Join us for five full days of inward practice in the San Juan mountains of southern Colorado. We will practice outdoor meditation every morning, followed by three hours of Yin and Vinyasa yoga and meditation in the new Tara Temple after breakfast. Sarah will give talks during the Yin practice (passive floor poses) regarding various aspects of the Yogic/Buddhist path to assist in deepening our experience in the silence. Afternoons will be spent practicing Yin yoga, pranayama, and meditation, and an evening meditation practice will be offered by Ty after dinner. We are honored to also offer three afternoon practices on Feeding Your Demons taught by Lama Tsultrim Allione.

Prerequisite: You must have at least two years of a committed yoga practice and a strong interest in mindfulness meditation.

Sarah Powers began teaching in 1987. She interweaves the insights and practices of Yoga and Buddhism into an integral practice to enliven the body, heart and mind. Her yoga style blends both a Yin sequence of long held poses to enhance the meridian and organ systems, combined with a flow or Yang practice, influenced by Viniyoga, Ashtanga, and Iyengar teachings. Sarah teaches trainings and silent retreats with her husband Ty. She is author of the upcoming book Insight Yoga: Integrating Yin/Yang Yoga and Buddhist Meditation.
Ty Powers has been a yoga practitioner since 1987, facilitating and leading yoga and meditation retreats throughout the world. A longtime Buddhist practitioner, Ty’s teachers include Tsoknyi Rinpoche and Ajahn Amaro, having completed Spirit Rock’s 2 1/2 year Community Dharma Leader Training program in 2003.

Price
Double: $1,440 - $950
Queen Double: $1,590 - $1,050 - SOLD OUT
Queen Single: $1,965 - $1,295 - SOLD OUT
Camping: $865 - $595

Accommodation descriptions can be found here.

Sliding scale fees allow participants to pay according to individual means. Your payment above the low end directly benefits our scholarship fund.

Sustaining Sangha discounts range from 10%-20% based on your membership level and are calculated at registration.

Detailed information about retreats at Tara Mandala
Travel Information (booking flights, shuttles, hotels)
Download registration form (PDF)
Register securely online: 100% of course cost due at registration

Tsultrim Allione, M.A., was one of the first American women to be ordained as a Tibetan nun in 1970 by the 16th Karmapa. She is the author of Women of Wisdom, a groundbreaking book on the lives of great female Tibetan practitioners. Her newest book, Feeding the Demons: Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict, (2008, Little, Brown & Co), connects the ancient knowledge of Tibetan Buddhism with the modern psyche, addressing the major issues of our culture and the roots of our suffering. Based on her pioneering technique using five steps to feed your demons, this book offers a system to transform our inner demons by nurturing rather than fighting them.

After four years as a nun, Tsultrim returned her monastic vows, married, and raised a famity. She earned a masters degree in Buddhist Studies and Women’s Studies from Antioch University. Inspired by the vision of a Western retreat center while living in the Himalayas, and seeing the need to create a place for the reemergence of the sacred feminine, Tsultrim founded Tara Mandala in 1993 where she is now the resident teacher.

Tsultrim is collecting the lineage of Machig Labdrön, the 11th century Tibetan yogini who founded the Chöd lineage. As a long-time Chöd practitioner, Tsultrim has studied Machig’s teachings for decades and taught the practices all over the world. In 2007, Tsultrim was recognized as an emanation of Machig Labdrön by Karme Dorje Rinpoche, the resident Lama of Zangri Khangmar in Tibet (see article on opposite page).

In regards to the recognition Tsultrim has recently said, “I think [the recognition] is to make this new phase of collecting Machig’s lineage more empowered. Recognition allows more energy to flow, and Machig’s blessings can manifest more fully. It’s a kind of mirroring from the outside, validating our heartfelt intention to reinvigorate and spread Machig’s lineage in the West. It also felt very natural. We will keep doing what we have been doing already, but the recognition creates an auspicious interdependence for the teachings.”

Tsultrim’s skill at teaching arises from her dedication to the Dharma and the ways she has brought Dharma to the challenges of everyday life. She brings forth the vibrancy of the teachings in a way that makes them germane for accomplished practitioners and those new to the path.