co-facilitate a nightly Quan Yin Devotional Practice Chanting Circle.
At both the East Bay Meditation Center (EBMC) in Oakland, CA, and the Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center in Hendersonville, NC, Gayah has taught her love for the embodiment of the sutras by using her theatrical skills to bring ancient texts to life.