Days
Hours
Mins
Breathing 2025: Annual New Year’s Dharma, Pranayama, Yoga, Kirtan & Astrology Celebration
December 27 - January 01, 2025
Robert A.F. Thurman
Matteo Pistono
Krishna Das
Nina Rao
Michele Loew
Alexander Mallon
Paul Bloom
Lea Garnier
Celebrate with friends of Tibet House US | Menla, a 17 year tradition, as our community gathers in person to ring in the new year in the magic garden secret valley of the Medicine Buddha, Menla. Practice, pray and party with us across five days of teachings, breathwork, yoga, astrology, devotional chanting and more. Join us in letting go of constricting habit-patterns and setting meaningful and expansive intentions for manifesting our positive dreams for the coming year, all while having much needed fun together!Master astrologer and astronomer Alexander Mallon will kick off the retreat with his “astrological forecast” for 2025, teaching us the basics of reading an astrological chart and shedding light on patterns we can expect in the near future as individuals, as a nation, and as a world. Alexander will also offer expert astrological consultations throughout the program and a group chart reading session that will amaze all but the most hardened skeptics.Michele Loew will lead daily morning Vajrayoga practice sessions, and Paul Bloom will offer afternoon Qi Gong classes each day. Krishna Das, and Nina Rao will offer chanting/kirtan sessions and join in several lively discussions. Bob Thurman will give Dharma teachings, and he and meditation teacher and conscious breathing guide, Matteo Pistono, will explore this year’s thematic focus: how we breathe directly impacts the way we feel. Matteo will introduce breathing practices dedicated to helping you regulate your nervous system. Whether you seek to calm racing thoughts before sleep, invigorate your energy during the day, or refine your focus before meditation, you will learn time-tested yogic methods to breathe your way to well-being. Drawing from his book, Breathe How You Want to Feel, this workshop provides a comprehensive psychophysical toolkit. Discover how to optimize your breathing to overcome fatigue, stress, and lack of inspiration, increasing your overall sense of purpose and well-being.New Year’s eve will feature our annual group sound bath by Woodstock’s Sage Academy of Sound, a spectacular sonic meditation before a late night celebration and countdown session with refreshments at the Lhasa Inn to ring in the new year. Together we will revitalize ourselves to deal joyfully and successfully with the challenges of these pivotal times and make strides to manifest the very best for ourselves and our communities for 2025. We hope you can join us!Open to all levels of experience.We encourage you to register early as space is limited! Click Register Now above if you wish to register to attend in person at Menla. If you cannot attend in person and wish to join virtually/online, please click here to register for virtual participation.ScheduleFriday, December 27
ABOUT THE TEACHERs
Robert A.F. Thurman
Robert Thurman is Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University as well as co-founder and President of Tibet House US and it's Menla Retreat & Spa. A world-wide lecturer on Tibetan Buddhism, activist for the plight of the Tibetan people, translator of Buddhis...
Matteo Pistono
Matteo embarked on his spiritual journey over 30 years ago while living and studying with teachers in Kathmandu and Eastern Tibet. He holds a Masters degree in Indian Philosophy from the University of London. Informed by his study of Buddhism, Vedanta, and Hatha Yoga, extensive p...
Krishna Das
Krishna Das is a Grammy-nominated chant artist and has sung with people all around the world for over 35 years. His music offers the practice of chanting mantras– mostly in the Indian tradition, with some Buddhist and Gospel infusions. By sharing his life experiences on the pa...
Nina Rao
Nina Rao learned traditional chants from her grandfather in a village in south India when she was nine years old. The chants quietly stayed with her until she rediscovered chanting with Krishna Das in New York in 1996. For many years Nina has been Krishna Das business manager and...
Michele Loew
Michele Loew is an international yoga teacher & practitioner of Hatha & Tibetan Yogas & the co-founding director of the Vajra Yoga School of Comparative Buddhist & Indic Yogic Studies where sheco-teaches with Professor Robert A.F. Thurman at Menla & abroad. She has taught, practi...
Alexander Mallon
A celebrated astrologer and intuitive, Alexander Mallon has practiced for over 45 years, sharing his gifts with clientele spanning the globe, from NY to New Zealand. Alexander has been an avid telescope builder and amateur astronomer for nearly 50 years as well and incorporates h...
Paul Bloom
Paul studied Chinese philosophy and history at Harvard and Columbia Universities. He has studied and practiced Classical Qigong with Kwan Sai-hung for over 30 years; Zen Buddhism with Roshi Joan Halifax, Roshi Enkyo O’Hara and Sensei Kazuaki Tanahashi; and Tibetan Buddhism with...
Lea Garnier
SOUND TOOL AWARENESS Every sound we use for sound bath journeys or private sessions has a unique voice or attribute to help facilitate a therapeutic healing response. In this segment, we will explore the “tools of the trade” and have plenty of practice time to feel into the u...
MENLA
DONATE NOW