Menla Online: Igniting Your Inner Fire - Tummo Retreat Part Two

Stories of cotton clad monks melting snow while practicing Tummo–or inner fire-meditation– first ignited imaginations through the writings of Alexandra David-Néel and Lama Govinda, giving the world a glimpse of unlocking human potential through the study of the wisdom, compassion and yoga practices of Buddhism. Also called “fury-fire yoga,” Dr. Herb Benson and others have verified the power of Tummo mastered by Tibetan yogis in the Himalayas as well as in the lab at Harvard Medical School and elsewhere. In this second session of study and practice, Dr. Nida and Bob Thurman will expand the previous teaching, making new connections in two directions: first, exploring its connections with the especially efficacious Yutok system of the other main perfection stage yogas, such as vajrajapa, karmamudra, dream, clearlight, bardo, soul-ejection, etc.; and second, reaching back on the path to connect to earlier stage yogas and even into the cycles of daily life, using Yutok’s time tested strategies for aligning the everyday conditions of our body, speech, and mind with the buddha-field bodies, energies, and mental freedoms that comprise all beings’ evolutionary destiny of buddhahood.

Join us for this rare and precious offering, as Bob and Dr. Nida lead us through the next step of the introduction to Tummo practice, its history, and its context within Buddhist Inner Sciences, providing instruction on the foundational meditations and visualizations necessary to begin its practice. Purifying all negativity and enhancing innate bliss, the Tummo fire practice is one of the Six Yogas in Vajrayana Buddhism and is the foundation of other Tibetan yogic practices, including karmamudra. Its immediate purpose is to open inner knots and stagnancies to cheer us up with better health, understanding of the human life, and compassion for others, and its ultimate purpose is to gain complete control over all body functions, resulting in the experience ofcontinuous bliss.

Dr. Nida and Robert Thurman will explore the inner and outer yoga traditions of Buddhism through the teachings of Yuthok Yonten Gonpo the Younger, the life stories of the Wild-Yogi Ascetics or Mahasiddhas, and the philosophical and scientific teachings of Atisha, Nagarjuna & Tsongkhapa to provide practical lessons, tools and perspectives to sensitive beings of any time.
Dr. Nida’s senior students James Bae and Christiana Polites will provide Nine Breath Purification instruction, Tummo demonstrations, and Nejang daily yoga practices.

In this workshop, you will learn:

– What yoga is, is not, and how to apply its tools to everyday life
– Why Buddhism is a scientific philosophy with value for people of all backgrounds
– How yoga and the yogic sciences were used by the Buddha and his community
– Who Yuthok Gonpo was and the secrets of his family’s longevity
– How the medical tradition of Tibet sprung from Indic Buddhism’s insights into nature
– Who were the Mahasiddhas and what can be learned from their poetry and wild adventures
– How meditation and chakra systems act as software for mind transformation
– The role visualization has in diminishing physical, spiritual and mental suffering

– Who began the Nalanda tradition the 14th Dalai Lama is a part of and why it’s relevant today
– Where to connect with others engaging in formal Yuthok Tummo practice
– How physical yoga practice, when combined with study and meditation, creates synergy
– Non-dogmatic guided meditations & gentle yoga postures to prepare to practice Tummo

This workshop is intended as an introduction to the Tummo Yoga of Yuthok for students of Buddhism, yoga, and the holistic healing arts and sciences. Information about traditional Buddhist Vajrayana empowerment offerings and continuing study and practice will be provided at the end of online retreat.  All levels welcome!

*Menla is happy to be able to honor scholarship requests for those in need. Please email frontdesk@menla.org for further information. 

Schedule

Thursday, July 9

• 10am – 1pm EST  Dr. Nida & Bob
• 3 – 6pm EST  Practice with James, Christiana; Q&A with Bob

Saturday, July 11

• 10am – 1pm EST  Dr. Nida & Bob
• 3 – 6pm EST  Practice with James, Christiana; Q&A with Bob

Sunday, July 12

• 10am – 1pm EST  Dr. Nida & Bob
• 3 – 6pm EST Practice with James, Christiana; Q&A with Bob

*Please note that schedule is subject to change.