Grof Psychedelic and Breathwork Training Academy

Instructor(s)

Neil Hanon, MD, FRCPC, is a psychiatrist based in Kelowna. Recognized for his teaching excellence, Dr. Hanon has received the Undergraduate Psychiatry Clinical Teaching Award from the UBC Department of Psychiatry in 2011 and 2023, along with the Clinical Faculty Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching from the Faculty of Medicine at UBC in 2018. Dr.Hanon, Neil, got involved in Holotropic Breathwork first as a participant to help with his grief after the death of his 17 year old son. He discovered that conventional psychology and psychiatry had no coherent strategy to help him in his grief. Through extensive reading he discovered Stan Grof’s writing on novel theories of the human psyche and was able to attend a breathwork retreat led by Stan and Christina Grof. He found the breathwork so beneficial for his grief that he continued on training and in 2015 become certified as a Holotropic Breathwork facilitator. Driven by his own journey, Neil developed a keen interest in treating grief and spiritual emergence. He co-founded Relief for Grief, which evolved into Jamaica Grief Retreats, offering legal psilocybin mushroom journeys to parents who have lost a child. He also served as the medical director for TheraPsil, assisting patients with End of Life Distress to gain legal access to psilocybin mushrooms. During his time with TheraPsil he was one of 19 Canadian clinical professionals who were granted permission by the Federal minister of Health to legally possess and take psilocybin mushrooms for educational purposes. In 2021 Neil was invited by Stan and Brigitte Grof to co-lead the Canadian arm of Grof Legacy Training International. In late 2023 Grof Legacy Training Canada separated into breathwork and psychedelic streams. Neil leads both the Psychedelic Training, and Grof Breathwork Programs in Canada. With his extensive background of curriculum development and teaching skills has developed the coursework with emphasis on its application to psychedelic medicine work, and Grof Breathwork.


Instructor(s)

Amy Burrell spent her formative years in Brazil and returned to the United States for her higher education. Her experience of two cultures and languages has shaped her world view giving her an appreciation of other cultures and the diversity they bring. Amy has participated in sacred ceremonies for more than a decade and weaves cultural wisdom from these experiences and ongoing international training and mentorships into her work. She began her professional life as a ballet/modern dancer and costume designer. Her appreciation for aesthetics and deep understanding of the body and movement, instilled early on, continue to inform her work. She created art installations working with themes of suspension, timelessness, healing, death and rebirth where participants could experience their own bodies and achieve more self awareness. These themes integrated well into her interest in Grof studies. Amy has a MFA, a BS Dance/Psychology, is a LMT and has has extensive training in trauma-informed holistic healing modalities. Her additional certifications include Grof® Breathwork, Thriving Relationship Coach™, Authentic Tantra® teacher, Reiki Master and SET (structural energetic therapy). She has taught movement and dance at the Federal University of Goiás in Brazil and at Indiana University. She is pursuing Grof® Psychedelic Therapists training in Spain while continuing as a practicing massage therapist. She facilitates Grof® Breathwork workshops and is a Teacher of Grof Legacy Training® nationally and internationally. Amy’s enthusiasm for learning, traveling, and experiencing cultures continues to inspired and enrich her life and work. It is her greatest honour to hold space for others in their transformational journey.

Sandy is a lifelong student of Eastern, Western and indigenous spiritual traditions and is dedicated to supporting healing and the evolution of consciousness as the pathway to humanity’s survival and an equitable, sustainable, flourishing future. He is certified in Grof® Breathwork by Grof® Legacy Training and as a Breathwork Practitioner and Psycho-Spiritual Facilitator by the Global Professional Breathwork Alliance. He is also a member of the International Breathwork Foundation. He has completed the core curriculum of Grof® Psychedelic Training for psychedelic assisted therapy. He facilitates breathwork and medicine work with individuals and groups around the globe, and he designs and facilitates retreats, experiential workshops, and communities of practice focused on personal transformation, environmental sustainability and culture change. 
Sandy is a certified meditation teacher and has studied, practiced, and taught numerous meditation and transformational techniques over 45 years, including Vipassana, Transcendental Meditation and TM advanced techniques, Zen, and Kriya Yoga. He studied Archetypal Patterns at the Assisi Institute and has done extensive study of the Enneagram with the Enneagram Institute. Following a two-decade career as a development industry executive and an epiphany regarding the destructive impacts of that industry, Sandy became a central figure in the world green building movement. Through Consilience LLC, a consultancy with a mission to foster environmentally, socially and economically sustainable communities, he has given birth to sustainability plans for municipalities and institutions, regional public policy initiatives and sustainable economic development plans across the U.S. He was a co-creator of and educator for The Choosing Earth Project, whose mission is to catalyze personal and societal awakening to the critical challenges to humanity’s future and to foster a relational consciousness grounded in our connection with a Living Universe. He also served as Sr. Advisor to RSF Social Finance where he launched RSF’s Conscious Finance initiative, which focused on the power of inner transformation as the means to alter the way that money works in the world. He also served as Chief Learning Officer for Future Tide Partners, a field building collaborative focused on equipping individuals and institutions to shift consciousness, culture and capital toward an inclusive and flourishing future. Sandy served for a decade as Chair of BALLE (now Common Future). He is also Past Chair of the U.S. Green Building Council, Founding Chair of Green Business Certification Inc., and Founding Chair of Green Building United.

Cira is a clinical psychologist rooted in depth psychology and psychoanalysis, with over 30 years of experience. A personal journey into the Amazon ten years ago, where I engaged in immersive study with indigenous healing traditions, profoundly shaped my understanding of healing and transformed my therapeutic approach. My work integrates psychodynamic insight, somatic awareness, and spiritual practice. I am trained in Hakomi and EMDR, certified in Mindfulness and Meditation through Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield, nearing completion of my certification in Holotropic Breathwork and Psychedelic Therapy through Grof® Legacy Training in Canada, and also training in PSIP (Psychedelic Somatic Interactive Psychotherapy). Grounded in present-moment awareness, I draw on each person’s innate resilience to create a therapeutic space that supports deep exploration, healing, and self-discovery.