Days
Hours
Mins
November 06 - November 13, 2023
Join us at Menla for the start of our Vajra Yoga Alliance Teacher Training Program, sponsored by Menla & Tibet House US and hosted by The Yoga Space. The full course runs November 6, 2023-April 12, 2024 with 2 in-person Menla retreats and online weekly zoom sessions with Tenzin Robert Thurman and Michele Loew.
In-Person Fall Practice Immersion at Menla: November 6-13th.
Use this link to register for the full course and tuition for the in-person event!
Schedule for In-Person Retreat
Monday, November 6
Tuesday, November 7 - Sunday, November 12
Monday, November 13
*Please note that the schedule is subject to change.
VAJRA YOGA EXPLORES THE PHILOSOPHICAL AND EXPERIENTIAL INTERFACE BETWEEN HATHA YOGA AND INDO-TIBETAN BUDDHIST VAJRA YOGA TRADITIONS. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A YOGA TEACHER TRAINING COURSE THAT IS NON-SECTARIAN AND BRINGS IN YOGA & THE MEDITATIVE SCIENCES FROM BOTH TRADITIONS, THIS IS THE COURSE. THE JOURNEY IS DEEPLY EDUCATIONAL AND SPIRITUALLY TRANSFORMATIONAL WHILE GIVING YOU THE PRACTICAL SKILLS TO SUPPORT OTHER STUDENTS ON THEIR PATH.
Working with Vajrayana practices and Hatha yoga, we aim to support His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 3rd aim to bring back the Indian Inner Sciences, “Adhyatma Vidya” and the teachings of yoga & Buddhism back to India supporting human beings’ inner awakening for happiness & freedom. This course is a deeply contemplative & embodied investigation into the yogas of Vajrayana & Hatha Yoga practices with Michele Loew & professor Emeritus, Padma Shri Robert “Tenzin” Thurman. Students can take the course entirely online, but attending the in-person course immersion events is highly recommended if your intention is to teach yoga or gather assistance in your personal practice.
This is a rare opportunity to study, in the context of a yoga training, with Professor Emeritus, Padma Shri Robert “Tenzin” Thurman—Vajracharya in the lineage of H. H. the Dalai Lama, world renowned scholar & authority on Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Science, Indic spirituality, and world philosophy. He will elucidate the Buddha’s teachings and offer inner scientific, philosophical, and spiritual inspiration for our yoga practices.
Michele Loew, in the Hatha yoga lineage of Krishnamacharya, is a student & teacher of Yoga, Buddhism & comparative Non-dual Indian inner science. She is a Kalachakra and Tibetan Trulkhor yoga practitioner, including Niguma yoga as taught by H.E. the 2nd Kalu Rinpoche and Yuthok Nyingthik Tsalung Yoga as taught by Dr. Nida Chenagstang. She has trained many yoga teachers in her long-established Yoga Alliance certification courses which utilize the deep investigation of yoga from a classical lineage perspective to build an intelligent foundation that can be applied to any style of yoga. The yoga practices will be built mindfully and progressively from the ground up with deep attention to physical and subtle body alignment. We will practice and learn to teach both the Hatha and Tibetan Yogas and learn to develop intelligent Vajra Yoga Sequences grounded in a spirit of enlightenment.
WHAT TO EXPECT:
COURSE FORMAT
This Teacher Training program has over 300 hrs of teachings combining two 7-day retreat intensives and 6 months of self-study, online material, complete with regular live-stream asana practices and live-stream Q+As with the teachers.
*Ongoing Weekly Zoom Philosophy sessions with on-demand replays with Robert Thurman Fridays 11am-1pm Eastern Standard time.
*Ongoing Weekly Vajra Yoga practice and meditations/ philosophy Sessions with Michele Loew Sundays 10am-1:30pm Eastern Standard Time.
FALL/WINTER SEMESTER
November 6-January 19 (break 12-23 to 1-4)
Weekend Live Streams with Robert Thurman on Fridays, and Michele Loew on Sundays accompanied by Self-Study videos & study materials.
WINTER/SPRING
January 26-April 12, 2024
*In-Person Menla Retreat March 21-27th, 2024
Weekend Live Streams with Robert Thurman on Friday, and Michele Loew on Sundays. Self-Study via Teachable:
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...
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...
This September, join Henry Shukman at Menla Retreat Center, nestled in the Catskill Mountains, where autumn’s turning provides the perfect backdrop to settle ...
Please join us for an immersive weekend of yoga, meditation, and renewal. As autumn turns quietly toward stillness, we take time together to soften and listen i...
Join the Catskill Fungi team for a weekend of fun, wonderment and enlightenment as we delve into the forests of Menla, and engage the fungal residents there. Ta...
Join world-renowned Tibetan Medicine doctor, yogi, and Yuthok Nyingthig master Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, for a rare Dzogchen retreat. This retreat offers an accessi...
A Somatic Yoga & Movement Retreat Nestled in the healing landscape of Menla in the Catskills, Awakening the Wisdom of the Body is a four-day somatic yoga and mo...
Yoga asanas and pranayama offer us the tools to move from the periphery to the core of our being, a lifetime practice that continually deepens our understanding...
6 Days of Learning, Relaxation & Transformation Join award-winning author and channel Paul Selig for a six-day channeled retreat at Menla, a stunning sanctuary ...
“Great place overall. Beautiful grounds, excellent service and friendly staff and well-maintained rooms/property. Also the food was awesome, creative and unique. Great experience, very relaxing and tranquil overall, if your looking for a retreat from the city!”
Dan B.
“The property is amazing. The creek running through it is one of the most amazing places to sit and listen that I have ever been to. I work in the forest industry and am constantly exposed to the wonders of the natural world, and I feel like this is one of the most profound natural spaces I have been to in my life.”
Mark D.
“Nicole’s KuNye massage was transformational. She released several tight muscle and joint areas with targeted and deep pressure and massage. I felt more flexible and incredibly relaxed. The Dewa Spa facility itself is beautiful, peaceful and extremely relaxing.”
Becky K.