Meet the Team!

MeditationBench.com is owned and operated by Ananda Woodworking, Inc., a family-run business located at Ananda Village, a cooperative spiritual community in the beautiful Sierra Nevada Foothills of Northern California.

MeditationBench.com was founded by Tim Kretzmann, a life-long meditator who lived at Ananda Village from 1978 until 2012 when he passed away after a battle with cancer. Tim lived a life of joy and service as he made quality products that his customers have enjoyed for 40 years. He also was an consummate storyteller, musician and actor! He used these talents to share laughter and inspiration with all. He was an excellent father and friend and had a peaceful and joyful nature.

Today MeditationBench.com is made up of a cheerful bunch of Tim’s friends and family who love meditating and want to help everyone make their meditation practice deeper, longer and more fruitful.

Tim's daughter Krishnabai, with her expansive spirit, brought in many of the products that we have to offer. In fact, it was Krishnabai starting in 2005 who designed all of our Meditation Pillows. Father and daughter worked happily together as they developed the vision of helping people meditate more comfortably. She has a keen mind for business, is great with people, and has a very kind heart.

Though no longer dealing with any of the day to day activities, she still checks in to see how everyone is, and offer support whenever needed.

Krishnabai meditates using a Crescent Meditation Cushion and a Deluxe Zabuton (both in Teal Raw Silk)

Peter Sanjaya has had many roles here at MeditationBench.com. Even as a young boy he loved being in the woodshop with his father Tim. Upon his father's passing he took the lead of the company and helped it expand and thrive in it's new era. All the while his father's spirit of service and joy was kept at the forefront.

A profound yoga and meditation teacher, Peter finds great inspiration in supporting others in growing and deepening their meditation practice. He now serves in our online meditation support.

Peter has a Meditation Bench (in Navy cotton with tall, round legs) and a Crescent Meditation Pillow (Indigo Raw Silk). He uses either one on top of his raw silk Zabuton (Forest Green). In the cooler months he loves meditating using his Ahimsa Silk Shawl as well.

Jaya came to work for MeditationBench.com in 2015. She is originally from Argentina and brings her keen mind and big heart into everything she does. She is a wiz at sewing, and makes our beautiful zabutons. She is a joy to be around and always leads with friendship and kindness.

Jaya uses her Meditation Bench (in Sage Organic Cotton) regularly and even had it made with custom legs, so that it fits her petite frame perfectly. She also uses a Crescent Meditation Pillow (in Forest Green Raw Silk) with a Zabuton (Natural). In her meditation practice she loves using her Jade and Pearl Mala.

Gayatri married into the Kretzmann family and now supports alot of the day-to-day operations. Her care and conscientiousness are evident in every aspect of the business.

As a yoga and meditation teacher, Gayatri loves to work with individuals to offer support and upliftment in their lives. She has a particular passion for working with fellow nurses and moms/moms-to-be.

Gayatri meditates on one of our fine Meditation Benches (standard angled with navy cotton) with a gold silk zabuton. for her kriya practice, she enjoys using a amethyst mala.

David has been our bench leg extraordinaire for a long while! He comes in on the weekend and makes sure we all well stocked for the week. Besides working with us, he is a magnificent builder. He finds joy in telling people stories... And even performing a few magic tricks! He's always game to have a good conversation and has a clever sense of humor, and a creative mind. A clever English man indeed!

David already had a Meditation Bench when he came to work with us, but he found that using it with a Zabuton was an excellent way to relieve some tension he was feeling in his ankles as he meditated. Now he's meditating much more comfortably!