Our Team

The Founders

MINKA was founded by husband and wife Aki & Ron, both adding their own flavor to the healing pot.

We believe in community, working together, and raising our children on a planet where love is the currency. When you work with us, you can expect honesty, transparency, and straightforward advice. MINKA represents a space for collaboration and business development, productivity promoting workshops open to the public, and pure holistic magic.

Welcome. Thank you for joining us.

Sunder Ashni - Director of Catalytic Community Relations

Spirit brought me to MINKA. I had returned to the country after three years living abroad as a result of losing my mother to Cancer. I was volunteering at an event and MINKA was being used for a portion of it. They had literally just opened up their doors and I remember feeling a sense of belonging. I connected with Aki, who I had met years ago and asked if she needed help. And that was it.

Since then I have found in this space home, a sense of belonging in a city and a state that can sometimes feel so isolating. I have found here, individuals with a great capacity for developing and sustaining relationships with a high level of devotion and integrity. That's why I’m here and that's why I stay. Because this is one of the only spaces that I have found where all of me is truly welcomed and celebrated, where I have space to grow, make mistakes, shine, share and love fully. This is what I value spaces and communities that create space for us to be free to be!

For more about Ashni’s classes and offerings here.

Pronouns: she, love

Aura Soleil - Director of Programming & Creative Strategy

Joining MINKA’s Heart Centered Operation was a divinely guided surprise on my journey. I was transitioning from hospitality leadership when a fractured ankle (and God) told me to sit down so I could pivot. I started prioritizing my art, teaching and being in aligned community. Now, I’m supporting MINKA by providing leadership in programming and marketing while co-creating a new paradigm with these beautiful souls.

Learn more about who I am and what I do here.

Pronouns: she, her; Aquarius Sun, Gemini Moon, Cancer Rising; HD: Projector

janina Funda - Logistics lead

Hi all! I was born and raised in Germany and moved to New York City over a decade ago. I love how this city brings together people of all walks of life. I was drawn to MINKA in search of a community of like-minded souls and joined the team in the beginning of 2023.

Reiki had been part of my journey for a few years when I started practicing myself in 2020 and had the desire to deepen my understanding—MINKA was the perfect place for that. Here, I got retrained in Usui Reiki levels I-III & Earth Evolution Reiki. I am drawn to all things spiritual and enjoy meditation & mindfulness practice, crystals, oracle cards, and of course my Reiki practice, which was life-changing for me.

At MINKA, I lead the logistics team working on website related things, like maintaining the events calendar and practitioners’ profiles.

Find me on IG here.

Pronouns: she, her; Cancer Sun, Taurus Moon, Sagittarius Rising

Boshko Boskovic - Community Reiki Manager

Boshko Boskovic is a Reiki Master and sound healing practitioner trained and certified in the Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki lineage and in sound healing from the Sound Healing Center in Sausalito, California. He is the founder of Let’s Heal NYC, a private practice specializing in Reiki & Sound Healing treatments.

Boshko offers individual in person and virtual Reiki sessions & sound healing sessions that include instruments and the human voice, group sessions in person and individual bringing experiences ranging from meditation, sound healing, breathwork, vocal toning, gentle movement modalities and Reiki.

My connection to Minka is that I was certified for Reiki 1 and 2 and started doing virtual community Reiki in 2020 and in-person Community Reiki in 2021.

Find out more about Boshko here and his IG here.

Pronouns: he, him; Aries Sun, Aquarius Moon, Virgo Rising

Dar - Logistics Team

Dar (He/They) is a Two-Spirit Indigenous energy healer from Bulbancha (southeast Louisiana). Dar's healing path was inspired by his grandmother, the Chief of his tribe—the United Houma Nation—and his great-grandmother, a Traiteuse (Cajun Native folk healer). He was first introduced to Reiki while in college and later earned his Usui Reiki Master certification in 2020 during a time of deep personal and collective healing.

Since moving to Lenape land (Queens, NY), he's been interested in home organizing and spiritual cleansing work, recognizing the innate connection between our inner and outer worlds. More professionally, he's put his Capricorn stellium to good use in several admin and logistics management roles and is excited to bring those skills to the MINKA Logistics team!

