An Opportunity for Real, Lasting Transformation
Feeding Your Demons® (FYD) is an accessible and powerful method for recognizing and transforming the deep-seated patterns, triggers, and neuroses that so often undermine the quality and enjoyment of our lives. Lama Tsultrim Allione developed this profoundly effective 5-step process, which she outlines in her bestselling book Feeding Your Demons: Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict (Little Brown Co. 2008). FYD guides practitioners to transform their negative emotions, fears, illnesses, and self-defeating patterns.
A recent study of the effects of FYD was conducted on adults in recovery from alcohol and/or drug abuse and who had elevated symptoms of anxiety and depression. The study found that FYD was associated with significant decreases in stress, depression, and intolerance for uncertainty, combined with significant increases in self-compassion and satisfaction with life.
Click here to see a full summary of the study.
FYD has practitioners on five continents, and Lama Tsultrim’s book has been published in sixteen languages. This practice transcends spiritual constructs, serving as a meaningful tool for anybody, regardless of religious affiliation or personal philosophy.
Through our FYD courses and retreats, you’ll not only learn this transformative method for your personal growth, but can also pursue certification to guide others in converting their fears into strengths—creating profound change in your own life and in the world, transforming ignorance, greed and hatred into compassion and wisdom.
What Does it Mean to ‘Feed Your Demons’?
For the purpose of this practice, a ‘demon’ refers to the disruptive aspects of our own psyche, such as anxiety, depression, anger, addiction, or disease. Demons are often relegated to the dark recesses of our minds and fester there as we either repress or ‘fight’ against them. This adversarial relationship with our demons is the very thing that polarizes our psyche. In our attempts to overcome our ‘shadow’, we become more enmeshed with it and our demons gain strength.
“Our demons are what we fear,” writes Lama Tsultrim Allione in Feeding Your Demons: Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict (Little Brown Co. 2008).
She explains how when we fight our demons they grow stronger. If we feed and nurture them, however, we can free ourselves from the battle. Through the clearly articulated practice outlined in Feeding Your Demons® (FYD), we can learn to overcome any obstacle and achieve freedom and inner peace. “…In feeding our demons we are not only rendering them harmless; by addressing them instead of running away from them, we are also nurturing the shadow parts of ourselves so that the energy caught in the struggle transforms into a positive protective force.”
The FYD method employs principles of the Tibetan Buddhist practice of Chöd (pronounced chö), as originally articulated by the eleventh-century female Tibetan meditation teacher, Machig Labdrön. Lama Tsultrim Allione distills the teachings and practice of Machig Labdrön for the Western practitioner in her book, Feeding Your Demons: Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict. However, while the FYD method was inspired by the teachings of Machig Labdrön who taught chöd, it is itself not a chöd practice.
– “Lama Tsultrim Allione has brought some of the most important teachings from Tibet to the West for enhancing well being, through her book ‘Feeding Your Demons’ and FYD trainings.
In the practice of Feeding Your Demons® (FYD) she developed and refined a fundamental method of working with negative emotions and patterns in an easy to follow 5-step process that can be effective and even transformative in the short term. Rather than remaining esoteric knowledge, she has made Feeding Your Demons® secular and accessible to the public.
I believe this practice holds tremendous potential to help reduce suffering.” –
Author, of “The Telomere Effect” and “The Stress Prescription”
The Feeding Your Demons® Program
The Feeding Your Demon® Program provides you with an exceptionally skillful methodology to bring benefit and lasting transformation to yourself and others. Participants engage in a journey of increasing levels of personal transformation and an ever-deepening understanding of the power of the FYD process. And for successful certification candidates, the training results in becoming authorized to use the method to help others on their path. For individuals who wish to utilize the FYD process exclusively with themselves and their friends, a non-certification (or ‘à la carte’) option is also available (see below).
Who is it for?
- Individuals who wish to acquire an effective methodology to directly engage with their own habitual patterns, challenges, and obstacles for sustained transformation.
- Mental health professionals, life coaches, substance abuse- or guidance counselors, spiritual mentors, social workers, or anyone whose work is dedicated to helping, healing, or empowering others.
What You Will Learn Through The Feeding Your Demons® Program:
- Recognize and transform deep-seated patterns, triggers, and neuroses that undermine wellbeing
- Understand the interconnectedness of emotional patterns and how they impact multiple areas of life
- Work with your demons on your own terms in a way that aligns with your personal process
- Establish a regular, transformational meditation practice that integrates with your daily life
- Gain greater internal agency and resilience amidst life’s challenges
- Experience more peace and emotional balance through increased self-compassion
- Learn a powerful, evidence-based method to transform difficult emotions, harmful behaviors and limiting self beliefs into wisdom and inner strength
- Integrate the practice through artistic expression to deepen embodiment of the transformation
- Learn the rich history, theoretical foundation, and practical application of FYD
For Professionals Seeking Certification:
- Develop proficiency in facilitating one-on-one FYD sessions with diverse clients
- Integrate FYD with your existing professional modalities and theoretical frameworks
- Apply FYD techniques to address specific psychological challenges in others, like anxiety, depression, and addiction
- Learn ethical guidelines and best practices for implementing FYD in professional settings
- Develop skills to guide clients through resistance and challenging emotional terrain
- Access a community of certified practitioners for ongoing support and professional development
- Enhance your professional credentials with a unique, research-supported methodology.
