Michelle John took Refuge as a Buddhist in 2007. She has practiced and taught Shamatha meditation at Jamchen Buddhist Centre, now Serkhang Nalandra in Healesville. A freelance cellist,

Michelle has performed with Orchestra Victoria and with quartets in Melbourne and overseas. She has taught cello for 30 years and composed music for the award-winning documentary ‘Salt’ and

Circus Oz. Michelle is a published author and speaker on the topic of contemplative music. She is a Reiki practitioner, writes poetry and has a sweet dog named Hazel!

Michelle has been practicing meditation for the past 15 years. She works as a Clinical Psychologist and volunteers at Nalandra. After participating in a mindfulness in psychotherapy course in 2007, she took refuge as a Buddhist and went on to develop meditation skills through retreats, study and practice. She completed a Buddhist meditation (calm abiding) teacher course in 2009. She has conducted mindfulness-based cognitive behavioural therapy groups and has led meditation sessions at Jamchen Buddhist Centre and Nalandra.