Tatiana Melnyk

I have worked as a Psychiatrist at the University Health Network, an academic and tri-hospital center in Toronto, Canada since 2000. I completed Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Professional Training for the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program (MBSR) in 2005 and subsequently ran groups for cancer patients at UHN's cancer center for 10 years. I also ran the MBSR program for artists at the Artists Health Center at UHN for 5 years. On a personal level, I worked individually with a number Vipassana teachers, and attended retreats, deepening my personal practice. However, at some point I felt stuck, found myself struggling with my practice and began to explore nondual teachings. After a number of stressful health events in my family I decided to plunge myself into Level 1 iRest training. Though I was initially skeptical, I made a commitment to investigate and immediately sought out a personal mentor through the iRest program. I soon felt that I had come home, and see iRest as one of the most precious gifts I have ever received. I completed certification in December 2017, and ran iRest for patients struggling with cancer and other health issues, pain, anxiety, brain injury, depression and trauma for three years at the UHN outpatient mental health department and also incorporated iRest into individual psychotherapy. The iRest program was in high demand and I received numerous referrals from physicians who noted the extraordinary impact iRest was having on their patients’ lives. I also witnessed how adding iRest to standard mental health treatment helped many patients get ‘unstuck’ and resume progress in their individual work. I also supervised psychiatry residents who came to the group with an interest in furthering their knowledge of meditation based interventions. I have since left that aspect of hospital work, and am exploring bringing iRest to community settings. Apart from medical work, my husband and I have an independent dance theater company based on Eugenio Barba’s physical theatre. Our own creative work is now a co meditation, as we create new pieces, explore movement, perform and teach. And my daughter is an endless source of inspiration; she is my true meditation teacher, never failing to amaze me with the effortless of her own Being, and unconditional joy.