Mudra Training
is a method of mind/body training that draws inspiration from meditation master Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's early education in Tibetan monastic dance. The exercises combine intense physical training with focused sensory awareness to unlock our inherent freedom and create a radical shift in our understanding of the mind/body relationship. Mudra Institute is exploring applications of this work in performing arts, and other fields such as health care and media. For more information on Mudra Training, click here.

To read the 12/14/05 article in the Bellingham Herald, click here.

May 31st- June 6th, 2008
Directed by Craig Smith and Lee Worley
also with Suzanne Duquette and others
[NOTE: DUE TO OBLIGATIONS SURROUNDING THE VISIT OF THE 17TH KARMAPA TO SEATTLE DURING THIS TIME, CRAIG SMITH AND LEE WORLEY WILL NOT BE TEACHING THIS RETREAT. INSTEAD, IT WILL BE TAUGHT BY SENIOR TEACHERS DAVID STONE AND AGNESS AU.]

In the early 1970s, VCTR introduced Mudra practice before he formally conferred Vajrayana (Tantric Buddhist) teachings to his American students. This practice accessed the qualities of Dzogchen and Mahamudra that dissolve distinctions between the sacred and profane aspects of experience. Mudra was presented initially as theater training to some of the foremost theater innovators of that decade. Mudra has since been applied, both as an adjunct to formal sitting meditation, and increasingly as a means for developing meditation in action.

Senior Mudra practitioners Lee Worley and Craig Smith will teach this week-long intensive retreat. They each bring 30 years of experience and unique embodiments of Mudra teachings. The retreat will use these methodologies to explore the nature of our direct experience.

Full program $450

"The Vidyadhara's teachings on Mudra Space Awareness are one of Shambhala's hidden treasures. The cycle of exercises embody his creative genius in making the vajrayana teachings accessible and penetrating. He begins at the beginning-how to be in space-then takes us step by step through how to stand, walk, relate with things, and interact with people. So simple, yet so revealing! I am delighted that Lee Worley and Craig Smith are coming to share their wealth of experience with these profound teachings, and wholeheartedly invite everyone to take advantage of this unique offering." ~ Ashe Acharya John Rockwell

To register, click here.