Vajrayoga - A Mahasiddha Reunion: Devotion, Wisdom, and Taras’ Magic
with Dr. Robert Svoboda, Krishna Das, Nina Rao, Michele Loew, Robert Thurman | May 30 - June 5, 2025
Don't miss your chance to join in the second reunion of this usually far-flung all-star team of teachers and practitioners of Indic yogic sciences and spiritualities! This fun and edifying weeklong study and practice immersion is an aspiring annual tradition—the looming kaliyuga notwithstanding—bringing together Dr. Robert Svoboda, Krishna Das, Nina Rao, Michele Loew, and Prof. Robert Thurman, with brief appearances by Parvaty Baul (in person) and Lopön Chandra Easton (via livestream).
A stand-alone hybrid Ayurveda/Bhaktiyoga/Vajrayoga retreat, the Mahasiddha Reunion explores the little-known common origins and philosophical and practical relationships between Ayurvedic healing science, Bhakti yoga, Indo-Tibetan Vajrayoga, and Hathayogic tantric science. You will leave this retreat physically energized, personally inspired, and connected with a growing community of students who are looking to go deeper in their spiritual evolution, yogic studies, and life-enhancing practices.
For early morning sessions, the Vajrayoga practice streams will be navigated by expert yogini, Michele Loew, as she covers a broad spectrum of yogic practices that are most beneficial when practiced together. Through movements strung together on the thread of the breath, we will bring the brilliant core of the central axis out through the forms of the postures, turning them into mudras of feeling and expression so that our practice is an ever-deepening source of inspiration. Nina Rao will lead discussions of the sacred feminine, focusing on Tara, the Woman Buddha and Devi - the Hindu Goddess in many forms. Nina will also lead the group in mantra chanting and singing kirtan. Finally Bob Thurman will present a session on the "Rājayoga"-like tantric science dimensions of the Vajrayoga innovation.
For the afternoon teachings, Svoboda, Thurman, and Krishna Das will lead lively discussions presenting the vast and amazing teachings of some notable Indian mahasiddha adepts. The first westerner ever to graduate from a college of Ayurveda and be licensed to practice Ayurveda in India, Svoboda will deploy his realized Ayurvedic vision to present some of the main teachings of the late, extraordinary Indian Aghori, Vimalananda, with whom he spent many years studying in the 70s and 80s. Kirtan chant-master Krishna Das will bring to life the spiritual presence and powerful inspiration of his renowned guru Neem Karoli Baba (Mahārāji) to join in several of these discussions and will of course also lead some devotional chanting! Thurman will channel the teachings of his Gurus, the Ven. Geshe Wangyal Rinpochey, Kyabjey Ling Rinpochey, and H. H. the Dalai Lama, grounding them in teachings from the famous Indian master Vimalakirti, later Indian and Tibetan tantric siddhas, giving special emphasis to female siddhas and the female Buddha and Goddess Noble Tara, with the assistance of Nina Rao, the virtuoso specialist in Tara bhakti Lopön Chandra Easton, zooming in on the holy 21 Tara Emanations. Parvaty Baul, who has studied closely with two Baul gurus of the previous generation, will share her practice of chanting, dancing, performing and teach the essence of this specialized devotional practice.
Our evening sessions will consist of all-faculty discussions on the Vimalakirti Sutra, Bhagavat Gita, and other seminal Indian texts, with students encouraged to offer many questions, alternating with kirtan chant-master Krishna Das leading some devotional chanting!
Svoboda and Thurman will also lead special Fire Pujas in the central field of Menla's campus, with all students participating. This puja is a powerful way to heal and energize our planetary mandala and celebrate the eventual triumph of the total liberation and enlightenment of all beings (including ourselves!) in a gorgeous setting.
Space is very limited for the in-person option, so it is best to sign up early for this amazing opportunity to study and practice with some of the best minds and hearts in these fields!
If you can only attend part of the retreat, you may arrange a partial/prorated registration via our Front Desk at [email protected]. Please note that we have a two-night stay minimum. Also, we have a few spots reserved in shared housing for those needing partial scholarships. If you are interested in applying for a partial scholarship, please email [email protected].
* Image used by permission © Thomas Laird, Murals of Tibet, 2018
This page is for online attendance registration. Click here to register for in-person attendance at Menla.
