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The Brahma Viharas and Iyengar Yoga

Dec. 30, 2010 - Jan. 2, 2011

Join us for our third annual New Year’s Retreat!  Following the age-old tradition of taking time at the end of the year to reflect and set intensions for the upcoming cycle, these three incredible teachers are offering this unique opportunity to come together at Tibet House's breathtaking Menla Mountain Retreat in the heart of the Catskills. 

Lovingkindness is a meditation that cultivates our natural capacity for an open and loving heart. It is traditionally offered along with meditations that enrich compassion, joy in the happiness of others, and equanimity. Together these four qualities are known as the Brahma Viharas, or boundless states. These practices lead to the development of concentration, fearlessness, and genuine happiness. Robert Thurman and Sharon Salzberg will introduce these teachings and support us in our own experience and cultivation of these qualities through direct instruction and guided meditation using classical techniques in a modern idiom. There will also be many opportunities for questions.

In addition to these classes, Carolyn Christie will be offering Iyengar yoga classes.  Please note, you may choose to attend either the Brahma Viharas classes, or the Iyengar yoga classes, or both. All levels invited!

Sharon Salzberg is cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, Massachusetts. She is one of America's leading spiritual teachers and authors, and has been a student of Buddhism since 1971, leading meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. Sharon's latest book is The Force of Kindness, published by Sounds True. She is also the author of Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience, published by Riverhead Books; Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness and A Heart as Wide as the World, both published by Shambhala Publications; and co-author with Joseph Goldstein of Insight Meditation: A Step-by-Step Course on How to Meditate (audio), from Sounds True. For more information about Sharon, please visit: www.sharonsalzberg.com.

Robert Thurman is Professor of Indo-Tibetan Studies at Columbia University, President of Tibet House U.S., a popular lecturer on Tibetan Buddhism, the translator of many philosophical treatises and sutras, and author of numerous books including the national bestseller, Inner Revolution: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Real Happiness; Anger, the fifth book from a series on the Seven Deadly Sins, offered by The New York Public Library and Oxford University Press. His most recent book is titled Why the Dalai Lama Matters: His Act of Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet, and the World, published by Atria Books/Beyond Words.

Carolyn Christie began her study of both Buddhism and yoga in 1987 while working for the Peace Corp in Thailand. In 1998 she was initiated into the Kalachakra Tantra by H.H. the XIV Dalai Lama in India and began studying with Khen Rinpoche Lobsang Tharchin in New York. She presently studies with Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche and Professor Robert Thurman. Carolyn is a faculty member at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of New York and is certified as Junior Intermediate 3. She regularly studies in India with the Iyengar family.


Tuition – $375 (per person);  $338 (THUS members)

Accommodations - please refer to the tab below for options and pricing.

Cancellation Policy

- If you cancel two weeks prior to the program, you will receive a 100% refund, minus a $35 processing fee.

- If you cancel one full day to two weeks prior to the program, you will receive full credit, minus a 35% processing fee, which can be applied to any other Tibet House sponsored program at Menla. This credit is valid for one year.

- If you cancel the day of the program or do not show up for any reason, no refund or credit will be given.

Tibet House US/Menla Mountain Retreat reserves the right to cancel any program at any time for low enrollment or circumstances beyond our control. Should this happen, a full refund will be offered.