Heather Sundberg

Biography

Heather Sundberg (she/her) has been teaching insight meditation since 1999. She completed the Spirit Rock/IMS Teacher Training program with Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein, and currently serves as a member of the Spirit Rock Teacher's Council.

Training & Practice

Heather began her own meditation practice in her late teens, and over the past three decades has trained with senior teachers in the Insight Meditation (Vipassana) and Tibetan (Vajrayana) traditions. She has completed more than three years of accumulated retreat time. Her retreat background includes Insight Meditation, Pure Awareness (MahaSati), Concentration (Jhana), the Heart Practices (Brahma Viharas), and Body-Based Energy Practices, which form the core themes of her teaching. To deepen this work, she has also studied the suttas and Buddhist philosophy. Heather teaches retreats on all of these topics nationally and in Canada and Europe, and now primarily online.

Thai Forest Lineage

Heather has a strong connection to the Thai forest lineage through her early teacher Ajahn Jumnien, who trained her in MahaSati Pure Awareness practice for several years. With his blessing, she later began teaching MahaSati retreats. Recognizing that the heart of MahaSati lies in accessing the wisdom of Pure Awareness in every part of life, she began offering in-depth ongoing trainings in MahaSati in 2016. Her other ties to the Thai forest tradition include a long-standing relationship with Abhayagiri Monastery in California through Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro. Ajahn Amaro was one of her main mentors during Senior Teacher Training. She has also sat retreats with Ajahn Sumedho and Ajahn Sucitto, and is connected with many of the bhikkhunis who originally trained in the Thai forest tradition.

Somatic Training

To better support students in exploring daily life, Heather completed two years of training in Somatic Experiencing. She also completed Professional Hakomi training, a mindfulness-based somatic therapy approach. In addition, she offers individual meditation support sessions to students worldwide.

Teaching Style

Heather is known for a warm, practical teaching style. She emphasizes embodiment and brings a strong sense of heartfulness into practice. Her approach combines a “less is more” easeful style with a clear, passionate commitment to awakening.