“Dr. Dean” M. Nelson has taught meditation for nearly fifty years. He taught in prisons for nearly forty years in three different states. In Hawai‘i, he has worked with doctors, nurses, the Boy Scouts and US Marines suffering from PTSD.

Under the direction of Tibetan master Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Dr. Dean started three Shambhala meditation groups and was Resident Director of the Minneapolis Shambhala Center. For nearly forty years he taught Shambhala Training, an ancient, nonsectarian approach to realizing human potential.

In 1992, he founded Windhorse Healthcare where he combined Network Chiropractic, craniosacral, nutrition, acupuncture, and mindfulness meditation into a holistic body/mind approach to wellness. For the last twelve years, he has also been a health, life and death coach.

Before going into healthcare, Dr. Dean was a professional dancer, and he has a Master of Fine Arts in modern dance choreography. His first book, Don’t Waste Pain, was published in 2007. He lives with his wife and dogs in Kailua on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi.

All that we offer at Hoʻi ka Hā is rooted in ALOHA, a living expression born of the Kanaka Maoli, the Indigenous people of Hawaiʻi. We acknowledge that Hawaiʻi is ʻāina ʻōiwi (ancestral land) and that the Hawaiian people continue to carry, protect, and evolve their wisdom despite histories of displacement. We commit to honoring their language, culture, and sovereignty, and to walking our practice with humility, gratitude, and kuleana. © Copyright - Hoʻi ka Hā. Hoʻi ka Hā is a fiscally managed program of Hawaiʻi Children’s Action Network (HCAN), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (Tax ID 94-3257650).