Feeding Your Demons® Program Options
The FYD Program consists of three progressive levels: Level I, Level II, and Certification Level. This comprehensive training provides thorough instruction in the core FYD methodology and practices.
1. The Feeding Your Demons® Online Program
Offered every six months. Available in both Secular and Buddhist Tracks:
- Secular Track – For those who want to dive deeply into the FYD method without participating in overtly Buddhist spiritual practices
- Buddhist Track (aka Kapala Training) – For those who wish to explore FYD within the context of the Buddhist tradition and practice
Click here to watch a short video of FYD Institute Director Lopön Pieter Oosthuizen explaining the difference between the two tracks
Full Certification Option:
- Complete pathway for mental health professionals, coaches, therapists, and facilitators who want to use FYD with clients
- Includes all three levels (I, II, and Certification) (See Program Structure below)
- Requires submission of an application and completion of an interview
- Upon successful completion, participants become authorized to use the method one-on-one in a professional setting
- Provides access to advanced training options – Group Facilitator and Workshop Leader – after certification
À la carte Option:
- Register for the courses one-by-one in sequential order
- Flexible pathway: If after completing Level I and/or Level II à la carte, you decide to pursue certification, you can apply for the Certification Level program and continue your journey (subject to acceptance)
- No application required for Levels I & II
2. In-person Course Options
In-person FYD Trainings are offered on occasion at Tara Mandala Retreat Center and other international venues. Retreat dates are posted on the Tara Mandala Retreat Calendar when available.
Please note:
- In-person FYD courses are usually only offered in the Buddhist Track (aka Kapala Training)
- The FYD Program’s Certification Level course is only offered online (with rare exceptions). For those seeking certification, the online Certification Level must be completed regardless of whether you took the foundational levels online, in-person, or in a combination of both.
Program Structure
The Feeding Your Demons® training consists of three levels for initial certification, followed by two advanced training options for certified facilitators:
- Level I – Foundation
- Learn the five-step FYD process.
- Explore the history & origin of FYD.
- Learn meditation techniques that support the FYD work.
- Practice solo and partner work.
- Work with demons through drawing and clay.
- Level II – Deepening
- Explore family lineage demons and allies.
- Deepen your meditation through supplemental techniques.
- Deepen the work with allies, etcetera.
- Certification Level
- For those who wish to use FYD in professional settings
- Learn to work with challenges in facilitation
- Includes a 4-day Capstone Retreat
Click here for more details about FYD Level I, Level II and Certification Level Course Content
After completing these three levels, certified FYD Facilitators have opportunities for continued growth through two additional training options:
- Group Facilitator Training
- Offered annually, this online weekend training focuses on guiding groups through FYD
- Upon completion, you will be certified to lead FYD in group sessions (Note: This training does not authorize teaching FYD workshops)
- Workshop Leader Training
- This advanced training prepares and authorizes you to teach FYD in public talks and 2-day workshops
- Completion of the Buddhist Track Certification and the Group Facilitator Training are prerequisites for The Workshop Leader Training
Please Note: The online and onsite FYD programs are identical in content and fully interchangeable, except for the Buddhist and Secular Track distinctions. Participants may thus complete their foundational training (Level I & II) through online courses, in-person retreats, or any combination of the two formats, provided they complete all required assignments and prerequisites for each level. The Secular and Buddhist Tracks of both formats equally qualify students to progress to FYD Certification, and the Buddhist Track of both formats equally qualify students to progress on the Kapala Training path Levels III-VI (see below), as well as Magyu Path (see below).
Relationship with Other Tara Mandala Programs
The Buddhist Track of FYD Levels I and II, taken either online or onsite, also serves as the foundation for both the Kapala and the larger Magyu Training Paths at Tara Mandala.
Kapala Training
Kapala Training is part of Lama Tsultrim Allione’s larger Magyu Path of Tibetan Buddhist study (see Magyu Path link below), and includes the training in FYD (Level I & II Buddhist Track) and continues on through Levels III – VI, with progressively deeper Buddhist teachings and meditation practices. “Kapala” refers to the traditional skull-cup associated with the Chöd practice, the ancient Tibetan Buddhist practice that inspired Feeding Your Demons®.
Please note the FYD Certification Level, which focuses on the professional application of FYD and can be taken after completion of FYD Level II, is not required to continue with Kapala Training Level III and beyond.
Click Here to Learn More About The Kapala Training Path
Magyu Path (The Mother lineage)
Kapala Training (as described above) is also an integral part of Lama Tsultrim Allione’s larger path of study in Tibetan Buddhism, known as The Magyu Path, or The Mother Lineage Path,
Please note: Only the FYD Buddhist Track qualifies for Kapala and Magyu Path requirements. The Secular Track does not fulfill Kapala or Magyu Path requirements.
– “Feeding your Demons is a gift of wisdom and heart from Lama Tsultrim Allione’s deep practice and knowledge of the human condition. Learning this practice was a powerful personal and collective experience to immerse ourselves, in the power of acceptance and transformation, of this now research-backed effective mind training practice. Thank you, Lama Tsultrim, for this gift that keeps on giving!” –
Bestselling author of “Becoming Aware, Mindsight, Mind: A Journey to the Heart of Being Human”