THE PRAMA TEAM
Ramesh Bjonnes
Ramesh is a co-founder of the Prama Institute and the Director of the Prama Wellness Center. He studied yoga therapy in Nepal and India, Ayurveda at California College of Ayurveda and is a certified yoga detox therapist from the AM Wellness Center in Cebu, Philippines. He is the author of four books, including Sacred Body, Sacred Spirit (InnerWorld) and Tantra: The Yoga of Love and Awakening (Hay House India).
Joel Davis
Joel is a yoga teacher at Prama and encountered the practice at a young age. His first glimpse into the more internal world of yoga and meditation was a Vipassana silent meditation retreat in Thailand in 2015. From that point on his world shifted and he knew there was so much more to discover within the body and mind. He has attended teacher trainings in Thailand, Peru & Bali and has taught yoga at various places all over the world.
Howard Nemon
Howard is a co-founder and current director of the Prama Institute. He received extensive training in yoga philosophy and practices in the US and in India. For over 40 years, he has shared his deep knowledge of yogic practices through lectures, workshops and retreats in Asia, South America, and the US. Howard also holds a degree in Social Welfare and taught social policy, community practice, and international development at George Mason University and Warren Wilson College.
Ren Nahui Cuahtli
Ren is a masseuse at the Prama Institute. In 2010, Ren moved to Asheville and worked with the American Herbalist Guild for four years. In 2013-2014, Ren trained in massage and bodywork and learned Deep Tissue, Trigger Point Therapy, Rhythmic Jostling, Thai, and Swedish Therapy. He have been practicing massage therapy for 8+ years as well as herbalism and a holistic diet for the past 12 years.
Margaret Kirschner
Radhika Bjonnes
Radhika Banu is our sound practitioner and as been deeply inspired by the transformative power of sacred sounds since her childhood. She is a certified sound meditation and wellness practitioner and has been a dedicated practitioner of yoga and meditation since 2001, with a 400-hour Diploma in Rajadhiraja Yoga from AMYA, a state-certified yoga academy in Singapore.
Sid Jordan
Sid is a co-founder and faculty member of the Prama Institute. He has combined a career as a licensed clinical psychologist and yoga teacher since 1971. As a clinical psychologist, he taught psychotherapy and community psychology in the Department of Psychiatry and served as director of the Mental Health, Alcohol and Drug Services in a community center at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC over a period of 25 years.
Pamela Nemon
Pamela is the Retreat and Facility Administrator at the Prama Institute. She is a professional educator and school administrator. She worked for many years in international relief and development, supervising community projects for disadvantaged populations in Latin America. She received extensive training in early child education and emergency health care and has managed pre-schools in Latin America, Europe and the US.
Jessica Wilkins
Jessica is the Retreat Coordinator at the Prama Institute. She has been in the health and wellness field for over a decade and is an experienced plant-based nutritionist and coach. She has taught in her own private practice as well as in fitness centers, a functional medicine clinic, a diabetes program, a corporate behavioral health organization, the world-renowned Dean Ornish Heart Disease Reversal program, and even a prison. She is an avid yogi and meditator, practices that have transformed her life tremendously.
Ann Seward
Annie is a masseuse at the Prama Institute. Her journey with massage began after many adventures in healthcare as an EMT first responder, an herbalist, and a birth assistant for home births. In 2017, she attended the Central Florida School of Massage Therapy, focusing on sports massage with Mike McGillicuddy. She developed a solid foundation in Myofascial Release, Trigger Point Therapy, and Cupping. Since then, she has been learning Thai Massage, Shiatsu, and Reflexology; including an Advanced Thai Massage Certification with Jill Burynski.
