Christiana Polites

Christiana Polites has spent over twenty-five years in study and practice of Eastern contemplative and healing traditions, pursuing both academic training and direct immersion in living spiritual and healing lineages. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in the Comparative Study of Religion from Harvard University and a Master’s in Acupuncture from the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon. In 2012, her path led her to Dr. Nida Chenagtsang — a renowned Tibetan physician, author, and lineage holder of the Yuthok Nyingthig, the spiritual heart of Tibetan medicine. Since then she has studied and worked closely with him, supporting the transmission of his teachings internationally.

Together with Dr. Nida, she co-founded Pure Land Farms, a Tibetan Medicine and Buddhist retreat center in Topanga, California with a new branch in Tuscany, Italy, and serves as director of the Sowa Rigpa Institute of Tibetan Medicine and its publishing house, Sky Press. In addition to her work developing programs and publications, she teaches workshops on Tibetan medicine, meditation, and yoga, and guides Yuthok Nyingthig retreats at Pure Land Farms and around the world.

A lifelong lover of travel, world cultures, and the arts, Christiana also co-founded Yangchenma, a community organization dedicated to preserving and celebrating the world’s living artistic and musical traditions.