Niguma Yoga Retreat

Tibet House US | Menla’s Vajrayoga School is honored to host His Eminence Kalu Rinpoche on his first American tour demonstrating and teaching Lady Niguma’s Trulkhor cycle of yoga. The yoga exercises of the Niguma tradition are extremely beneficial for both the physical body and the inner, subtle body, which is related to the cultivation and circulation of internal energy and vital essences (thigle). The practices have many benefits for your mind as well as for your general health and well-being. Kalu Rinpoche will demonstrate and teach the physical exercises connected with the Six Yogas of Niguma, who was a contemporary of the more well-known mahasiddha, Naropa.

Kalu Rinpoche explains that, unlike Tummo, the auxiliary practices of Niguma Yoga can be taught openly without prerequisite empowerments. This presentation thus represents a new era in the transmission of Vajrayana Buddhism in which a once ‘secret’ practice is made available to the general public by an experienced lineage holder as a support for advanced tantric disciplines, including Mahamudra and Dzogchen. As Kalu Rinpoche explains, this new openness surrounding the Tibetan Yoga tradition is, according to H.H. The Dalai Lama, for the mutual benefit of individuals and society at large.

Lady Niguma was one of the two fully realized dakini mahasiddhas whose wisdom and teachings led to the formation of the Shangpa Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism that Kalu Rinpoche heads. Born into a Brahman family in Kashmir in the 11th century, Mahasiddha Niguma transmitted her teachings on yoga to a single disciple, Khyungpo Naljor, with the condition that they remain secret and only passed on to a single disciple for seven generations. In the 13th century, the Six Yogas of Niguma and associated physical practices were made more widely available to Sangye Tonpa, the seventh generation lineage holder, and were further codified in the 17th century by Taranatha, the foremost scholar and exponent of the Jonang school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Kalu Rinpoche will teach the series of Niguma Yogas, as well as give teachings on Buddha Dharma and meditation. Join us for this rare opportunity to study with a master high lama for the benefit of all.

Michele Loew will be supporting Rinpoche with morning Vajrayoga practice sessions reviewing the Niguma Trulkhor Cycles of Yoga we are learning, as well as sharing complimentary stretching and breathing practices to prepare us for the afternoon sessions with Rinpoche.   At the end of the day, she will share Clearlight Yoga Nidra & sleep/dream-guided practices.

This page is for in-person attendance registration. To register for online/virtual attendance, please click here.