On-Land Retreat
Young Adult Insight Meditation Retreat
Teaching Team
![Matthew Brensilver, PhD](https://www.spiritrock.org/uploads/team-photos/teachers/_600x750_crop_center-center_none/Spirit-Rock-Teacher-Matthew-Brensilver.jpg)
Matthew Brensilver, PhD
Teacher
Matthew Brensilver teaches at the Insight Retreat Center, Spirit Rock and Insight Meditation Society. Before committing to teach meditation full-time, he spent years doing research on addiction pharmacotherapy at the UCLA Center for Behavioral and Addiction Medicine and continues to be interested in the dialogue between Buddhism and science.
![Cara Lai](https://www.spiritrock.org/uploads/team-photos/teachers/_600x750_crop_center-center_none/Spirit-Rock-Teacher-Cara-Lai.jpg)
Cara Lai
Teacher
Throughout many mind-body adventures, Cara has explored the concentrated mind, chronic illness, the value of pleasure, the power of maternal energy, and connection to the earth. She tries her best to teach from the most authentic place she can muster, and is still learning about the contentment of simply existing.
![Vinny Ferraro](https://www.spiritrock.org/uploads/team-photos/teachers/_600x750_crop_center-center_none/Spirit-Rock-Teacher-Vinny-Ferraro.jpg)
Vinny Ferraro
Teacher
Vinny Ferraro has been a practitioner of insight meditation (Vipassanā) since the mid-90s. He’s been the Guiding Teacher of the Big Heart City Sangha in San Francisco for 20 years. He has been trained and empowered by Spirit Rock/IMS and he doesn’t like talking about himself in the 3rd person.
![Hakim Tafari](https://www.spiritrock.org/uploads/team-photos/teachers/_600x750_crop_center-center_none/Spirit-Rock-Teacher-Hakim-Tafari.jpg)
Hakim Tafari
Teacher
Hakim Tafari is a transplant from the U.K. now living in LA and is active runner meditator and student of the martial arts Hakim is known for his love and passion of the martial arts in particular Tai Chi Quan and has studied and taught for over 20 years.
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