Tibetan · International (40+ countries)
Teacher training in the Tibetan Vajrayana lineage of Lama Tsultrim Allione, with particular focus on the sacred feminine, Chöd, and Feeding Your Demons practice. Trains certified Feeding Your Demons facilitators globally.
Tara Mandala is the Tibetan Buddhist retreat center and teaching organization founded by Lama Tsultrim Allione in 1993. Allione was one of the first Western women ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun in 1970, later returning to lay life and continuing as a recognized Vajrayana teacher. The center sits on seven hundred acres in the San Juan mountains near Pagosa Springs, Colorado, and serves as the home of the Tara Mandala sangha and the Five Wisdoms Institute, the lineage's training arm. Tsultrim Allione has been recognized within the wider Tibetan Vajrayana world as an emanation of Machig Labdrön, the eleventh-century Tibetan yogini who developed the Chöd practice that Tara Mandala teaches widely. The lineage's distinctive emphasis is on the sacred feminine within Tibetan Vajrayana, including Tara practice and the various dakini lineages, and on Chöd, the ritual practice of cutting through ego identification by symbolically offering the body to demanding forces. Tsultrim Allione developed Feeding Your Demons, a contemporary five-step method drawing on Chöd that has been taught widely beyond the Tara Mandala sangha and is used by therapists, coaches, and lay practitioners globally. The teacher training pathway is multi-year and lineage-based. The Feeding Your Demons certification is the most accessible track and trains certified facilitators in the five-step process for use in personal practice and with clients or students. The deeper lineage teaching pathway includes the Magyu Lineage Practitioner Path, which trains long-term Tara Mandala practitioners across multiple years of retreat, study, and ritual practice, and ultimately the recognition of senior lineage holders. Tsultrim Allione has authorized a small number of senior students as Lama-level lineage teachers. The Five Wisdoms Institute and the wider Tara Mandala programs run as fee-based and donation-based depending on the format. Feeding Your Demons certification carries set fees; deeper lineage retreats run on a mix of program fees and dana-based donation. The credential is recognized within the international Tara Mandala sangha across forty-plus countries and within the broader Tibetan Vajrayana teaching field.
The Feeding Your Demons certification covers the five-step methodology in depth, including the somatic and psychological framing Tsultrim Allione has developed alongside the traditional Chöd roots. Trainees learn to lead the process with individuals and groups, work with difficult demonic content that may arise, and integrate the practice with clinical or coaching contexts when appropriate. The Magyu Lineage Practitioner Path covers the deeper Tibetan Vajrayana foundations: ngöndro preliminary practices, Tara practice cycles, Chöd in its full ritual form, and the wider sacred-feminine lineage teachings the center carries. Reading includes Tsultrim Allione's books Women of Wisdom and Feeding Your Demons, alongside selected Tibetan Vajrayana sources. Retreat practice is core throughout, with multi-week retreats at Tara Mandala or affiliated centers required for the deeper pathway.
The Feeding Your Demons certification combines online study, residential intensives at Tara Mandala or affiliated centers, supervised facilitation practice, and ongoing case consultation. The Magyu Lineage Practitioner Path is multi-year and combines extensive retreat practice, ritual training, and direct relationship with Tsultrim Allione and senior teachers. Both pathways are mentored and assume sustained engagement with the Tara Mandala sangha rather than discrete course completion. Authorization comes from Tsultrim Allione and the senior teaching body when readiness is recognized.
Certified Feeding Your Demons facilitators lead the five-step process with individuals and groups in personal practice, clinical, or coaching contexts. Magyu Lineage Practitioners and authorized lineage teachers carry the deeper Vajrayana teachings within the sangha. The credentials are recognized within the international Tara Mandala community across forty-plus countries and within the broader Tibetan Vajrayana teaching field. The Feeding Your Demons certification does not authorize clinical therapy; clinicians work within their existing license. The lineage-teacher recognition is an internal Vajrayana authorization rather than an externally accredited credential.
The Feeding Your Demons certification requires sustained personal practice with the method and direct experience of attending Feeding Your Demons workshops. The Magyu Lineage Practitioner Path requires substantial Vajrayana background, including ngöndro and retreat experience, plus established relationship with Tsultrim Allione or senior teachers. Lineage-teacher recognition is at Tsultrim Allione's discretion and not openly applied for.
Tara Mandala sits alongside other major Tibetan Vajrayana centers including Sakya, Drikung Kagyu, Dzogchen Community, and the Kalu Rinpoche Foundation pathways profiled separately on this site. Tara Mandala is distinct in its sacred-feminine emphasis, its specifically Western-led lineage holder in Tsultrim Allione, and its widely accessible Feeding Your Demons methodology. For practitioners drawn specifically to Chöd, Tara practice, and the dakini lineages within an institutional setting led by a Western Vajrayana teacher, Tara Mandala is a natural home.
| Location | International (40+ countries) |
| Country | United States |
| Tradition | Tibetan |
| Format | Hybrid, In-person, Online |
| Duration | Multi-year |
| Estimated cost | Varies |
| Accreditation | Certified Feeding Your Demons Facilitator |