Pronouns: he/they; Sagittarius Sun, Libra Moon, Aries Rising

Constance - Marketing Team Content Creator & Copywriter

Peace and blessings y'all. You can call me Constance or Conn. Gratitude to Spirit and the ancestors before me who make it so. I'm also an educator, yoga practitioner, visual artist and DJ exploring and dreaming up new ways to create containers where these expressions can intersect and nourish others. Being able to hold space for folx across so many different contexts is only possible because of the ways I've learned and been guided to love and take care of myself. Gratitude to my teachers, seen and unseen. My wish is for all people to be aware of their agency, and so empowered, to care for self - I believe this is one very important piece for our global, collective healing.

My relationship with MINKA began in 2020 with the MINKA Foundations of Personal Evolution Fellowship, an experience that, quite literally, has been the foundation for so much spiritual growth and an ever-present reminder of how important it is for us to share our gifts. Since then I've continued to "come back home" to continue my learning and receive care. I'm currently looking forward to the next step in my journey to becoming a Reiki practitioner. In loving kindness, Conn.

Find out more about Conn here.

Pronouns: she, they

Melvyn - MARKETING TEAM NEWSLETTER

Melvyn is an artist/performer, writer, archery coach, energy healer, herbalist, and guided meditation facilitator. Their focus is rooted in using their platforms for the uplifting of LGBTQ2STGNCIA+ Black, Indigenous, and immigrant POC lives while advocating for their mental and spiritual health as well as the destigmatization of those living with HIV and other STIs.

Melvyn was born and raised on Munsee-Lenape and Wappinger Native lands known as NYC. They are a guide for their communities to grow through the arts, health, and wellness. Melvyn founded De Miel Healing in Jan. 2023 in order to provide holistic services affordably (virtually and in-person) for marginalized groups.

Melvyn works alongside a small team at MINKA Brooklyn to send out newsletters about workshops, trainings, and classes. Melvyn is happy to be welcomed as a part of this amazing group of heart-centered healers and movers.

Find Mel on IG here & here.

Pronouns: they, he

Lemar Moore Legal Support

I joined MINKA after attending two incredible cosmic moon meditations. It was a welcome transition out of a corporate culture that can sometimes be spiritually diminishing. My passions and practices involve helping people strengthen and expand the spirit within through life coaching, positive personal training, manifestation coaching, thought transformation, and reiki. At all times, my goal is to awaken the loving, divine, and powerful GOD within you.

Pronouns: he, him

Sam Kraft - Logistics Team

Sam is a full spectrum doula dedicated to guiding individuals on their healing journeys through embodiment practices, movement, breathwork, and visualization. With a Master's in Psychology focused on spirituality, mind, and body from Columbia University, Sam integrates a holistic approach to wellness that emphasizes the connection between mind and body. Through her work, she aims to help others reconnect with their bodies and reclaim their inner strength, promoting a journey of self-discovery and empowerment.

Believing that community is essential for healing, Sam envisions creating a safe haven where people can come together to share, support, and grow.

This desire to create community is what brought her to MINKA, where she supports team logistics with the events calendar. She is eager to deepen her understanding of the diverse healing modalities during her time with MINKA.

Sam is also an avid lover of the outdoors and finds inspiration in nature and is passionate about fostering a nurturing environment for collective healing.

Scorpio Sun, Leo Moon, Aquarius Rising

Dani Hobbs - marketing team content creator & copywriter

Dani is a Brooklyn-based musician, artist, witch and amateur-herbalist. Their witchcraft practice focuses on relationship to land, ancestry, and anti-capitalist work. Dani incorporates their passion for herbalism and mutual aid into a consistent cooking practice. On a typical day, you can find them at the apothecary they manage, reading in the park, cooking for friends and mutual aid networks, or singing loudly for their neighbors through extremely thin NY apartment walls. Dani’s passionate about being really gay and dismantling Western colonialism from inside the empirical core. They just launched a tea brand, thanks to the MINKA team!

Dani lives with their cat and familiar, Nellie, on Lenape land.

You can find them creating silly little videos on Instagram @AnTalamh and singing sad gay songs on IG and TikTok @DaniHobbsMusic.

Pronouns: they, them; Cancer Sun, Taurus Moon, Sagittarius Rising,