Dr. Robert Svoboda
Dr. Robert Svoboda was the first Westerner to graduate from a college of Ayurveda and be licensed to practice Ayurveda in India. During and after his formal Ayurvedic training, he was tutored in Ayurveda, Yoga, Jyotish, Tantra and other forms of classical Indian lore by his mentor, the Aghori Vimalananda. He is the author of twelve books including Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution and the Aghora series, which discusses his experiences with his mentor during the years 1975 – 1983.
In 1972 he earned a B.S. from the University of Oklahoma in Chemistry with a minor in French. After being ritually initiated into the Pokot tribe of northern Kenya as its first white member in June 1973 he moved to India, where he lived from 1973-80 and 1982-86, receiving his Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (Ayurvedacharya) from the University of Poona in 1980. In his final year of study at the Tilak Ayurved Mahavidyalaya he won all but one of the University of Poona’s awards for academic excellence in Ayurveda, including the Ram Narayan Sharma Gold Medal.
In the years since 1986 Dr. Svoboda has traveled extensively, spending three months per year on average in India. He often speaks on Ayurveda, Jyotish, Tantra and allied subjects in locales across the world.
Krishna Das
Krishna Das has been called yoga’s “rock star,” layering traditional kirtan with instantly accessible melodies and modern instrumentation. With a remarkably soulful voice KD has taken the call-and-response chanting out of yoga centers and into concert halls, becoming the best-selling western chant artist of all time. Krishna Das has released 14 well received albums, including Live Ananda (released January 2012) that was nominated for a Grammy in the Best New Age album category & his most recent release Kirtan Wallah. In 2014 the Kirtan Wallah Foundation was formed.
Krishna Das now travels the world sharing his kirtan practice and wonderful stories of his life on the spiritual path, and discusses bringing chanting into our lives through retreats and workshops.
To Learn More About Krishna Das please visit: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Nina Rao
Nina Rao learned traditional chants (bhajans) from her grandfather in a village in south India when she 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 assistant, often touring with him playing cymbals and singing. In 2007, she recorded the track 'Nina Chalisa' on Krishna Das' CD, “Flow of Grace”, and in January 2013, she released her debut album, “Antarayaami - Knower of All Hearts” and her 2018 release, “Anubhav.” Nina regularly leads kirtan, chanting of the Hanuman Chalisa, and sings for yoga classes in her hometown of Brooklyn, NY and beyond.
Learn more at www.ninaraochant.com
Michele Loew
Michele Loew is an international yoga teacher & practitioner of Hatha & Tibetan Yogas, & the founding director of the Vajra Yoga School of Comparative Buddhist & Indic Yogic studies she co-teaches with Professor Robert A.F. Thurman at Menla & abroad. Based in Portland, Oregon, she has taught, practiced, & studied avidly since 1998, and continues to run her longtime yoga school and beloved studio, The Yoga Space.
Her love and commitment to the unexcelled yoga tantras of Vajrayana as a path towards perfect enlightenment and the integration of those teachings with the Hatha yogas more broadly practiced today, infuses her work with great joy & commitment to a more compassionate and awakened world.
She honors the lineage of teachers she comes from and bows to her longtime Hatha & Classical Yoga teacher, Richard Freeman,To Robert Thurman, her beloved principle teacher in Buddhist science and her root guru His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the deepest bow for empowering her in the anuttara yogas.
Michele teaches 200 & 500 Yoga Alliance Certification trainings, Yoga Nidra workshops, & classes and retreats regularly. Follow her on Instagram @micheleloew
Learn more please visit: www.micheleloew.com
Robert Thurman
Robert Thurman is Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University as well as Co-Founder and President of Tibet House US/Menla in service of HH Dalai Lama & the people of Tibet. A close friend of the Dalai Lama’s for over 50 years, he is a leading world-wide lecturer on Tibetan Buddhism, passionate activist for the plight of the Tibetan people, skilled translator of Buddhist texts, and inspiring writer of popular Buddhist books. His most recent book is the 300 page graphic novel, Man of Peace: the Illustrated Life Story of the Dalai Lama of Tibet.
In partnership with Nena Thurman and dedicated contributors, he now focuses on making Tibet House US and its Menla Retreat & Spa a global center for the promotion, study and practice of Tibetan Buddhist healing arts and sciences of body, mind, and spirit, dedicated as a complement to the vast life work of its patron, His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
