Amina Silk and Arif Leininger

Amina Silk, an artist, cook, crafter and lover of life, Amina lives in a small city in  Massachusetts with her husband Arif on their artsy permaculture, wildlife sanctuary. An ordained priestess in the order of Melchizedek, and a certified Kriya and Hatha yoga instructor, Amina is also a certified dance leader for the Dances of Universal Peace and a Ziraat Gardener.  She is certified in permaculture under the guidance of Starhawk.  A plant spirit practitioner, herbalist and forager, starting as a child with her Grandmother Ninin, she has worked alongside many amazing herbalists including Rosemary Gladstar, Susan Weed, and Pam Montgomery.  She is a Healing Touch and Reiki practitioner under the supervision and guidance of John Gray.

Arif Leininger is a musician, gardener, qigong practitioner and healer.  He plays guitar for the dances, and leads kirtan. He has practiced qigong since the mid 1990s working with Chunyi Lin, Ken Cohen and Robert Peng. He also has a long time interest in native medicinals. He and Amina assisted in the creation of a community garden and food coop.

Arif and  Amina teamed up in 2007.  They travel widely bringing the Dances of Universal Peace and had the incredible gift of working with Joanna Macy’s The Work That Reconnects.  With Joanna's blessing, they integrated her work with Dances of Universal Peace, which is called Dancing the Spiral.