During this time of urgent awakening, the mandala principle within Vajrayana Buddhism and Tantra Yoga offers a profound view, meditation, and action of embodied transformation of consciousness.

At the heart of the mandala is the union of the primordial masculine and feminine, bliss and emptiness, wisdom and skillful means, known as yab-yum. Whether one is solo or with a partner on retreat, Lama Tsultrim will initiate the exquisite yab-yum mandala through inner consort practice within the matrix of the five Buddha families. All of one’s experience can be understood through the energies of the five Buddha families, each of which includes the transformation of the five encumbered energy patterns: anger, depression, pride, craving and jealousy into their corresponding primordial wisdom.

Shiva Rea will offer a paradigm-shifting experience of our embodiment from Tantra Yoga that takes our practice out of the grid of a yoga mat and frontal plane existence into a full-spectrum, way of living from the body mandala of consciousness. Our in-depth daily practices will weave movement meditations of each of the Buddha families that integrate sound, visualization, prana flow, mudra and a flowing sequence of asanas in a mandala form aimed at the elemental transformation of energy patterns.

Note: Day two (September 19th) will include the the Global Mala Ritual.

Shiva Rea, M.A. is a yogini firekeeper, sacred activist, and leading innovator in the evolution of vinyasa flow yoga integrating the tantric bhakti roots of yoga, Krishnamacharya’s teachings and a universal, quantum approach to the body since she began teaching twenty years ago. As a global adventurer, she leads retreats and pilgrimages worldwide and has served as a creative catalyst to bring community together for conferences, festivals and actions for the environment, yoga and the arts including Yoga Trance Dance for Life, Moving Activism for 1,008,000 Trees, Yogini Conferences and the worldwide Global Mala Project.

Price
Double: $1,175 - $850
Queen Double: $1,445 - $965
Queen Single: $1,560 - $1,075
Camping: $650 - $425
Suggested Dana: $100 - $200

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.