About Valley Mindfulness, David Spound, and our teachers

About Valley Mindfulness offers Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) and related mindfulness programs to groups, organizations, and individuals throughout western Massachusetts and globally through the Internet. Valley Mindfulness Teachers: David Spound, M.Ed., founded Valley Mindfulness in 2005, having been inspired by the healing he experienced from practicing mindfulness meditation while coping with significant health challenges. He is certified as a teacher and a teacher trainer of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC). MBSR: David was certified as a teacher of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) by the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at UMass Medical School in Worcester, the organization founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., who originally created the MBSR course. David worked at the UMass Center for Mindfulness from 2006–2013 where he served as a member of the MBSR teaching staff and coordinator of the MBSR teacher training and certification program ("Oasis"). He currently serves as a teacher trainer, mentor, and teacher certification reviewer for those who are completing MBSR teacher training through the Center for Mindfulness at the University of California San Diego. MSC: David was certified as a teacher of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC), by the Center for Mindfulness at the University of California San Diego — the official training program of the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion (the organization founded by the co-creators of MSC: Christopher Germer, PhD, and Kristin Neff, PhD). With the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion, David serves as a teacher trainer and mentor of new MSC teachers, co-developer of the Ultimate Courage Men's Workshop, co-leader of the Community for Deepening Practice (global online program for MSC graduates), co-leader of residential silent meditation retreats, mentor for the Sounds True Power of Self-Compassion program, and practice leader within the global MSC Circle of Practice. David develops and delivers mindfulness-based education and training programs for local educational institutions and businesses. He also sees private clients online and in-person.

Adi Bemak, M.Ed., C.A.G.S., has been a practitioner of Mindfulness Meditation for four decades and has been teaching Mindfulness Meditation since 1993. She is certified as a teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) by the Center for Mindfulness (CFM) in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at UMass Medical School. Adi served on the CFM teaching staff from 2009-2016, and has been teaching MBSR with Valley Mindfulness from 2009 to the present. Adi is a mentor on the faculty of the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP), an international training designed and overseen by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. She has also been on the teachers’ council of the Insight Meditation Center of Pioneer Valley (IPV) since 2001. Adi is a Buddhist advisor at Mount Holyoke College, and has offered introductory courses in Mindfulness to staff, faculty, and students at Amherst College and the University of Massachusetts. In addition, Adi is a longtime psychotherapist and maintains a mindfulness-based psychotherapy practice in Amherst.

Gail K. Wingate, M.S.N., A.P.R.N., taught Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at Valley Mindfulness until she passed away from cancer in May 2021. Gail is the beloved life partner of David Spound. She was a board certified family nurse practitioner, having trained at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute for Health Professions in Boston. She specialized in integrative medicine, women’s health, and mental health issues. She practiced at Equinox Health & Healing, an integrative primary care practice affiliated with the Exeter Hospital in Portsmouth, NH. She served on the clinical staff of the University of New Hampshire Health & Wellness clinic from 2012 until her retirement in 2019. Prior to nursing, Gail was a board certified massage therapist in private practice for 7 years, followed by 3 years as a staff therapist at Kripalu Center For Yoga & Health. She is a trained yoga teacher and Reiki Master, with certifications in craniosacral therapy, reflexology and homeopathy. She was a devoted student of Buddhist principles and a practitioner of mindfulness and compassion meditation. She completed the "Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in Mind/Body Medicine" training with Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli in 2006 (where she and David first met). Her exploration of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) inspired her to deepen these practices. She completed MSC teacher training through the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness and the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion. She is deeply missed by family, friends, and former clients and students.