Allison Joy, Chief Operating Officer
“My hope is that all who want to receive these wisdom teachings will have access to them… no matter their background, where they are located, their financial means, or their technical ability. Mind Oasis represents the satisfaction of a yearning I’ve had for as long as I can remember my personal thoughts: to find the path to truth and safety.”
Allison Joy is a master Tantric yogi who has completed several retreats and pilgrimages, has built centers for mindfulness, and fosters conscious community through intentional and compassionate leadership. She has been with Mind Oasis in various roles since 2018 and has demonstrated year after year her deep dedication to making Mind Oasis a vibrant and welcoming space for all.
Allison Joy specializes in Ayurvedic and holistic lifestyle guidance, her expertise honed in private apprenticeship with Sarah Tomlinson including traveling to Kumbhakonam, India for the Navagraha (nine-planet temple circuit) where she met her heart teacher, Amma, Venu Syama. Allison guides meditation and offers fire puja, flower petal yantra ceremonies, and astrological birth chart readings.
Allison Joy lives in Central Florida with her family and guides on Monday midday. She welcomes connection and feedback. Please feel free to DM her in the Meditation Center.
DeeDee, Director of Community Meditation™
“I believe that Mind Oasis can reduce a lot of suffering in the world. Inspired by my own experience with Mind Oasis and Pema Chodron’s quote, “The mind is the source of all suffering, and it also the source of all happiness,” I hope to give back to the world by helping people improve their mental health with meditation.”
Deidre, also known as DeeDee, is from Verona, Wisconsin where she is a Graphic Designer, Illustrator, and Fine Artist. DeeDee recently became a Mind Oasis meditation guide. Her upbringing was encouraged with creativity and music, doing art projects with her mother and helping her mother with craft shows, which led her down the creative career path. Art and being creative feeds her soul. She enjoys sharing her enjoyment of art with others.
DeeDee has practiced yoga for 7 years, and became very serious with her practice in 2021 when she enrolled in the Mind Oasis Yoga Immersion. While in the Yoga Immersion, she discovered the many benefits of meditation, and decided to enroll in the Meditation Immersion that Mind Oasis also offers. It felt almost serendipitous to her how all these steps aligned with one another because they all complement each other. She believes that meditation is very similar to art… anyone can do it, if they sit down and just do it. The more you practice, the more natural it becomes.
DeeDee enjoys guiding meditation because she enjoys holding a safe space for community, sharing the many benefits of meditation, and getting to meet all the wonderful people that come to her sessions.
Rebecca, Director of Programs
“I believe with each new meditator that Mind Oasis inspires, the world becomes a more compassionate, less judgmental, and more joyful place.”
Rebecca joined Mind Oasis in September 2021 to learn how to meditate and to train her mind. She got hooked almost immediately, and in January 2022, she temporarily closed her psychotherapy practice in order to take a deeper dive into shamatha meditation and Buddhist studies.
She now guides Community Meditation herself on Tuesdays at noon CST (US) at Mind Oasis. The inspiration for Rebecca’s sessions are usually posted a day ahead in the Community Meditation Feed for anyone who would like a heads-up. But generally, her sessions include a gentle stretch to spark the flow of energy, a short poem or passage of inspiration, a thorough check-in of what’s going on around and inside us, then settling in together for about ten minutes of quiet meditation. The sessions conclude with another short poem or passage, and a dedication.
Rebecca is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT), still on sabbatical. She has called many places home, including Milwaukee/Racine, Tucson, Dallas, the Chicago burbs, and a little village in the middle of England called Solihull. Currently, she lives in the city of Chicago (Lincoln Square) with her husband, two youngest children, and a super adorable mini poodle mix named Luna. She travels as much as possible — preferably internationally. Rebecca also loves reading (especially memoirs), walking, photography, studying French and Portuguese, yoga, and playing disc golf.
Lulu, Director of Engagement and Fun
“I hope MindOasis touches the younger generation and inspires mindfulness and compassion for the future in daily life.”
Lulu’s practice in the healing arts is based on her formal education in the western medical massage model with a combination approach of traditional Chinese medicine in the form of acupressure, also known as shiatsu.
She has 5 years of clinical experience as an LMT with outpatient physical therapy and in private practice. She is a full-time Psychology Undergraduate Major and a passionate mental health advocate. She volunteers for The Nachan Project and the National Alliance for Mental Illness NYC. Lulu is also the Communications Committee Chair for the American Massage Therapy Association – New York Chapter.
Lulu enjoys running, exploring new places, lifting weights, and creative writing in her free time.
Muir, Director of Podcasts and Media
“I believe that Mind Oasis, one meditator at a time, and one moment of quiet at a time, is making the world a kinder, calmer place to live.”
Muir has been practicing yoga and meditation for 30 years. Originally from California, she has been living in New York City for 12 years. In addition to yoga & meditation, she loves traveling, running, working with animal rescue and welfare organizations, and having fun in the kitchen. She discovered Mind Oasis in 2019 and in 2020 joined their Yoga & Meditation Immersion program. She loved it so much that she decided to take their Meditation Teacher Training in 2021.
Muir loves the Mind Oasis community and guiding “Silent Sunrise” meditation at 6:30am CT. Come join her!
Karen, Director of Social Media
“I believe that meditation is an essential part of maintaining good health and well-being and the Mind Oasis community is the future of practice.”
Karen’s meditation practice began in 1971 after receiving a mantra from the Maharishi Ma’hesh Yogi. She has been using the TM method for 50+ years and is looking forward to amplifying her practice through the 2023 Mind Oasis Meditation Immersion. Karen loves her grandchildren and lives in Florida.