THE team

Above all Sky Press is a team. The work of Dr. Nida could not reach fruition without the help of others. Much of that work is completed on a voluntary basis and goes far above and beyond a call of duty. We remain dedicated professionals committed to presenting new publications in both a refreshing and artistic manner.

DR. NIDA CHENAGTSANG

It is Dr. Nida's unceasing wish to improve the well being and health of others that gives focus and heart to Sky Press. He was born in Amdo, in Eastern Tibet. Interested in the traditional healing science of his people, he began his early medical studies at the local Tibetan Medicine hospital. Later he gained scholarship entry to Lhasa Tibetan Medical University, where he completed his medical education in 1996. Dr. Nida completed his practical training at the Tibetan Medicine hospitals in Lhasa and Lhoka.

Alongside his medical education, Dr Nida received complete Vajrayana Buddhist training in the Longchen Nyingthing and Dudjom Tersar traditions and trained in the Yuthok Nyingthig lineage, spiritual counterpart to Sowa Rigpa, with his teachers Khenchen Troru Tsenam and Khenpo Tsultrim Gyaltsen.

He has published many articles and books on Sowa Rigpa (Traditional Tibetan Medicine). He has extensively researched ancient Tibetan healing methods, and has gained high acclaim in the East and West for his revival of traditional Tibetan external healing therapies.

Dr. Nida is the Co-Founder and Medical Director of Sorig Khang International; Co-Founder of the International Ngakmang Institute, established to preserve and maintain the Rebkong ngakpa non-monastic yogi/ini culture within modern Tibetan society; and Co-Founder and Medical and Spiritual Director of the Sorig Institute and Pure Land Farms: Center for Tibetan Medicine, Meditation and Rejuvenation in Los Angeles, California. In addition to his work as a physician, he trains students in Sowa Rigpa and the Yuthok Nyingthig tradition in over forty countries around the world.

Chief editor and translator at Sky Press, Dr Ben Joffe holds a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Born and raised in South Africa, he has spent several years studying Tibetan language, tantric Buddhism, and the history and cultural life of Tibet and the Himalayas.  His research interests include the study of contemporary Tibet, Tibetan life in exile, and esoteric religions and magical traditions around the world. His doctoral dissertation research focused on Tibetan Buddhist non-celibate, non-monastic tantric householders, or ngakpa/ma, living outside of Tibet, and the globalization of Tibetan Buddhism. His translations of Tibetan materials into English bring a rare and welcome clarity to often esoteric material.

Christiana Polites is the founder of Sky Press. A student of Dr Nida's and practitioner of the Yuthok Nyingthig, she has been immersed in Eastern spiritual traditions for over twenty years and has her Bachelor of Arts in the Comparative Study of Religion from Harvard University. She has studied both Tibetan and Chinese Daoist healing arts and received her Masters of Acupuncture at the Classical Chinese Medicine school, National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon. She has traveled extensively around the world, seeking out authentic living lineages in both the healing and spiritual sciences. Christiana is the executive director of Pure Land Farms: Center for Tibetan Medicine, Meditation, and Rejuvenation in California, and its academic branch the Sorig Institute, and cultural branch Yangchenma Arts & Music.

Pearse Gaffney is an Irishman who has lived in London and Amsterdam for many years. An ol' soul, he's a practicing buddhist for over 20 years and as a result is often asked to lend his skills as a Graphic Designer to many Dharma related projects. Proficient in all things digital and design, he has an in-depth knowledge of print production techniques which is invaluable to Sky Press. When not stuck behind an Apple Mac, he enjoys the outdoor life, in particular walking, cycling and camping. Pearse is happily married to Pien Tieman, summer vacations are often spent together on retreat in Dzogchen Beara, West Cork, Ireland. He has been known to drink and swear excessively on occasion!